Ma and Jack Adjusting

As we continue reading the chapter After, one of the things that really stands out to me is how for basically the first time in their lives, Ma and Jack do not agree on everything.  As soon as Jack is out of Room, all he wants is to go back to the place where he is comfortable: a small area with Rug and Lamp and Bed and the only other person being Ma. But Ma is basically the opposite.  She is enjoying talking with people and conversing and being in an open area. When she was in the police station, and Officer Oh moves to shut the door, Ma speaks very quickly and says “Don’t shut it.” the thought of being stuck in another enclosed are makes her start to freak out a little.  Ma and Jack are also in conflict about their clothes. Jack loves them and needs them for the comfort and normalcy that he is losing, but only sees them as a reminder of everything that happened.

It’s also really interesting to me to see the ways that both of them are adjusting.  When Ma was taken, she was only 19 during her 20s, she never spent time with people her own age.  As a result, some of her habits are still quite teenagery, such as rolling her eyes, which she does quite often.  Another way that Ma is readjusting is with her language. The whole time that she was in Room, she had to be very careful around Jack and watch what she is saying.  Now that she is around people that are closer to her age, she is back to using common sayings, ones that may not make sense to a five-year-old, such as “I need it like I need a hole in my head.”

Ma is readjusting to a world that she grew up in, but Jack has to adjust to this world that is unlike anything he has ever seen.  Jack is used to a daily schedule and not wasting food and specific clothes. Now that they are out of Room, there is not a need for those things anymore, but Jack isn’t quite ready to change.  Even when he was in Room, he didn’t like change. When Ma tried to rearrange the furniture, Jack couldn’t accept it. But now he doesn’t really have a choice but to accept it, because they are not going back into confinement.  While he may not like the changes at first, he is slowly adjusting. He is sort of getting used to wearing his shoes and getting presents like toys and second lollipops on days that are not Sunday. When his grandma blows him a kiss, he catches it because he thinks that it will make her happy.  He is also practising his manners. Although he may not always get the words right, he is trying and that is what matters.

Dying as Its Own Separate Hero's Journey

This week in class we had the writing prompt about how the chapter Dying in Room could be seen as a hero’s journey in itself.  At first I didn’t really have much to say but after I went back to the handout we got at the beginning of the semester, I realized that this one chapter clearly filled every single one of Joseph Campbell’s basic elements in order.  This is different than the other books we have read, which might have done the same but not in this explicit way. We start off in The Ordinary World, which for Jack is Room which he believes to be the only thing that is real.  There he has the objects that he is familiar with and a regular schedule that he follows every day.  Soon after Jack turns five, he gets The Call to Adventure, and he is pulled away from the ordinary world.  Ma tries to explain to him that Room is not everything and that there is so much more out there to see.  Jack doesn’t want to believe it and Refuses the Call.  Ma tries to reason with him but he doesn’t want to listen.  Jack finally Accepts the Call when he looks out of Skylight and sees a plane and gradually starts to believe what Ma is saying.  Jack then faces his first Test when Ma tells him of her plan to escape.  Jack has his first Ally in the form of Ma being his mentor and guiding him step-by-step.  Although it does not going exactly according to plan, Jack passes the Test and he Enters the Unknown World.  Jack faces more tests in wriggling out of the rug, jumping down, and getting someone to call the police.  Through all of these, he has the Supernatural Aid of Ma’s voice in his head reminding him of the plan and helping him get through the new experience.  He also has a Talisman in the form of Ma’s tooth that he carries with him in his sock for comfort and to remind him that she is with him.  Then, Jack has to face what I saw as The Supreme Ordeal: communicating with the police officers.  First he loses the note, then gets so scared he is incapable of speaking.  When he finally is able to talk, it’s like the police are speaking a different language and communication between them is almost impossible.  Luckily he has another ally in the form of Officer Oh who actually puts in the effort to try to understand him by relating to his love of stories.  There is also more supernatural aid in the GPS satellite images that magically show them where Ma is. Finally there is The Return Home, which Jack sees as the return to Room, but the reader sees that it is also the return to Ma.