Butterfly Fly Away Song Analysis

Independent Reading Book Assignment #2
The song “Butterfly Fly Away” was written by Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus and reflects directly to Jack’s thoughts towards Ma. They sing; “You tuck me in, turn out the light, kept me safe and sound at night” (Silvestri, Ballard). Every single night, before Old Nick would come in the door, Ma would put Jack to bed in the wardrobe so Old Nick would not touch him. Jack associated Old Nick with the devil, so he knew Ma was keeping him safe. Likewise, the song includes the lyrics, “Turned around and you were there, the two of us made quite a pair” (Silvestri, Ballard). Before escaping, all Jack knew was his Ma and Room, and he was always optimistic attitude and knew Ma would never leave him. Couple with a quote

from the book Room by Emma Donoghue, she comparatively writes, “Maybe I’m a human, but I’m a me-and-Ma as well” (Donoghue). Jack always was with Ma, he had been all his life, he saw them as a pair and Jack always knew she was with him. “Butterfly Fly Away” by Miley and Billy Ray Cyrus directly displays Jack’s emotions and thoughts towards Ma.
Sung by artist Mika, the song “Any Other World” directly exhibits Jack’s conflict of saying goodbye to Room and going to the Outside, even though he was extremely uncomfortable with doing so. He sings; “Cos it's all in the hands of a bitter, bitter man, say goodbye to the world you thought you lived in” (Penniman). Here, the world Jack knew was Room and the bitter man it belonged to Old Nick, the bitter, bitter man. Similarly to the previous quote, lyric sung say; “In any other world, you could tell the difference” (Penniman). This lyric is saying that if Jack had known the outside like Ma had, he would not have been as scared say goodbye to Room and go into the Outside. He would have been able to see that the Outside was way better than Room, but unfortunately, all he knew was Room. In quote relation to Jack being scared of going into the Outside, author Emma Donoghue writes;
“Ma?”
“Yeah?”
“Let’s do it tomorrow night instead.” She leans over and hugs me tight. That means no” (Donoghue 133).
Here, Jack is trying to push the plan of escaping back another night. He is scared at this point but he knows Ma would do the same for him. Jack is nervous about leaving Room because that is all he knows. He has never seen the Outside and has no idea what it is like, this keeps him constantly nervous about escaping Room for Ma.
The song “Brave” by Sara Bareilles refers back to Ma constantly reminding Jack about how brave he is before executing their escape plan. Ma tells Jack to be brave stating “Scared is what you’re feeling, brave is what you're doing...scaredybrave” (Donoghue 116). Ma wants Jack to be as brave as he can because she obviously senses his fear for carrying out their escape plan without her. Sara Bareilles sings; “Maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live, maybe one of these days you can let the light in” (Antonoff, Bareilles). This lyric relates to Jack’s feelings because he thinks they can open the door themselves, he does not think he has to do their escape plan. The following lyric in the song states; “Show me how big your brave is” (Antonoff, Bareilles). Ma constantly reads Jack books and makes up characters for him that relate to those stories. Ma calls Jack names like “Prince Jacker-Jack or “GingerJack.” These help because they are associated with bravery and strength. During the escape plan he knows Ma wants him to be extremely brave and constantly refers to “GingerJack” to remind him to be nimble and quick while running away from Old Nick. “Brave” by Sara Bareilles relates to the bravery Jack possesses while implementing their escape plan.
After Ma and Jack have escaped, Jack’s adjustment to the new outside world with the help of Ma and all others involved are relatable to the song “Home” by Phillip Phillips.

Written in the song are the lyrics: “Hold on to me as we go, as we roll down this unfamiliar road” (Holden, Phillips, Roberts, Pearson, Larue, Jackson). Jack is constantly by Ma’s side in the outside world. He has never had any interactions with others besides Ma and Old Nick. He is feeling scared and unsure of what to do now that he is outside of Room, everything he knew was in Room. In the book, Jack expresses; “Yeah. I’ve seen the world and I’m tired now” (Donoghue 155). Having been out in the world for a mere hour and a half, Jack wants to go back to Room. He does not know that where he is heading is so much better than Room. Ma wants him to get into the outside world and experience it, everyone knows it is going to be rough adjusting, but Ma is with him. Relating to this quote, the song also vocalizes “Just know you're not alone, ‘cause I'm gonna make this place your home.” Although Jack is feeling occasionally irascible towards the outside world, Ma is determined to adapt Jack to the world and make him forget about Room and make the world, his new home. The song “Home” directly displays how Jack is adapting to the new world, it is rough, but he will make it

through.