Hail Mary by Tupac Shakur A literary Analysis Essay Example

he says “Peeped the weakness in the rap game and sewed it” and then guilt with “Bow down, pray to God…” ; Tupac is torn with conflict, all the while maintaining a small glimmer of hope. Hope that the Mother Mary may be there in the hour of his passing as she was in the hour of the death of her son when he was crucified on the cross (“meanings,” 2012). He says, “Hail Mary, catch me if I go.” Hope is then only to be followed by despair, and the cycle starts over again.

We hear the repetitions of a church bell over and over, which are hauntingly dark and achieve a constant sensation of being trapped in a conflicting cycle of hope vs. despair when faced with having no choice but to be the predator. The Mother Mary is the strongest symbol that repeats itself throughout the whole song. She resembles hope in a desperate situation. Hope that the gates to heaven will be open at the end of it all. Hope that she understands what “thugs” have done durring their lives. Then we hear the confession of “…revenge is like the sweetest joy” hinting at Tupac getting caught up and confused between good and evil and surrendering, to temptation this time, to be the predator, which ultimately turns him into prey to evil and we hear another “Hail Mary”. He surrenders to her and abandons control with “… if they can’t adjust, it’s just well, Hail Mary.” Tupac, compares himself to Jesus, “Eat the flesh of my flesh and follow me.”

Here he is inviting the listener to follow his

way of thinking and to open up their minds. He was frustrated with mainstream thinking and wanted to reincarnate public opinion with hopes of breaking the cycle. The chorus supports this by reading “Come with me, Hail Mary, run quick see,” as was said in the bible when Jesus was found resurrected (Mooch & Ridlet, n.d.). The resurrection is a symbol for new beginnings as well as supports the tone of a cycle continuing with that little glimmer of hope in the dark. Tupac opens up the imagery with “Picture paragraphs unloaded, wise words being quoted.” Here he preparing the listener to picture what he is about to say while establishing an underling rhythm of gun shots as his “wise words” are unloaded like a gun unloads bullets. He continues with strong images of being a ghost in the killing fields which brings to mind images of the streets being a haunted war zone. The word “ghost” is important here as it resonates strongly with the repeated chanting of Hail

Mary, and may symbolize a deeper meaning and refer to the “Holy Ghost”. Ghost resembles both predator and prey at the same time as it is associated with death. Death can be the killer, or one who has been killed. Tupac uses the word “Killuminati”, which is an oxymoron because kill represents death and destruction, while illuminati stems for the concepts of enlightenment and knowledge. His play on words here resonates with the “thug life” that he explores and through the song evokes from one a feeling of illumination or enlightenment to understand what it is to have to kill in order to survive.