This blog was started for Mr. Hughes' English III AP course.
It's full of assigned and freely written journals. Enjoy. <3

Under Construction.

Revenge is Much Worse. [6] Though you may not realize it, many people, adults and children alike, are teased, picked on, and talked about everyday of your life. The sad thing is that it might be you who is in the wrong, no matter if it has happened to you. Jeremyby Pearl Jam expresses the view from an average bully, or person viewing a situation where someone was being picked on. Listening to the lyrics being sung by lead singer Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam or reading them yourself, Jeremy shocked the nation with it's words, but even more by it's controversial video.
The lyrics of Jeremy tell a story of a troubled boy,not being loved by his parents, and picked on by others, including the narrator himself. This is stated by Vedder, or the narrator, in the words that express his experience of being there. "Clearly I remember, Pickin' on the boy" and , "How could I forget. He hit me with a surprise left." Vedder's use of Repetition also shows that he can't believe his eyes, "Jeremy spoke in class today." In other words, Jeremy did something horrifically astonishing and he can't get it out of his mind. The reader/listener knows that the song is an angry one, but ,if you do not see it for yourself, you think that Jeremy is only a boy picked on.
Jeremy won "Best Video of the Year" for MTV in 1992. It was the best video, but also the most controversial in the early '90s. The lyrics do not show all of what Pearl Jam is explaining, unlike the video. Though the original video was denied by production companies, thus having to have another director film a "re-do", the impact the award winning song had produced grew. Throughout the video, words such as "problem", "peer", "harmless", "bored", and "child" are shown in a collaging effect with pictures and the reckless Jeremy character, who is shown to be angry and alone everyday of his life. Vedder is shown alone as well, helping to classify him as the narrator. It all ends with Jeremy entering class late one day, his eyes closing, a white flash, and then the camera paneling around to show shocked, blood stained students. A person may look at this video and think Jeremy killed everyone in the class. In all actuality, producers zoomed in only to Jeremy's eyes for a reason: Jeremy kills himself. In many opinions, and either way a person looks at it, it was a cause for many school shootings and suicides after the video of Jeremy was released.
Listeners, readers, and viewers take to the character of Jeremy because it could represent a part of someone. Many people get picked on each day and others don't feel the love that parents give a child. Not everyone wants to kill themselves or someone else, but he is easy to relate to because of his experiences stated throughout the song. His story is a controversial piece. Even today, radio stations rarely play it, or never play it at all. Vedder's narrator tells us the story no one wanted to be real, thus the moral being to never upset someone with rude or joking comments, the revenge might be much worse.