Recovery
The major question that keeps coming back to my mind as we read Room is whether Jack will be able to recover from everything and live a normal life afterwards. I didn't expect them to escape Room so quickly. I thought that the whole book would be focused on them escaping Room, but now that they are out a new conflict has arisen. That is the problem of whether Jack and Ma will be able to adjust. I personally do not think that Jack will be able to develop normally. On page 209 Dr. Clay mentions how Jack is still plastic, and so there is still the possibility of him putting the whole Room experience behind him and developing normally. The reason why I don't think Jack will be able to recover is because he is still so attached to Ma, and Ma has kind of raised him in ignorance, so he doesn't understand the actual world.
To address my first point, Jack is still unusually dependent on Ma. He still breastfeeds from her, and he can't stand being separated from her for any amount of time. He still sleeps with her in her bed even though Ma pushes him to sleep in the other bed given to him. He also insists to shower with Ma, because he hates having a door between them. I think that Ma needs to do a better job of separating herself from Jack and teaching him to be more independent. Most normal five year olds at this point in their life have already started daycare, and have begun adjusting to having to leave their parents for part of the day. If Ma doesn't change how she distances herself from Jack I think that Jack will not be able to grow up independently and normally.
Another reason why I do not think that Jack will be able to recover well from living in Room is because of the way that Ma raised him. She kind of brought him up in an imaginary world, that is starkly different from the real world. So, even though Jack is quite outgoing, I think that adjusting to the normal world will be a challenge for him, and I do not know if he will be able to do it. Jack is also very underdeveloped in certain areas. He is super good with vocabulary, but not with arithmetic or other things like making friends. Developing new relationships, learning to be independent, and understanding the real world are going to be Jack's new challenges, and I'm curious to see if he will be able to overcome them.
Interesting post! Personally, I really disagree with the idea that Jack won't ever be able to fully integrate into "normal life", though I do agree that there will be some lasting consequences from his life in Room and you make a really strong case. I think I just disagree about how resilient Jack is and how much life in room has prepared Jack for the outside world. I do think that Jack has a concept of friendship and relationships and we do see him have genuine curiosity and consideration for people in the clinic. He is especially excited to meet Bronwyn because she is another child and Jack has experience with child friends in the form of the cartoon characters he calls his friends. We even see him adjusting to how to interact with others as he learns about manners and other social conventions. A lot of your point is about how attached Jack is to Ma but honestly I think that this is a problem that can be solved. He has plenty of time to ease out of being around her 24/7 and the implications of him being too close to her are definitely better than the implications of her not being close enough, just like the monkeys that Ma was talking about. I have a lot of hope for Jack though I think being optimistic about his future and pessimistic about his future are both realistic. I'm just rooting for Jack and hope he leads a fulfilling life for himself. Cool post!
ReplyDeleteI've thought a lot about Jack and his separation anxiety with Ma. I think it's completely understandable given his circumstances. Of course, it will make it more difficult for him to adjust, but Ma can't just suddenly be leaving him on his own and "forcing" him to be away from her. That would honestly just traumatize him more. But there are ways that with the right professional help, Jack can get over his separation anxiety. Five years old is still pretty young, your brain is no where near done developing so I think that they still have a good opportunity to help him adjust to the real world.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Ma does need to distance herself from Jack more, for both of their sakes. Since Jack cannot grow as an individual, even if his physical condition improves, his mental state will continue to be limited. Ma also needs to distance herself from Jack in order to not have to constantly care for him and rejoin society.
ReplyDeleteI sort of agree that Jack will not be able to develop "normally" given his early circumstances. However, I think he is making pretty quick progress in the real world. His separation anxiety may be a problem, but I believe that Jack will be able to overcome it. I think he's pretty independent for a 5 year old already because when Ma is "gone" he is able to take care of himself and be pretty responsible for a whole day.
ReplyDeleteMa and Jack definitely have some issues with separation. However, I don't think that will fully impair Jack's ability to adjust to the real world and become a normal person over time. Ma can definitely start to work Jack off of breastfeeding (in fact, it seems like she's already doing that just a little bit -- there have been times when she's refused to let Jack have some) since he can eat solids, and she can also help him transition to doing things without her, like letting her shower and sleeping in different beds. Yes, his world has been imaginary, but he's doing an amazing job of figuring out the real world. He's noticeably adjusting really well to the changes and learning a lot about how things work. He's making note of what he can and can't do just like a normal kid, and he changes his actions based on that. He might not understand everything socially, but that's actually pretty normal for a kid. The weird phrases we use (like "see you later, alligator") don't really make a lot of sense if you just think about them for a little bit, and when a kid hears them for the first time they're usually confused. Once they hear it and figure it out, they usually aren't confused again, but it happens for everyone, so Jack's weird social skills might be a little behind, but the process he's going through is completely normal. And of course, once he goes to school his intellectual skills will improve. In short, I think that Jack can and will adjust, even if he's a little behind right now. He'll turn out fine.
ReplyDeleteJack is definitely not a "normal" kid, and it will take time for him to develop the abilities needed to assimilate into normal society. As mentioned, Jack has both physical and social deficiencies. These deficiencies, however, can be dealt with, as there are ways to improve spatial recognition, social interaction, etc.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I believe Jack's recovery will be different from Ma. The entire experience in Room was an extremely traumatic experience from Ma, while it wasn't so much for Jack. There are multiple times in the story where Jack even wants to return home, saying that it is where he feels the most comfortable. Due to this positive view of Room, I don't think Jack will necessarily have to recover from it in the way Ma does.
In general, I think that Jack will be able to adjust to Outside, though he will always be a little different. However, I hadn't fully considered just how attached to Ma he is. It will be hard for him to break away, but I think at some point Ma will start to break away from Jack as he holds her back from experiencing the world again.
ReplyDeleteJack and Ma have been out of Room for only a few days and I think it will get easier for Jack to transition as time goes on. Forcing him to act like a completely "normal" five year old right away probably wouldn't go well, and slowly helping him become more independent seems less traumatic for him. It obviously won't happen overnight, but with the help of all those medical professionals I think Jack will be able to develop into a normal person.
ReplyDeleteEasing out of an inseparable dependence between the Jack and Ma is unimaginable. I can only guess that although we don't see it from Ma's perspective, she is also dependent on Jack the way jack is on her. It's not in the same way of course, but Ma has lived with Jack as her only company for five years, he's really one of the only thing that's kept her sane. Out in the real world Jack is like a token to her to keep her safe like the rotten tooth that Jack kept in his sock. I'm excited to see their relationship will grow, I only hope that it's in a healthy manner.
ReplyDeleteI like your post, your point is interesting. It's kind of funny the way that Donoghue takes the fantasy trope and flips it on its head. I don't know about you, but I read a lot of fantasy series when I was growing up, and the cliche is also that there are all these fantasy stories the main characters have heard of, and they turn out to be true. The reality that they knew is no longer. And while for Jack, it is similar, instead of discovering the supernatural, he learns of what is indeed natural. But in the same way that those fantasy characters learn to adapt and thrive in their fantastical settings, I think Jack has the full potential of acclimating to the outside world.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely at the beginning Jack, understandably, has a hard time adjusting to the Outside world. However, nearer the end of the book I started to have more hope that Jack would find a place in the world. Especially after he adjusts to living with Grandma and Steppa and realizes that he can be independent without Ma I thought be was becoming more comfortable Outside.
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