Eminem’s “Not Afraid” expresses courage in unfortunate times and how he was able to overcome it. The lyrics show the passion and lengths he would go through to overcome his fear, and would even guide others who are struggling themselves. One verse goes on to say, “I'm not afraid (I'm not afraid) - To take a stand (to take a stand) - Everybody (everybody) - Come take my hand come (come take my hand) - We'll walk this road together, through the storm - Whatever weather, cold or warm - Just lettin' you know that you're not alone - Holla if you feel like you've been down the same road” (Eminem 3). This verse represents how Eminem is able to connect to all those who have struggled before in their past and is even willing to help them and go through the struggles as a group instead of alone. This song connects to the reading I chose since it represents the bond and friendship between Bo and Virgil. Even with both their struggles, Bo with the love life and Virgil with having someone in their life, they stuck together and helped each other out instead of being alone throughout the play. This is one of the main reasons why I believed this song was correlated to the bond Bo And Virgil had in the play.
Bus Stop was one of the best stories I have read this year because of its simplicity and the details of how each character is able to grow throughout the play. The characters that expressed these details would have to be both Virgil and especially Bo. At the start of the play Bo was seen as a disrespectful man that got what he got through persistence and force. When he tried these tactics with someone who he loved, Cherie, it did not end well and he ended up pursuing her with the intent to marry. As the story goes along he starts to develop skills to help reduce his anger and help him manage to become kind, Virgil was a big help in this character development since he was there with Bo the entirety of the play to guide him through his emotions and how he should act upon it reasonably. Cherie also shows this type of behavior since she becomes more mature as the play ends, making decisions carefully since marrying someone is committing to someone for the rest of your life. This is one of the reasons why Cherie was avoiding Bo most of the time because of how immature he was until he started to mature at the end as well. Bus stop shows so much character in everyone in the play and how each of them is able to affect one another for the better or worse.
One of the best scenes in which the song, “Not Afraid” is best represented would be in Act II, Page 35-36 of Bus Stop. This scene talks about the relationship status both Virgil and Bo are conflicting at the moment or have had before. Virgil is stating his love life before he met Bo and how he was in love with someone sweet and “kinda refined”, he later goes on to say that even with how perfect they were to each other he had to let her go due to him being scared of her and if he was going to ruin her. With these stories Virgil is telling, Bo starts to understand that it is normal to be scared and feel like running away, he would need to man up, not be scared, and be confident if he were to get Cherie to marry him. This interaction goes with the song “Not Afraid” since it shows how they both have each others back and walk together to overcome their fears. One way Virgil convinced Bo to stop being scared was when he stated, there would come a time in every man’s life where he has to give up their own ways. With this phrase Bo understood to stop acting selfish and start to be responsible for his actions, to do the right thing. Virgil finishes his statement by implementing Bo to become more gallant rather than being bullheaded and mean. The author was describing the vulnerabilities and the negative things both characters have in this passage.
One of my favorite lines in the song, “Not Afraid” would have to be when they expressed their outbreak in wanting to start a new life, “And I just can't keep living this way - So starting today - I'm breaking out of this cage - I'm standing up, I'ma face my demons - I'm manning up, - I'ma hold my ground - I've had enough, now I'm so fed up - Time to put my life back together right now (now)” (Eminem 6). This one line showed so much in the sense that anyone that has been through rough patches can get back up and renew themselves if they put their mind to it. This would mean so much to me since mistakes I have made in the past can be confronted with a little courage which in turn means being able to stand up for yourself to get yourself out of dark holes. This line can also compare to my MVP selection, Bus Stop, since the character Bo seems to be timid with his emotions to share and is locked within himself only expressing rage and hostility towards others. Once he had a friend by his side, Virgil, he was able to slowly unlock that cage and finally share his true emotions to the one he loves, Cherie. Many people can interpret this line as many things, but the biggest message it sends would be, if you do not like the state in which you are living, stand up for yourself and get the courage to make a change in your life no matter the obstacles that stand in your way.
Starting out as a small rapper and later making a big name for himself through his rapping skills, Marshall Bruce Mathers III also known as Eminem opened the door for many white rappers and revolutionized the rapping industry by introducing a new style of rapping. Even as his skills developed he had to have an inspiration that allowed him to start his career and passion in music. As many would not know, Eminem’s childhood was not the best one a child can have and some may argue that it was worse than what many kids would go through so early on. When Marshall was just an infant his father abandoned him and his mother which is where Eminem gets his anger from in many of his songs, but later on in the years in 2001 his father tried to reunite with his son to be later shut out and left alone by his son. He was also bullied throughout his childhood and even got greatly injured and left into a 3 day coma by one of his bullies. With the stress of his father leaving, the mother brought that anger and frustration and let it out on Marshall. She was later diagnosed with a mental illness called Munchausen. As Marshal started to grow older his mother started following in his fathers footsteps and proceeded to leave him with his Aunt and Uncle. His mom later decided to come back when he was succeeding and try to file lawsuits against him in 1999 for defamation, the same year he released his song, “The Slim Shady LP”. At the age of 20 Eminem was struggling with his personal life and was soon found arrested for shooting a squad car with a paintball gun, the case was later dropped. From those unpleasant experiences he went though came his passion and structure for his music as an artist. His first big impression was with Dr. Dre since Dr. Dre first thought he was black due to the recordings he has heard, but later on Eminem was accepted by the big rappers and made a name for himself. This artist can somewhat relate to the reading I have chosen since the many strangers he has met in his life has helped him develop as an artist and has changed the many ways he thinks as an artist.
This reading has helped me develop a deeper understanding of character development someone can have, and how a friend or companion can greatly increase this effect for the greater or worse. When thinking about this effect I can relate to the many people that have the same thing Virgil did to Bo that someone has done to me, help me gain courage and the power to overcome my fears and break out of my shell to a better life and personality. This same effect radiates from the song, “Not Afraid” since the artist Eminem has had personal experience from the matter and all his songs have a deep meaning and understanding through his lines and verses. Every time this song comes on I have a feeling of changing my life for the better and taking those small steps to achieve it. I would also see myself in a better position in my life if I keep pursuing those steps to better my life. Throughout my writing experience in these two subjects at hand I can confidently say that struggles make someone stronger and makes them want to change things. If Bo never struggled in marrying Cherie then he would have never learned the importance of being a gentleman and being kind to others. The same thing can be said about the artist Eminem, if he never had those struggles he never would have gotten the motivation to write songs and change the many lives in which the people who heard his songs had.
Music Video
Clean Music Video
Works Cited
Barclay, Cory. “17 Unsettling Facts About Eminem.” TheThings, Aug. 2019,