Kestrel Leung
ENG4U1-06
Lindsay Smith
June 21, 2017
Self Growth
Growth is a natural part of being human. It does not only apply to physical development, but also mental. Room by Emma Donoghue follows the journey of Jack, a five-year-old boy, and his mother. This is a story about them breaking free from one problem and being tossed into another. From Old Nick trapping the mother, to Jack exploring the outside world, Emma Donoghue’s 2010 novel Room divides the book into two parts and uses the characters to show the importance of courage and knowledge for human growth.
With not much to do while being a captive, the characters have nothing to do but develop themselves. Jack is a prime example of growth. Jack was born in the room. He never gets …show more content…
American writer, Joyce Carol Oates, says that “One simply cannot know strengths unless suffering, misfortune, and violence are explored.” This quote reflects the mother like a mirror. Her life has been a tragedy ever since Nick kidnapped her. For 7 years, she has been missing from society. It has been so long that her father thought that she was dead and had a funeral for her. She has been isolated from everything and has caused some serious mental damage. The way that Nick treats the mother does not help her condition dDuring the time that she iswas locked up, he occasionally would hits her. In addition to hitting her, we can infer that he would occasionally rapes her, “when Old Nick creaks Bed” (Donoghue 108). All this abuse takes a toll on her mental health creating days when she is “gone”. On this day, she just stays in bed and reacts to nothing. According to Anne Radmacher, “Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’” Despite the days that she is “gone”, she still has the spirit to break Jack out of the room. She keeps pushing Jack, little by little, day by day, until Jack is ready to …show more content…
Now that she has returned, she feels that this is the dawn of a new chapter. What she fails to realize is that the media would hound her for her life story. Even the police refer to the media as vultures. Initially she does the smart thing and avoids the media at all cost and stays in the treatment facilities. She takes advantage of the media’s current interest and does an interview for some money for Jack’s future. This ends up backfiring as the media oversteps personal boundaries and causes the mother to breakdown on camera. She tries to act strong and succeeds for the most part. When the reporter was talking about Nick, the mother held it together, but when the reporter started talking about Jack, the mother snapped. She never thought of keeping Jack as a form of isolation torture. She then overdoses on drugs to end it all. Instead, she goes into a coma and wakes up a week later. According to Joyce Carol Oates, “Tragedy always upholds the human spirit because it is an exploration of human nature in terms of its strengths.” Her life has been a tragedy but in her vegetative state, she reflected on this and comes out courageous enough to revisit the room.
Ultimately, the story reflects the nature of human growth. Growth is caused by expanding our knowledge. By being courageous, we are able to venture off and obtain more knowledge. Through suffering, mankind can reflect on our actions and come out stronger than
ENG4U1-06
Lindsay Smith
June 21, 2017
Self Growth
Growth is a natural part of being human. It does not only apply to physical development, but also mental. Room by Emma Donoghue follows the journey of Jack, a five-year-old boy, and his mother. This is a story about them breaking free from one problem and being tossed into another. From Old Nick trapping the mother, to Jack exploring the outside world, Emma Donoghue’s 2010 novel Room divides the book into two parts and uses the characters to show the importance of courage and knowledge for human growth.
With not much to do while being a captive, the characters have nothing to do but develop themselves. Jack is a prime example of growth. Jack was born in the room. He never gets …show more content…
American writer, Joyce Carol Oates, says that “One simply cannot know strengths unless suffering, misfortune, and violence are explored.” This quote reflects the mother like a mirror. Her life has been a tragedy ever since Nick kidnapped her. For 7 years, she has been missing from society. It has been so long that her father thought that she was dead and had a funeral for her. She has been isolated from everything and has caused some serious mental damage. The way that Nick treats the mother does not help her condition dDuring the time that she iswas locked up, he occasionally would hits her. In addition to hitting her, we can infer that he would occasionally rapes her, “when Old Nick creaks Bed” (Donoghue 108). All this abuse takes a toll on her mental health creating days when she is “gone”. On this day, she just stays in bed and reacts to nothing. According to Anne Radmacher, “Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’” Despite the days that she is “gone”, she still has the spirit to break Jack out of the room. She keeps pushing Jack, little by little, day by day, until Jack is ready to …show more content…
Now that she has returned, she feels that this is the dawn of a new chapter. What she fails to realize is that the media would hound her for her life story. Even the police refer to the media as vultures. Initially she does the smart thing and avoids the media at all cost and stays in the treatment facilities. She takes advantage of the media’s current interest and does an interview for some money for Jack’s future. This ends up backfiring as the media oversteps personal boundaries and causes the mother to breakdown on camera. She tries to act strong and succeeds for the most part. When the reporter was talking about Nick, the mother held it together, but when the reporter started talking about Jack, the mother snapped. She never thought of keeping Jack as a form of isolation torture. She then overdoses on drugs to end it all. Instead, she goes into a coma and wakes up a week later. According to Joyce Carol Oates, “Tragedy always upholds the human spirit because it is an exploration of human nature in terms of its strengths.” Her life has been a tragedy but in her vegetative state, she reflected on this and comes out courageous enough to revisit the room.
Ultimately, the story reflects the nature of human growth. Growth is caused by expanding our knowledge. By being courageous, we are able to venture off and obtain more knowledge. Through suffering, mankind can reflect on our actions and come out stronger than