Brand New Life for Ma and Jack (253-321)

I have finally come to the final section of Room. The sort of excitement and sadness felt as I was reading the last few pages was interesting. I felt as if I was part of the characters’ lives throughout the whole novel.

Jack is finally beginning his real childhood as he is learning everything slowly one by one. He seems to be very curious about everything around him and questions almost everything he hears or sees. I think I would be the same way as Jack because his new life is all so unfamiliar to him. Jack is separated from his mother for the first time in this chapter. It is very hard for him to cope without her at first but later on he starts to realize that he cannot be with her at all times. The rotten tooth that Jack keeps during his time at his Grandma’s house, made me think that it was his way of coping with his separation from his mother. I remember when I was a child; I would never want to be separated from my mother for a long period of time. I would even cry during kindergarten and ask for my mom. My sister who went to the same elementary school as me would have to come and calm me down. When I think about it now, it is quite embarrassing. In addition, I find Jack’s grandparents so supportive and helpful for Jack and his Ma. Jack seems to be very difficult to take care of at times but his grandparents are still patient with him and are understanding which I think would be hard to do. This reminded me of my own grandparents when they would come visit me and my family. They would spoil me and give me everything I asked for. This book made me think of how much they have done for me and how long it has been since I have last seen them.

Jack finally cuts his hair in this chapter and I thought of it as representing his new life ahead of him and adapting to his new lifestyle. Cutting off his long hair represents his detachment to his old life in room and becoming a brand new person. The author states, “I get the scissors from the drawer and cut my ponytail all off” (284). Another thing that caught my attention while reading this chapter is how Ma and Jack keep religion as one of their priorities even after they escape. The author states, “We go to two different churches. I like the one with the multicolored windows but the organ is too loud” (312). This shows that religion is a big part of their life and it was not just a way of coping in the room. They continue to live their lives incorporating a religion to live by. I found this quite inspirational. Moreover, when Ma and Jack make the list they want to do in the future, it made me remember it was always a dream of mine to get a puppy. When I finally got one, it was one of the happiest days of my life. I seriously could not imagine my life without her now. I think it is a dream for almost every child to get a dog.

My dog!

In the final pages, I liked how they decided to visit the room again and officially say good-bye to the place they lived in and experienced for so long. I am excited for the two to start a brand new life and make up for the many years they have lost. Overall, this book was one of the best reads I have come across for a long time and I would recommend it to everyone. I am glad I chose this novel for my summative and it has made me connect to my own past and memories while reading it. I hope everyone in my group enjoyed it as much as I did!

Picture References:

“Grandparents.” My Cute Graphics. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2014. <http://www.mycutegraphics.com/graphics/family/grandparents.html&gt;. 

“Question Mark.” Clip Art Best. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2014. <http://www.clipartbest.com/question-mark-images&gt;.

 

Suspenseful and Emotional (101-249)

The second part of this novel is where we see the most exciting and suspenseful events occurring. The development of the setting and characters become more thrilling and at times, very disturbing and heartbreaking.

The start of the chapter, “Dying”, is where Ma tries to figure out a plan to escape after her long years of being confined. At first, Jack is very confused as to why his mother would want to escape. All he is used to his the 11 by 11 space that he has lived in his whole life. I definitely understand how Jack would feel because he thinks that this space that he lives in is all that there is in the world. He does not understand why his mother would want to escape such a simple and ordinary lifestyle. However, due to his mother’s determined requests, Jack eventually agrees to carry out the plan. During the time where the plan was just about to take place and Old Nick is about to enter the room, it is very suspenseful.

The author states, “Beep beep. Beep beep. Ma grabs the bag of water away, it’s ripping off my face. ‘Shh.’ She presses my eyes shut, pushes my face down into the awful pillow, she pulls Duvet right up over my back” (119). I was so anxious and scared for Ma and Jack while reading and I felt as if it was happening to me. It made me so curious if the plan would work and the two would finally be able to get out of the “prison” like room. However, the plan does not end up going as planned and Old Nick leaves the room instead to get some medicine for Jack. At this point of the novel, I was quite disappointed and almost lost my hope for the characters to escape. However, soon after, Ma comes up with Plan B. I doubted that this plan would work but it ended up working and eventually saving both Ma and Jack.

They end up in a clinic where they get treated by Dr. Clay and his nurse, Noreen. The section, “After” in the novel is where readers see a series of events which Ma and Jack try to adjust to society. I found it very interesting to see how Jack reacted seeing the outside world and experiencing such a different lifestyle to what he knew. It was even more interesting and detailed because all the events were seen through the point of view of Jack. He is seen to have a hard time getting used to all the loud noises and voices talking all at once. The author states, “That’s three persons in the room now and two of us, that equals five, it’s nearly full of arms and legs and chests. They’re all saying till I hurt. ‘Stop saying at the same time.’ … I squish my fingers in my ears” (183). Another thing I found interesting was how Jack could not tell who was talking to whom. I did not know this would have been a problem for Jack. In addition, I still find it a little peculiar how Ma still breastfeeds Jack. I have never heard of a five-year old still being breastfed. This is one of the signs that show readers how Jack is different from the norms of a five-year old.

