Michael Jackson, Modern Transcendentalist

     

     I think that Michael Jackson is an example of a modern transcendentalist because he has an appreciation for nature, a belief in strong individuality and non conformity, and valuing of imagination over reason and logic.

      In Michael Jackson's song, "Earth Song" he sings about the problems that our earth has. He sings about how the world needs to help the planet and not abuse what it gives to us. He specifically sings about animals, elephants, the oceans, and our forests in "Earth Song." This demonstrates that he cares a lot about protecting the environment and he appreciates nature.
   
     Another way that Michael Jackson is a modern transcendentalist is the way he was an individual and did not let people change who he was. Michael Jackson did not let people's rude comments affect him when he would behave differently and dress himself a little crazy. When he changed his skin color, he was not afraid of people judging him and he accepted himself and did not try to change himself for anyone.

     Michael Jackson was an imaginative person who liked expressing his flashy personality in his clothing and his music. His imagination is expressed in his music that focuses on emotions and feelings instead of logical music. Michael Jackson's creativity is what led him to create new dances like the moonwalk and the robot. His different personality and individual singing voice made him a very dominant figure in music.

Gatsby Question

What is it about Gatsby that makes people make up stories about him, like that he killed a man. Is it fair of them to do this?

Before this poetry unit, it was very difficult for me to enjoy poetry. This is because I could not always understand what a poem meant, or because I was forced to over analyze the poetry I read in class. Before this unit, when we learned about poetry we mostly focused on tearing the poem apart to find the theme, figurative language and tone. Learning more about terms in poetry has helped me understand poems better because I can understand why a poem is written the way it is. I also did not like having to break down a poem to try to understand every detail of the poem and why the poet wrote something. After this poetry unit I find it easier to understand what a poem means just by reading it. I like to follow the stories of the characters in the poems I read. I found that I can enjoy a poem more when I can read it for my own enjoyment instead of reading it to analyze it. Even though I do not prefer analyzing poems in class, reading it first without over thinking it makes it less difficult to understand and that makes it more enjoyable to read. I am happy that now I find poetry more pleasurable to read and that I can understand poems and therefore appreciate them more.

On our way to the swim meet (:

     In my opinion the American Dream is to be successful in whatever you do. For me, that means to do well in high school and to go to a good college. After that I would get a well paying job and start a family.  I would raise my children to be better than I was so that they will make society better in the future.
     My idea of the American Dream is similar to what most people think of the American Dream. The general idea of it is to make a lot of money and to be successful in life. My idea is different from the usual American Dream because usually people will do whatever they can do to get to the top. I think it is better to be fair in order to be successful and not to be selfish and only think on myself. The main idea of the American Dream is to do well in everything you do.

Hello! I am really cool and Becca, Tianna, Emily, Breanna, and Michael are my BFFLs!!! <3