Room By Emma Donoghue Summary

In a piece of literature, point of view and perspective of the main characters is critical. In her novel Room, author Emma Donoghue decides to tell the story of a couple trapped inside a “four by four box” through the lens of a five year old boy named Jack. At first, the reader may think that this book would be terrible when hearing this critical piece of information, but once finished the reader is able to see the literary excellence that Emma Donoghue has achieved through this peculiar aspect. The novel Room was published in the year 2010. The novel revolves around the characters of Old Nick, Ma, Jack, and Ma’s family. That is all I will reveal about the main plotline of the story for now. The author Emma Donoghue has written in numerous …show more content…
The perspective of the novel is what reals the narrator in and allows the narrator to be hooked on the message and the plot. The reader is able to effectively notice how the lifestyle of a five year old would be affected if he was held captive for his entire life. Donoghue effectively shows how a five year old with an underdeveloped mind and knowledge might act like through her use of diction. For example, Jack states early in the book, “Today I'm five. I was four last night going to sleep in Wardrobe, but when I wake up in Bed in the dark I'm changed to five, abracadabra. Before that I was three, then two, then one, then zero. ‘Was I minus numbers?’” (Donoghue 1). To show how different the book will be through the perspective of a five year old, Donoghue includes this quote to show how Jack has not fully grasped the meaning of time. Another aspect that shows Jack’s underdeveloped mind is, “"I'll get bigger and bigger and bigger till I turn into a human." ‘Actually, you're a human already,’ says Ma. ‘Human's what we both are.’” (Donoghue 135). Once again, this quote shows how underdeveloped Jack truly is as a five year old. Jack cannot grasp that there are other humans that are real in the world. Being trapped in a box for five years has limited his ability to determine what is real and what is fake. This concept that Jack emphasizes is in fact fake. Through this diction, the reader can see that Jack will continually …show more content…
Some of my favorites include how Jack describes the scene of the room and the toys that he has. The peculiar, simplistic names that he gives each object show how he really is a kid and how he knows no one else in the world except these toys. Another favorite aspect of the book is the ending of the novel. I will not give away too much, but it is an ending that offers closure to the characters. Finally, one of my most favorite parts of the book is when Jack must adapt to a new lifestyle. It is here where the reader truly sees the character development taking place within Jack. This book successfully fulfills something that is very difficult to do, which is telling a story from the mind of an undeveloped five year old. This is an aspect that separates the book from others in the literary world and makes it unique in every single way. Room is not a typical read and it will keep you involved with every literary