Since Jack's entire world is Room, he and Ma have a lot of trouble seeing eye to eye when it comes to Outside and what is real and what isn't. In particular, since Room is Jack's whole world, he is extremely attached to it and takes it very personally when he realizes that Ma does not see it the way he does. For Ma, everything in Room is a reminder of her horrible situation that she doesn't have control over, but Jack is the one aspect of Room that isn't tainted and that Old Nick doesn't have control over. However, Jack cannot make that distinction between himself and the rest of Room; he cannot see himself as separated from it. Room is all he knows and the only thing that he knows he is a part of. Therefore, he gets very upset when Ma calls Room "stinky" and when Ma is so eager to get Outside and leave Room behind:
"'Why don't you like being in Room with me?'
(...) 'I always like being with you.'
'But you said it was tiny and stinky.'
'Oh, Jack.' She says nothing for a minute. 'Yeah, I'd rather be outside, but with you'
'I like it here, with you.'" (85)
Jack can't understand how he is separate from Room, as he is from Ma's perspective. This is further evidenced by the exchange between Ma and Jack at the end of the chapter "Dying," as Jack wants to go to Bed in Room, but Ma says they won't be going back and Jack starts bawling. Jack is deeply upset by the idea of sleeping anywhere other than Bed, as he knows nothing other than Bed. Though most children do tend to get attached to material things, they live in a world where they can establish strong connections and roots with other people. All that Jack has connections with are the things in Room, and therefore taking those things away from him is almost like taking a friend away. While we and Ma can't really see what makes the trash can in Room so special, Jack cannot imagine how anything else could live up to Trash. All he has left is Ma, and he is probably already feeling distant from her, as she seems eager to get away from everything he knows, so his closest relationship even seems to be strained.
Nice post! I was also very intrigued by Jack's intense attachment to the inanimate objects in Room, and this is a good explanation of why he cares so much about them. As we move into the second half of the book, I am curious to see how Jack will learn to cope with the world that he's left behind. Aside from Bad Tooth and Ma, he's lost literally everything that he used to know, and now has to rebuild his life from scratch.
ReplyDeleteWe also see his attachment to these objects around him in the games he plays. He often gives the inanimate objects in room their own voices when he plays different games with them. Jack has shown severe separation anxiety with Ma, and I wonder if he will show similar separation anxiety with some of the objects in Room.
ReplyDeleteIt is very clear that Jack is very attached to the objects in Room. I agree that that giving the objects the form of a proper noun, really emphasizes how isolated he is and just how unaware of everything he is. He thinks that there is only one lamp, only one skylight, only one room, in the entire world, so he is so attached to them because he thinks that there are no others.
ReplyDeleteA good example that shows how attached Jack really is to Room is when Ma is narrating to him their plan of escape. When Ma asks Jack whether he wants to escape Room or not after Jack interrupts with a silly comment, Jack responds that he does want to leave, "only not really." We can see from this just how attached Jack is to Room, as because he has no concept of the outside world, he desires to simply remain in Room with Ma. This is understandable from his, as his favorite moments in life are when he is interacting with Ma, and staying in Room allows him to stay near Ma at all times. The plan to escape, on the other hand, forces Jack to leave Ma's proximity, which is why the plan is so unappealing to him.
ReplyDeleteNice post! I was also intrigued by this aspect of the book, and thought it to be a really great addition to the novel. I feel like it makes sense that Jack has this connection to all the inanimate objects in room because he has no other human contact except for Ma. So having these connections help him feel comfortable and not alone even in his tiny world.
ReplyDeleteJack's use of proper nouns when he describes objects in room is definitely due to the fact that they are the only objects of their type that he has encountered. He has no experience with other similar objects, so he develops a deeper connection. I also think that Jack develops a deep connection with the objects because he has not been around people aside from Ma. People need to develop emotional attachments with other humans to survive, but Jack does not have that. He replaces it by connecting with inanimate objects or in one case, a mouse. The deep level of distress that Jack feels when Ma hits the mouse with the magazine shows how emotionally attached to the mouse Jack was.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it's fascinating how much Jack relies on Room's furnishings to understand his world. Going Outside means leaving all of his "friends" like Bed and Trash and everyone.
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I agree with your analysis of Jack's attachment to the items in his Room. Jack finds himself in such a unique situation, that I have no idea how he will adjust to the outside world. I look forward to figuring that out!
ReplyDeleteA few chapters ago we saw Jack's fear of separation from Ma. He thought it would be the worst form of punishment if Ma and Jack were separated by Old Nick into different Rooms. I was actually suprised that Jack preformed the plan so well, I figured he would be so preoccupied with thinking about Ma and Room, that he would forget the plan and end up getting into trouble. I guess it just took Jack a moment to realize how anxious he was to get back to Room, and then when Ma told them they weren't going back, Jack got emotional because he didn't want to be separated.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that Jack feels a very deep connection to everything in Room. I think the clearest example outside of what you wrote about was how he brings Tooth with him in his sock for the escape. As you say, he cannot see himself separated, and he goes to great lengths to try to bring his home with.
ReplyDelete