Room is a state of mind
The story of Room is one of escape, of breaking past confinement to reach freedom. By the chapter 'After,' it may seem that we have reached that point, as Ma and Jack have broken out of Room, but still they are not truly free.
One of the first things that constrains Ma and Jack still is their weakened immune systems, due to being totally isolated from the outside world and outside illnesses. This impacts Ma and Jack in slightly different ways. Ma knows and understands the situation and seems to consider more an inconvenience than anything. Jack, on the other hand, has been raised to be pretty much terrified of germs, and early on things the scrape on his knee and his dog-bitten finger are going to be the death of him.
Even though Jack has left Room, he still brings it with him. For example, his vocabulary. Even though Jack is a remarkably literate five-year-old, the outside world still has an impossible array of things he does not have words for, so he tries to describe them in terms of words more familiar to him. For example, a vending machine becomes a Spaceship with candy trapped behind a Keypad. To Ma, he carries even more with him. Habits formed in Room like a strictly structured day, "having some," or always being together cause Ma some frustration as she tries to push ahead to see everything she missed and get her life back.
The most prominent example of how Jack holds Ma back from freedom is Jack's extreme agoraphobia. We see hints of this even in Room, when Jack starts thinking of everything that is Real, and has to calm himself down by counting his teeth. Outside Room, the extreme magnitude of the world is terrifying to Jack, leading him first to want to stay indoors, and then when he goes outside to experience weather for the first time, he has a panic attack and has to breath in a paper bag to calm down.
At this point in the book, if I had to declare something an antagonist, I would undoubtedly point an accusing finger at the Media. The media immediately grabs the story and runs with it (after less than a day, I think). They get facts wrong, they use exaggerated language, they distort and general exploit the story. The second time Ma and Jack go outside, and Jack gets to play in the grass, they are forced back inside by a helicopter. A freaking helicopter. Full of paparazzi and the media. We talked some about possible "supernatural" things that occur in Room in the Hero's Journey paradigm, and I feel like the unshakability and insanely quick arrival times nearly place the Media into that role.
One of the first things that constrains Ma and Jack still is their weakened immune systems, due to being totally isolated from the outside world and outside illnesses. This impacts Ma and Jack in slightly different ways. Ma knows and understands the situation and seems to consider more an inconvenience than anything. Jack, on the other hand, has been raised to be pretty much terrified of germs, and early on things the scrape on his knee and his dog-bitten finger are going to be the death of him.
Even though Jack has left Room, he still brings it with him. For example, his vocabulary. Even though Jack is a remarkably literate five-year-old, the outside world still has an impossible array of things he does not have words for, so he tries to describe them in terms of words more familiar to him. For example, a vending machine becomes a Spaceship with candy trapped behind a Keypad. To Ma, he carries even more with him. Habits formed in Room like a strictly structured day, "having some," or always being together cause Ma some frustration as she tries to push ahead to see everything she missed and get her life back.
The most prominent example of how Jack holds Ma back from freedom is Jack's extreme agoraphobia. We see hints of this even in Room, when Jack starts thinking of everything that is Real, and has to calm himself down by counting his teeth. Outside Room, the extreme magnitude of the world is terrifying to Jack, leading him first to want to stay indoors, and then when he goes outside to experience weather for the first time, he has a panic attack and has to breath in a paper bag to calm down.
At this point in the book, if I had to declare something an antagonist, I would undoubtedly point an accusing finger at the Media. The media immediately grabs the story and runs with it (after less than a day, I think). They get facts wrong, they use exaggerated language, they distort and general exploit the story. The second time Ma and Jack go outside, and Jack gets to play in the grass, they are forced back inside by a helicopter. A freaking helicopter. Full of paparazzi and the media. We talked some about possible "supernatural" things that occur in Room in the Hero's Journey paradigm, and I feel like the unshakability and insanely quick arrival times nearly place the Media into that role.
Nice points. Even after Old Nick seems to have been defeated, he gives them one more trial before the story comes to a close. Old Nick's actions from years ago make it difficult for Ma, and especially Jack, to adjust to a life of freedom.
ReplyDeleteYour title is a really interesting way of describing the effects of Room on Ma and Jack even after they have escaped the actual physical room and I think it is a great way to do so. You also back that idea up with several very good points. Also I totally agree that the media is the villain especially given the interview.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of Room being a state of mind is very cool. Although they have escaped, the mental repercussions of the kidnapping still seem to hold Ma and Jack prisoner to some extent. I really like your point about the media. They seem to add in another layer of captivity by forcing Jack and Ma to stay inside the clinic to avoid the constant paparazzi.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of Room as more than just a physical place, especially for Jack. For him, it was everything he knew, and he sees everything in terms of Room. I think he'll have a hard time breaking away from that.
ReplyDeleteAs for your point about the media in Room, I hate them almost as much as I hate Old Nick. The media is, as Emi said, forcing Ma and Jack to remain 'captive' in the clinic, and they also do that pretty much for their own benefit and enjoyment.
I absolutely agree that the media is portrayed as one of the biggest obstacles to Ma and Jack's freedom in this book. They can't even go outside without being hounded, and it probably seems to Ma that coverage of them will never end. This view is also reinforced by Ma's attempted suicide just after her interview on the news.
ReplyDeleteI like your definition of the media as the ultimate villain. In a way, I think they're just more reverberations of Room (but not Old Nick - he doesn't deserve to have this story centered around him). One thing I've been struggling with is Ma's own relationship with Room - it did so much harm to her, but it also gave her Jack. She's expressed to her father that Jack is part of her identity now, that she wouldn't give him up for anything. Would she want to go back to that time before Room? Maybe it's a ridiculous question to ask, but I feel like me saying "yes" to that question might be an unfair projection.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that the antagonist of the story shifts from Old Nick to the media after they escape. The example I thought of was during Ma's interview on TV, when the interviewer brings up Ma's stillbirth, when explicitly told not to. She says that she thinks it's important to bring up so the audience can get their timeline right, which shows how the media has no shame sensationalizing Ma and Jack's experience for publicity.
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