Non-Fiction Assignment

    1)      The main claim by author Lesley-Ann Jones about her subject, Freddie Mercury, is that his life was a ride, with multiple hard times mixed in with days of splendor. Jones also mentions the controversial aspects of Mercury’s life, including his sexuality and his temper, yet still revealing that he continuously had what others in his industry never did. Quoting multiple other musicians and employees that worked with Queen, she brings up the point that “the band were amazing” (pg. 31, Geldof), that they were known “…for putting on a terrific show, for giving it all they’d got” (pg. 33, Edney). Along with this, she points out his sexuality multiple times, how it caused confusion and hurt for him in his life. Mick Rock is quoted as saying “He was definitely gay, but not exclusively gay, and that screwed him. He was torn” (pg. 106-107). His homosexuality caused more trouble for him, as he was extremely promiscuous during his life as a rock star, which led to him going to multiple gay bars and bringing many men to his hotel room per night. Freddie was also very lonely, with very few people that he felt close to, including Barbara Valentin, Mary Austin and Jim Hutton, his final lover. However, even with those terrible days, there were days that Mercury still loved, including the performance of Live Aid, where Paul Gambaccini gave “Credit…to all of them for that phenomenal performance” (pg. 285). Yet still it is shown that Mercury lived a life of complexion and loneliness, for he could not open up to others, even as he died slowly with AIDS near the end of his life.

 

    2)      The tone set by Jones is one of sadness and understanding. For the most part, within the book, Jones used quotes from others in Mercury’s life, yet still they can help set the tone that she intended to create with the words she allows in her book. She refers to Freddie as a “kind, generous, and considerate” person on page 88, and continued to talk about that later on in the book with specific quotes. While talking about the band Queen as a whole, she described them as “jaded” (pg. 204) in regards to their career, which brings a connotation of dissatisfaction, which is brought up later on with the idea of solo work between the members of the band. It brings the tone to a darker lead, also kept up throughout the book. For a lighter lead, she describes the media within the UK as “exasperatingly fickle” (pg. 150), which is then explained afterwards. The way that the phrase adds to the tone, specifically of that passage, is one that leaves an effect, as it is shown for the rest of the book how incredibly true that phrase is for Queen and Mercury specifically. In one of the later chapters, Jones refers to Mercury as “serene” (pg. 306), or at the very least, appearing so, as it was written in a chapter that described the AIDS epidemic in the US. For Mercury, who would later die of AIDS, this must have been extremely strange, as it is marked just a few words before that Mercury held “inner torment” (pg. 306) due to all that was happening. To describe him as serene during this time strikes a chord with how he is dealing with all of the troubles surrounding him. Finally, James brings up Mercury’s death in many of the final chapters, especially near the end, with one specifically held in mind. On page 306, she uses the term “looming” to describe Mercury’s “sell-by date” (pg. 306). It brings to mind a shadow, a large presence that hangs over his life, one of which he didn’t even know existed. This shows a dark and slightly cut-off ending to the chapter, and a foreboding sense to the chapters ahead.

 

     3)      The main idea of the book ‘Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury’ by Lesley-Ann Jones is that the life of Freddie Mercury was a sad ride through terrible situations and a feeling of never truly being okay. The tone adds to this, with a melancholic choice of words when talking about Mercury alone and his emotions, along with the quotes used within the book. She describes Mercury as “shy” multiple times throughout the book, added to the words “kind, generous, and considerate” (pg. 88). It is brought up multiple times his faults, including his “self-centered and egotistical” ways (pg. 87), but in a way that shows him as a smaller person than what was shown on stage. In ‘Queen’s Tragic Rhapsody’ by Mikal Gilmore, the main idea is more of the fact that Freddie Mercury was a legend within his business, focusing less on his detailed imperfections and rather on what he accomplished with his bandmates. He also tries to account for the sadness obtained through the loss of Mercury. The two accounts of his life start out the same way, recounting Live Aid, also known as Queen’s best performance. Gilmore refers to it as a “rebirth” (par. 1), as Queen had “run their course” (par. 2) up until that moment. Jones dedicates an entire chapter to the legendary performance, using her own words to describe herself as “open-mouthed” (pg. 24) as she gazed at the band giving it their all. They then continue to go into the beginning of Mercury’s life in Zanzibar, where Freddie Mercury was born as Farrokh Bulsara. Continuing down his life, they follow the path together quite well, with more detail going towards certain aspects of Mercury’s life and those in it within the book. Many of the quotes used within the article are also used in the book, specifically one Mercury quote about the topic of whether or not he cares about interpretations of his song ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. The tone set within the article is less depressive than the book, and is more open and less attached. To describe Queen when it toured, Gilmore used the word “juggernaut” (par. 28), which brings a true idea of how incredible they were on stage, as multitudes of fans went to their concerts. Near the end of the article, in the second to last paragraph, Gilmore describes Mercury as how he was in his last music video, for his song ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’, by calling him “luminous” and still “emaciated”. They describe Mercury as still there, and yet holding on just barely to life. It brings to mind an image of how he still was a performer at heart, even with life slipping from his grasp quickly. Jones describes his final appearance as “haunting” (pg. 323), as though he were just a ghost haunting his human skin. It brings to terms how truly close to death he was, and later in the chapter Jones’ depressive tone sets in, as she mentions the many friends who were allowed to be near him so close to his death. She also mentions his “last-ever statement” (pg. 325), where he revealed he had AIDS to the press and, as a result, the world. With his life “hanging by a thread” (pg. 324), Mercury finally passed on after a retelling of everything he ever went through. Both the article and the book represent his life in the same way, as a fantastical trip through ups and downs, and as a shining of a superstar that went out in a quiet breath. They both end with how it was best that Mercury died young, with Gilmore stating that “It was Freddie Mercury’s dying that saved him” (last paragraph), and Jones using quotations to describe his death, using one specific one by Barbara Valentin, saying that it was “better to stop at the right time. I guess that’s what he did, too” (pg. 329).