Jack's growth is overshadowed by the events in Room. Discuss Jack's character development within the novel with specific reference to narrative voice.
Room, a novel by Emma Donoghue, focuses greatly on the dysfunctional life of Ma and her illegimitate child Jack inside the room that their captor and Ma's rapist, Old Nick, keeps them locked within. The novel is narrated by Jack, the 5 year old bastard son of Ma and Old Nick, however even with his narration, his character development is often overshadowed by the events in the novel. Ma and Jack's life inside the room and their plan to escape overshadow Jack's bravery, which is essential to their escape. After their escape, Ma's overdose on medication and Jack's new life begins to overshadow his development into having a conscience and confidence. And the novel in its entireity tends to overshadow Jack's ability to adapt, particularly immediately after their escape. The novel tends to focus more on the events leading up to their escape and the aftermath of it, rather than the …show more content…
Jack is still only five, but he move forward from the world inside the room at record speed. Inside the room, Jack didn't know what roads were, or houses, or anything that people in the outside world are so accustomed to. Jack's adaptation to these things once he escapes is slow at first, as he doesn't completely understand, for example when Grandma bathes him differently to Ma and he doesn't understand why. By the end of the novel, Jack and Ma reverse roles. Jack becomes the strong one between the two, and the one making decisions, telling her "I'm choosing for the both of us" **** when talking about visiting the room, reflecting her words earlier in the novel when she told him they need to escape. Jack's narrative voice becomes more confident, and more knowledgable, and though he is still only a five year old child, he matures to be able to adapt to
Room, a novel by Emma Donoghue, focuses greatly on the dysfunctional life of Ma and her illegimitate child Jack inside the room that their captor and Ma's rapist, Old Nick, keeps them locked within. The novel is narrated by Jack, the 5 year old bastard son of Ma and Old Nick, however even with his narration, his character development is often overshadowed by the events in the novel. Ma and Jack's life inside the room and their plan to escape overshadow Jack's bravery, which is essential to their escape. After their escape, Ma's overdose on medication and Jack's new life begins to overshadow his development into having a conscience and confidence. And the novel in its entireity tends to overshadow Jack's ability to adapt, particularly immediately after their escape. The novel tends to focus more on the events leading up to their escape and the aftermath of it, rather than the …show more content…
Jack is still only five, but he move forward from the world inside the room at record speed. Inside the room, Jack didn't know what roads were, or houses, or anything that people in the outside world are so accustomed to. Jack's adaptation to these things once he escapes is slow at first, as he doesn't completely understand, for example when Grandma bathes him differently to Ma and he doesn't understand why. By the end of the novel, Jack and Ma reverse roles. Jack becomes the strong one between the two, and the one making decisions, telling her "I'm choosing for the both of us" **** when talking about visiting the room, reflecting her words earlier in the novel when she told him they need to escape. Jack's narrative voice becomes more confident, and more knowledgable, and though he is still only a five year old child, he matures to be able to adapt to