Man in the Mirror
Chris McClendon Katrina Peterson
English 1113
21 November, 2011
Startin’ with the Man in the Mirror
Do you know what the best selling album of all time is? It is Thriller by Michael Jackson. Many people believe that he is the greatest artist of all time. Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana in August of 1958. He was a popular artist even as a child, as he was in the beloved Jackson 5. He went solo with his career in 1971 and the album Thriller, which is the bestselling record of all time, came out in 1982. The album Bad came out in 1987 and had five songs the Hits 100 reach number one. One of these songs was “Man in the Mirror.” It is a song about change. Michael Jackson sings about how things are in the world, how badly people are treated, and how he has been living his life. He goes on to say that “if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change.” Throughout the entire song, Michael Jackson uses symbolism, imagery, and ethos to appeal to his listeners. This helps the listener connect with Jackson, and thus connect with the song. The different forms of symbolism and the use of pathos used in “Man in the Mirror” make it one of the most moving and influential songs of all time.
“Man in the Mirror” first connects to listeners by appealing to their emotions. One of the first things that Michael says in the song is that he wants to make a change and that it will feel real good. This makes listeners think that a change in their lives will feel good, and thus cause a happy reaction. He then introduces listeners to the children on the streets and how they do not have enough food to eat. This appeals to listener’s sadness. It is supposed to open people’s eyes to the situations of other people around the world instead of having all of our attention focused ourselves. Another way that Jackson appeals to listener’s emotions is by bringing himself directly into the song saying that “(he has) been a victim of a selfish kind of
English 1113
21 November, 2011
Startin’ with the Man in the Mirror
Do you know what the best selling album of all time is? It is Thriller by Michael Jackson. Many people believe that he is the greatest artist of all time. Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana in August of 1958. He was a popular artist even as a child, as he was in the beloved Jackson 5. He went solo with his career in 1971 and the album Thriller, which is the bestselling record of all time, came out in 1982. The album Bad came out in 1987 and had five songs the Hits 100 reach number one. One of these songs was “Man in the Mirror.” It is a song about change. Michael Jackson sings about how things are in the world, how badly people are treated, and how he has been living his life. He goes on to say that “if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make a change.” Throughout the entire song, Michael Jackson uses symbolism, imagery, and ethos to appeal to his listeners. This helps the listener connect with Jackson, and thus connect with the song. The different forms of symbolism and the use of pathos used in “Man in the Mirror” make it one of the most moving and influential songs of all time.
“Man in the Mirror” first connects to listeners by appealing to their emotions. One of the first things that Michael says in the song is that he wants to make a change and that it will feel real good. This makes listeners think that a change in their lives will feel good, and thus cause a happy reaction. He then introduces listeners to the children on the streets and how they do not have enough food to eat. This appeals to listener’s sadness. It is supposed to open people’s eyes to the situations of other people around the world instead of having all of our attention focused ourselves. Another way that Jackson appeals to listener’s emotions is by bringing himself directly into the song saying that “(he has) been a victim of a selfish kind of