Michael Jackson Man In The Mirror Literary Devices
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“Man In the Mirror”
If you looked in the mirror and didn’t like what you see, would you attempt to make a change? That’s what the speaker in Michael Jackson’s song “Man In the Mirror” is doing; trying to change himself because he didn’t like what he saw in the mirror. In this song the speaker understands that he needs to change himself before he can try and change the world to make it a better place.
The speaker is very maudlin and doesn’t like the reflection that peers back at him so he tries to redefine himself. For example in the first two lines of the fourth verse the speaker says, “I’m starting with the man in the mirror, I’m asking him to change his ways.” The man in the mirror is the speaker and he has a desire to change the way he acts because he doesn’t like the person he has become. In addition, in the first line of the fifth stanza the speaker says, “ I’ve been a victim of a selfish kind of love.” The speaker is saying that he needs to change himself because in the past he was too selfish. He wants to be more unselfish and help others more often. By…show more content… For instance, in the sixth line of the second verse the speaker says, “Who am I to be blind? Pretending not to see their needs.” The speaker was selfish before and that’s why he is “blind” by acting like he didn’t notice that other people are less fortunate, and because of this he is trying to change his ways and be more selfless. He decides to help others with their needs, with the hope that it can transition to them helping other people also. Although it is very unlikely, this could bring about a world wide change in attitude. As a matter of fact in the fourth line of the fourth verse the speaker says, “ If you want to make the world a better place take a look at yourself, and then make a change.” This is where he was trying to convey the idea that one person helping another can create a world wide