University Essay: Social Argument Response to Logic's '1-800-273-8255'

This essay provides a comprehensive response to the social argument presented in Logic's song '1-800-273-8255,' which addresses the pressing issue of suicide. The essay begins by acknowledging the rising rates of suicide globally and highlights the song's role in sparking conversations about mental health and suicide prevention. It then articulates the core social argument put forth by the song, emphasizing the need for greater awareness, guidance, and support for individuals struggling with suicidal thoughts. The essay proceeds to analyze the song's argument through the framework of Toulmin's model of argumentation, dissecting the claims, warrants, backing, conclusions, and potential rebuttals within the context of the song's narrative and music video. The analysis examines the song's depiction of a young person's struggle with social acceptance and suicidal ideation, and how the song provides an inner voice urging the person to choose life. The essay concludes by reiterating the importance of addressing the social argument presented in the song, emphasizing the need for proactive measures to prevent suicide and provide support to those in need.

Running head: SOCIAL ARGUMENT RESPONSE: 1-800-273-8255 BY LOGIC
SOCIAL ARGUMENT RESPONSE: 1-800-273-8255 BY LOGIC
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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SOCIAL ARGUMENT RESPONSE: 1-800-273-8255 BY LOGIC
Suicide has been a rising social problem in the modern days. There has been a rise in
the number of suicidal deaths all over the world. The song by Logic named “1-800-273-
8255” which addresses the issue of suicides. The following essay attempts to draw a response
over the social argument that is presented by the song by the rapper. The essay puts forward a
claim on the social argument put forward by the song. The essay further moves on to analyze
the argument of the model that is put forward by the song on the basis of the model of
argumentation put forward by Toulmin.
“1-800-273-8255” is a musical composition by an American rapper, Sir Robert
Bryson Hall II, who is known by the name of Logic. This song was released on the 28th of
April, 2017. This is the third single track which is a part of the album Everybody. The song is
named after the phone number that is used as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline of the
United States. The music video that accompanies the song was launched on the Vevo channel
of Logic on YouTube.
The song portrays a person who is under a lot of pain and has a desire to end his life.
The person is on the verge of committing suicide when an inner voice calls out to him
(Guidedmag.com, 2017). This inner voice asks the person to hold on to his patience. The
music video provides with a better understanding of the song. The music video of the song
centers around the protagonist who is a young African-American is seen struggling with his
social acceptance due to his sexuality (Youtube.com, 2017). He had once tried to do so but
the reactions of his close ones once they came to know of the fact provided him with a hard
blow which leads the teenager to the decision of committing suicide but his inner voice stops
him from doing so (Doby, 2017).
The social argument that is placed through this piece of musical composition is the
fact that suicide is a global menace that has not been addressed in a proper manner. The

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SOCIAL ARGUMENT RESPONSE: 1-800-273-8255 BY LOGIC
problem of suicide has not yet been addressed and acted upon. The sufferers and the ones
who have been attempting suicide need proper guidance so as to stop them from taking their
own lives (Washingtonpost.com, 2017). They need to be counselled on the problems that they
are facing. They need to be shown that life is more than what they can perceive at the present
moment of depression and that the cycle of life goes on to change from times of sadness to
that of happiness. The sufferers should be urged to keep holding on to their lives and try to
sail through the bad times that they have been currently facing (Heras et al, 2013).
The Toulmin model of argumentation is an informal reasoning method that deals with
analyzing or constructing a persuasive argument. This model is named after the creator of this
model, Stephen Toulmin, a British rhetorician (Van Eemeren et al, 2014). The method
objectively weighs the argument and involves the breaking down of an argument into six
parts that supports as well as opposes the argument. The six major factors of this reasoning
method includes the mention of a fact, the warranties needed to establish the fact, the backing
provided for the fact, the conclusion derived from the fact and the rebuttal that is provided in
order to convince the audience of the correctness of the fact (Oh, 2014).
In case of this particular song “1-800-273-8255” by the American rapper Logic, the
fact that is put forward is the tendency of the teenagers of the modern generation to end their
lives over the smallest of issues. The song also addresses the fact that no effective measures
have been taken in order to prevent the occurrences of such events in the near future. The
warrant, a presumption on the part of the author or composer, in this case is the fact that the
person who is supposed to commit suicide is suffering from depression (Usatoday.com,2017).
The warrant further claims that while the maximum suicide attempts are made by the
teenagers, there are reports of people from older age groups even who commit suicide unable
to cope up with the pressures of life and other factors resulting from stress.

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SOCIAL ARGUMENT RESPONSE: 1-800-273-8255 BY LOGIC
The backing that is provided to put forward the claim is the fact that the teenagers
may not always come out in the open with the issues that they have been facing in their lives.
In case of the music video of this particular song, the teenager is seen to be unable to handle
the reactions of his close ones on coming to know of his sexual orientation. This may drive
him towards the feeling of suicide. The conclusion that is drawn on the basis of the claim is
that the teenagers may be prevented from taking such harmful measures by convincing them
that the life ahead can be more beautiful than the one they have already spent. The rebuttal
may come from the fact that there are many cases in the society wherein the people have
faced similar issues but had not taken their own lives. These people who have faced difficult
times in their lives and yet held on to their lives prove to be apt examples that may be cited to
those who decide to give up on life after facing the slightest of difficulties.
In conclusion to the above discussion, it might be said that the social argument put
forward by the American rapper, Logic through his song “1-800-273-8255” entitled after the
number for the National Suicide Prevention Helpline is indeed a topic to be worried about.
There have not been any such notable measures that have been taken in order to prevent the
rising phenomena in the past few years. The social argument put forward by the song proves
to be an alarming one in the present day world and needs immediate attention.

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SOCIAL ARGUMENT RESPONSE: 1-800-273-8255 BY LOGIC
References
Doby, J. (2017). Logic ‘1-800-273-8255’. The Hype Magazine. Retrieved 7 November 2017,
from http://www.thehypemagazine.com/2017/09/logic-1-800-273-8255/
Guidedmag.com, (2017). SJ - 1-800-273-8255. Guidedmag.com. Retrieved 7 November
2017, from http://www.guidedmag.com/2017/08/sj-1-800-273-8255.html
Heras, S., Atkinson, K., Botti, V., Grasso, F., Julián, V., & McBurney, P. (2013). Research
opportunities for argumentation in social networks. Artificial Intelligence
Review, 39(1), 39-62.
Oh, J. Y. (2014). Understanding the alternative conceptions of pre-service secondary science
teachers about tidal phenomena based on Toulmin’s argumentation. International
Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 12(2), 353-370.
Usatoday.com. (2017). Logic's '1-800-273-8255' music video is a powerful story about
suicide prevention. USA TODAY. Retrieved 7 November 2017, from
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2017/08/18/logics-1-800-273-8255-
music-video-powerful-story-suicide-prevention/579268001/
Van Eemeren, F. H., Garssen, B., Krabbe, E. C., Henkemans, A. F. S., Verheij, B., &
Wagemans, J. H. (2014). Handbook of argumentation theory. Dordrecht: Springer.
Washingtonpost.com. (2017). The story behind Logic’s powerful suicide prevention anthem
‘1-800-273-8255’. Washington Post. Retrieved 7 November 2017, from
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/08/28/the-
story-behind-logics-powerful-suicide-prevention-anthem-1-800-273-8255/?
utm_term=.513f45f13846

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Youtube.com. (2017). Logic - 1-800-273-8255 ft. Alessia Cara, Khalid. YouTube. Retrieved
7 November 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb24RrHIbFk