Roommates

We’ve just started Room and already I can’t imagine being stuck in their situation for more than a couple of hours. Spending every single day crammed in a small room? I would go crazy. This is not the case for Jack, our main narrator and five year old kid. Due to unfortunate circumstances, he has been forced to exist solely within one room for his entire life, and worst of all, he doesn’t even realize it. Then again, thanks to his ignorance, he is capable of turning this entire room into a universe; one filled with “people” and games that makes every day new and interesting. These “people” I’m speaking of are the everyday objects laying around the room.

AAAAAEverything seems to have a personality and this can especially be seen when Jack is addressing an object. He capitalizes the object’s name and addresses it as a he or she. For example, “I can skateboard on Rocker without holding on to her”  (Donoghue, 8). I’ve underlined the portions of importance, but it is clear to see how Jack thinks of these objects as something more. They are not mere tools or material items; they are items he has grown up with and sees as friends in a sort. Either he addresses them as people with jobs (e.g. the Thermostat heats up the air) or as friends to play with: “[...] she pulls Clothes Horse out from beside Door and stands him open and I tell him to be strong. I would love to ride him like when I was a baby but I'm so huge now I might break his back” (16).

AAAAAABy seeing these objects as something besides material goods, Jack is able to cope with an otherwise isolationist environment. His brain comes with entertainment in order to maintain its strength and sanity. Additionally, since Jack has only ever seen this room, it’s much easier for him to seek out these countermeasures and have them be successful in distracting him. Adults in similar situations would be unable to accept their surroundings as easily without some sort of “aide” (i.e. malnutrition, drugs, etc.). The only example I can think of in which an adult uses objects as an escape is Tom Hanks character in Castaway, where the protagonist considers a volleyball to be his best friend.

AAAAAAWhile it’s still difficult for me to wrap my head around the fact that Jack has only seen one room his entire life, I understand his techniques to survive in this situation. Having only one person to talk to would drive anyone insane, and since he doesn’t have much opportunity to meet new people, turning objects into friends isn’t that crazy. I’m curious to see how the mother has been able to adapt for so long without this blissful ignorance, but for now, Jack’s world is depressing enough.

God Leaves the Building

In the chapter “The Bicycle”, a cinema with 400 people inside burned down. Marji was at home and having a talk with God. She was thinking about her favorite revolutionaries when God began to question her dream of becoming a prophet. She refuses to talk about it and tells God to quiet down when she hears her parents talking about the cinema and the following demonstration. Marji decides she wants to be a part of the protest and imagines herself as some of her favorite revolutionaries. At the very moment she starts dressing up as Che Guevara, God leaves and she can’t find him. Undeterred, she marches into her parents room and begs to join the demonstration but is denied. She returns to her room and still cannot find God.
AAAAI think this chapter highlights a very important theme in the novel and that is the clear distinction between politics and religion. What I wanted to point out was the fact that God is with Marji up until the point she wants to demonstrate. The very moment she dresses up as a revolutionary, God leaves. This doesn’t she desires to leave the religion but rather the religion is not a part of the revolution. Yes, they are Islamic fundamentalists are fighting for their religion but the ideals of that religion are not being represented. The order of God is being disrupted by the chaos of man.
AAAABy showing God leaving this scene, it’s marking a transition within Marji from her desire to be a prophet days to a more politically forward and aggressive Marji. Once she makes that step it is hard to go back, as seen when she returns from her parent’s room and can not find God. She still clearly wants God in her life but can’t balance it with her idea of justice. This is especially clear when she starts identifying God with political figures (e.g. Marx). By beginning to associate God with politics, her view of religion might change. It’s still too early to see where this headed but I hypothesize that eventually Marji will be to caught up in social issues to have time to keep in touch with God.