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  • Essay / Analysis of The Narration in Room by Emma Donoghue

    By telling the story of many shocking events, Emma Donoghue offers a simple narration from a child's point of view. As a child completely blind to the outside world, Jack's narrative treats Ma's tragic kidnapping as his normal. The bedroom is his whole world, when in reality, it's a place that prevents him from doing so. Throughout the novel, readers can connect with the injured individuals through Jack's lack of understanding and isolation, the fear both individuals face as they experience and escape the room, and how the power of love and perseverance leads them to freedom. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay At the beginning of the novel, rather than focusing on Ma's desperate attempts to escape her current living conditions, the narrative follows the daily domestic life of Ma and Jack. routine. In order to cope with their isolation from the outside world, Ma created a program to pretend that there is some form of normalcy in their lives. Although Jack's childhood was completely different from that of most children his age, he has the same innocent, yet illiterate character from what little he actually knows. This is evident on Jack's fifth birthday when he states, "When I was little I thought like a little child, but now I'm five and I know everything" (Donoghue 17). With Jack's age difference, he is now able to identify that he has matured and expects his mother to continue to teach him new things. It's ironic in the sense that Jack claims to know everything, but is truly unprepared for the harrowing knowledge he has yet to absorb. In the article written by Meera Gupta, she explains how parents should observe any changes in their children's behavior because "certain symptoms such as isolation, fighting or nightmares may be indicators of a need for intervention." . In this case, Mom and Jack's specific intervention is to escape the room. It's crucial that Mom and Jack work together to stay sane and the idea that Jack thinks he knows everything is one of the pure examples of how Old Nick, their captor, has completely isolated them from society. Ma was kidnapped seven years before the novel begins and has been held hostage ever since. Old Nick comes back to the room every night, continually raping Ma, while Jack hides in the wardrobe. One evening, old Nick had mentioned that he was going to cut back on their expenses, including food, water and electricity. It was an important, but frightening, turning point that left Ma with no other option than to introduce Jack to the outside world. However, Jack doesn't understand the difference between truth and lies, so Mom has to come up with an explanation that won't ruin everything she's tried to protect Jack from. She explains to Jack that "stories are a different kind of truth", mentally preparing him for the damning information she is about to give him. For stories to be a different kind of truth means that there is no simple truth; in fact, there can be many truths in many different forms. Mom begins using the books they have read and TV shows they have watched to make Jack more aware of their situation without scaring him. Mom may not be very successful in raising Jack right away, but only over time will he be able to strengthen his understanding of the outside world. Through Jack's narration, readers can feel the constant fear that Mom and Jack are stuck in. By returning to.