Ma reunites with her family in this chapter as well. The happiness and relief when they meet made me so happy and relieved with them. I seriously could not imagine being away from all my family for such a long time period. The emotional stress that Ma encountered while being in “Room” is something that I would imagine to be indescribable. I am personally a very family-oriented person so I would especially find it very painful to be away from family for almost 8 years. This feeling allowed me to sympathize even more for Ma throughout the novel.

Picture References:

“Broken Heart.” All Free Download. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. <http://all-free-download.com/free-vector/broken-heart-pictures.html&gt;.

“Hug Clipart.” Share Faith. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. <http://www.sharefaith.com/image/hug-clipart.html&gt;.

Rainier, Thom. “The Extroverted Leader.” Northshire Baptist Church. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2014. <http://blogs.nsb.org/jonathanalexander/2011/05/the-extroverted-leader/&gt;.

A Fresh New Start (1-97)

The time has come to start a brand new novel and start fresh. This novel is very different from my previous posts about The Namesake. Room by Emma Donoghue is the second novel I will be discussing about on my blog. I chose this novel because the whole idea of a five year-old boy narrating the whole storyline was so intriguing and unusual. At first I found it a bit strange and peculiar because the novel is about a heartbreaking and traumatic adult story that is told through a young toddler’s perspective. However, as I kept reading I was quite impressed. Although it did take some time to get used to the poor grammar and no use of “the” before some words, it was very interesting to see all these scenes happening through such a different perspective. I have never read anything with such a unique point of view.

Right off the bat, this novel reminded me of another book I have read called Invisible Chains. The whole book is about Canada’s underground world of human trafficking. When I read this book, I did not know how serious and common commercial sex trafficking is. Benjamin Perrin, the author, wrote this book after he heard of a case of sex trafficking right in his hometown in Calgary. Therefore, through his recent years of activism and research, Invisible Chains is the final result. Throughout most of the book, the author describes multiple situations of victims of human trafficking and how it affects their lives. A couple examples include a 14-year-old girl from Ontario sold for sex on Craigslist, Yelena who is sent to Canada to be an escort, but instead, is sold for sex, and a 21-year-old from Alberta who went missing in Las Vegas in 2006. Reading this book about human trafficking beforehand allowed me to better understand the storyline in Room and get a better idea about the character’s feelings. Isolation, depression and anxiety are all psychological effects that take place on the victim which are similarly felt by the mother in the novel.

Another connection I made is with the little boy in the story. Throughout most of the book so far, it describes his daily life and what he does to stay entertained day by day. The author states, “But Ma says we can make one, we scrunch up all the pages I’ve been practicing my writing on and fill a grocery bag and squeeze it till it’s kind of ball shape, then we draw a scary face on it with three eyes” (Donoghue 30). Each day, he seems to have different imaginative games and activities planned out. This reminded me of my childhood where I would have to play on my own and entertain myself. Although I had plenty more toys and games to play with, I could still relate to Jack and how he played with the tools and materials he had. I realized that the imagination that little children have is so precious and innocent. I also related to the part where the mother would always stop Jack from watching too many TV shows. My own mother would also stop me from watching too much television when I was younger and similar to Jack, I remember complaining very often.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The author refers to Christianity repeatedly in the novel and describes the characters mentioning Christian bible stories. The author states, “We play Noah’s Ark on Table, all the things like Comb and Little Plate and Spatula and the books and Jeep have to line up and get into Box quick quick before there’s the giant flood” (81-82). I can closely relate to this as I have been growing up in a Christian family since I was born. My childhood consisted of Sunday school at church and I would hear many bible stories that are mentioned in this novel. It helped me grow spiritually as an individual and allowed me to realize my true morals that I should live by. I think it will do the same for Jack in this novel and is beneficial to his upbringing.

Overall, this novel has been very intriguing and I cannot seem to put this book down! I cannot wait to read the rest of this novel and share my opinion and input about it. Thanks for reading my first blog post!

Picture References:

Hagel, Denny. Imagination. The Missing Secret to Parenting. N.p., 5 Sept. 2010. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://missingsecrettoparenting.com/law-attractionimagination-style&gt;.

“Imagination.” Evolving Minds. N.p., 4 Sept. 2012. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://evolvingminds.org/need-for-childs-imagination/&gt;.

Logan, Rachel. “Cross.” Politics, Religion, Philosophy. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://shilohlogan.com/learning-about-christianity/#.U3J-hfldWoO&gt;.

“Room.” Good Reads. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2014. <http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7937843-room&gt;.