A Retelling of “Pretty Boy Floyd”

Not:

Retelling Pretty Boy Floyd

In the storysong of “Pretty Boy Floyd,” Floyd and his wife were riding into town on a wagon when they encountered a deputy sheriff who was rude and used fowlfoul language in front of Floyds’ wife. Floyd grabbed a log chain as the deputy grabbed for his gun. Floyd killed the deputy with the log chain and ran into the woods to hide from the law. Every unsolved crime in the state was blamed on Floyd thereafter.

Even though Floyds’ reputation was ruined in the media, starving farmers and others had nothing but nice things to say about Floyd. They claimed that he helped them to pay their mortgage before the bank foreclosed on them and Floyd was known for leaving a thousand dollar bill under the napkin after begging for a meal. On Christmas, he would leave a box of groceries for families in need. The irony is how a so called outlaw can be perceived to be more dangerous than the bankers who are known to evict families from their home. Good

This story tells me that it is important to make my own judgment about the character of people instead of relying on the media. As the old saying goes, “The Pen is mightier than the Sword.”

These are 2 different ideas, and each needs to be explored separately. As follows:

One possible moral of the song is that “The Pen is mightier than the Sword.” I believe that was the intention of the writer because, in the song . . . (fill in the blanks)

Another possible moral of the song is that one should make one’s own judgment about the character of people instead of relying on the media. I believe that was the point the writer was trying to make because . . .