Novel Room Analysis
ROUGH DRAFT
LUIS VILLENEUVE
The novel Room written by Emma Donoghue focuses on the story of a mother who is kidnapped at the age of nineteen and ends up having a child with her kidnapper whom she names Jack. Her son is a special boy because he lives in an imaginary world created by her and is not aware of the existence of any other place but the room he lives in. As the story progresses both are rescued from their captivity but find it difficult to adapt to this new world. Jack’s mother however has a tougher time than her son even though she was once part of this society. Because of her isolation for seven years and the birth of her son, Jack’s mother struggles to readjust to her old life. Since her new life revolves around Jack her concern towards him at the beginning makes her adaptation a slower process but as she realizes his true importance in her life he becomes the reason for her sudden improvement.
The birth of Jack gave his mother a purpose to live and a reason to believe that escape was still a possibility. When Jack’s mother is being interviewed in front of a live audience, she explains Jack’s impact on her life, “Jack was everything. I was alive again, I mattered” (Donoghue, 233). After her unsuccessful attempts to escape from Old Nick’s imprisonment, Jack’s mother loses all of her faith and gives up on believing that she could have a regular life once again. This only changes when her son is born and she acquires a new purpose, responsibility in her life. Because she was the only person present in Jack’s life, she had to pass on to him everything that she was capable of. This included simple things such as teaching him how to brush his teeth or how to take a bath. Jack would not have learned these things if it were not for his mother. She knows how important she is to him when she says, “I was just afraid Jack would get ill – me too, he needed me to be OK” (233). This idea of being needed by someone is what Jack’s mother needs to keep going and to
LUIS VILLENEUVE
The novel Room written by Emma Donoghue focuses on the story of a mother who is kidnapped at the age of nineteen and ends up having a child with her kidnapper whom she names Jack. Her son is a special boy because he lives in an imaginary world created by her and is not aware of the existence of any other place but the room he lives in. As the story progresses both are rescued from their captivity but find it difficult to adapt to this new world. Jack’s mother however has a tougher time than her son even though she was once part of this society. Because of her isolation for seven years and the birth of her son, Jack’s mother struggles to readjust to her old life. Since her new life revolves around Jack her concern towards him at the beginning makes her adaptation a slower process but as she realizes his true importance in her life he becomes the reason for her sudden improvement.
The birth of Jack gave his mother a purpose to live and a reason to believe that escape was still a possibility. When Jack’s mother is being interviewed in front of a live audience, she explains Jack’s impact on her life, “Jack was everything. I was alive again, I mattered” (Donoghue, 233). After her unsuccessful attempts to escape from Old Nick’s imprisonment, Jack’s mother loses all of her faith and gives up on believing that she could have a regular life once again. This only changes when her son is born and she acquires a new purpose, responsibility in her life. Because she was the only person present in Jack’s life, she had to pass on to him everything that she was capable of. This included simple things such as teaching him how to brush his teeth or how to take a bath. Jack would not have learned these things if it were not for his mother. She knows how important she is to him when she says, “I was just afraid Jack would get ill – me too, he needed me to be OK” (233). This idea of being needed by someone is what Jack’s mother needs to keep going and to