For my final post, I discussed the novel Room with my classmate, Annabel (howtoblogliteraturelikeaprofessor.weebly.com ). Here is the video:
Jack, a five-year-old boy who was born and grew up in captivity, narrates the novel Room. Emma Donoghue’s choice to tell the story from his unique perspective has a huge impact on the novel, which I believe is affective. Because Jack has never left Room, nor does he understand the reality of life outside, Room is his world. He speaks fondly of Room and even misses his old life once he is rescued. We can obviously infer that Ma feels very differently about Room because she knows the reality of why she is there. Ma desperately wants to escape, and she periodically goes into a deep depression that Jack describes as “gone”.
In some ways, Jack’s perspective makes the horrifying story seem more bearable. Jack’s innocence and love for his life are touching, especially because we know the truth behind his situation. Yet, it is both depressing and uplifting to hear Jack’s positive outlook on life when he doesn’t understand what is happening to him. His outstanding optimism an naivety can be seen when Jack tells Ma, "Oh, that's all right... I thought he was going to punish us too...Like if there were two Rooms, if he put me in one and you in the other one." (Donoghue 79) Even when living in poor conditions, Jack is able to make the situation seem positive. If Ma were the narrator, the story would be very different. Instead, we would read about a woman tormented emotionally and decaying physically. Ma’s story would be much more depressing and unoriginal which is why the decision to have Jack narrate was a creative and affective choice by Emma Donoghue. |