april 21

This morning I gave my American Literature course this journal topic:

JOURNAL TOPIC:
Eminem once said, "Rap is my drug."  What did he mean?  How was his experience with rap similar to or different from Bernard's experience with Soma in Brave New World?

Then I started wondering myself: Is this just a clever use of irony/contrast/cognitive dissonance?  What DID Eminem mean-- that rap was addictive?  That it provided an escape or took away the pain of everyday life?  That it gave him a "high"?  Would Macbeth ( or Lady Macbeth, or Julius Caesar) say, "Ambition/power is my drug"? 

What do you think?  With specific regard to Macbeth, how does Shakespeare establish this character as someone who does things against his own self-interest?

AGENDA (PERIOD 4):
Online conference with Howard Rheingold & Connected Learning community.

(Please do the journal for homework.  We'll use this as a segue into Act III.)

AGENDA (PERIOD 5 & 6)
1. Journal
2. MGOTM