When I was reading Room, I was a little skeptical about how the book would end. I really wanted the ending to be satisfying. But, I wanted it to be realistic as well. I was afraid that the book would end with Jack and Ma being perfectly normal and used to the outside world. When I got the the ending, though, I thought Donoghue did very well.
Going back to Room is a great way to end the story. In the structure of Campbell’s Hero’s Journey, there is usually a return to the familiar world after the quest is over. Of course, at the beginning of the book, Room is the normal world for Ma and Jack is Room. However, at this point in the book, it’s also transformed into the unknown. “... and Shelf but nothing on her, and our chairs folded up but they’re all different. Nothing says anything to me. ‘I don’t think this is it,’ I whisper to Ma” (319). The way that the known and unknown switch with each other is really interesting. I suppose that the switching is part of Jack’s and Ma’s journey though. For the rest of their lives, they’ll continue to make the unknown parts of the outside world the known parts of their world.
Going along with the hero’s journey, traveling back to Room is it’s little heroic journey on its own for Jack, and especially for Ma. Ma is being brave throughout the entire seen. She pukes, yet she continues to stay with Jack to see Room. Ma even offers to battle one of her monsters, having the door closer. “Ma does a tiny smile. ‘Do you--?’ She clears her throat. ‘Would you like the door closed for a minute?’” (320). This is just another example of how throughout the entire book, Ma is extremely brave during her journey.
I think that Donoghue’s choice of not depicting Ma and Jack as having solved their problems makes the story even more rich. More realistic and real, which was a theme throughout this book.
I agree--I love the ending of Room. I think it's realistic and touching. It's almost like an adult returning to their childhood home or school. When you've seen the world, you realize how small your home actually is. Good job, Lizzy!
ReplyDeleteI agree, I was a bit skeptical of how Donoghue would make the ending of Room satisfying and realistic, and I think the return to Room was a good way to provide us, Jack, and Ma with closure. I think it was particularly satisfying to see how Jack could finally see Room the way Ma saw it, as just one tiny piece of the world. Furthermore, we can see that Room is not Jack's ordinary world anymore, as he says at one point that "nothing speaks" to him anymore, showing that he can move past Room. Though Jack doesn't really have an option to return fully to normal, he definitely becomes master of two worlds in that he is capable of seeing Room for what it is and able to survive in Outside.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea that the "known" and "unknown" are "switched" for Jack at the end of the novel, with "Room" looking nothing like how he'd remembered it, now that he's been in so many other rooms. The moment where he denies that this dingy shed, seen from the outside, could possibly be room is a crucial moment in terms of his "journey"--his world is now everything *except* Room, a total shift from the opening of the novel.
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