Room -Glogster

             Jack’s character from the novel Room by Emma Donoghue is curious, imaginative, creative, and open. “Vegetables are all real but ice cream is TV. I wish it was a real thing to. Is plant a raw thing?” (Donoghue 20) shows that jack is curious to know about the things he sees on TV and the objects in Room.  Jack has been building “Eggsnake” since he was three, Liv[ing] in Under Bed all coiled up keeping us safe.”  (Donoghue 21) Jack’s imagination of an “Eggsnake” keeping him and Ma safe is not realistic because snakes don’t keep people safe, instead they can be dangerous which Jack is completely unaware of as the snake is fake. Also Jack is very creative at the age of five, he builds an instrument called Twang “that’s a cereal box I collaged with all different colored legs and shoes and coats and heads from the old catalog, then I stretched three rubber bands across the middle.” (Donoghue 16)  Jack’s instrument Twang in reality is a guitar which he constructs using his creativity. “Then the wonderfulest thing… I watch his hands, his whiskers, his tail all curly. He’s alive, he’s the biggest alive thing I ever saw, millions of times bigger than the ants or Spider.”  (Donoghue 31) This quote allows the reader to understand Jack’s openness to everything he sees, showing that he isn’t afraid of the things that many of us are of.

         

Through the first half of the novel, one can tell that Jack is precocious just from the kind of information that Ma reveals and entrusts him to. Ma gives Jack a very mature explanation of why she has a bad wrist and why they can’t attempt to hurt Old Nick in an effort to escape. She is very blunt and doesn’t remove some of the unpleasant parts of the story to spare Jack the worry. “And number two, if I ever tried a stunt like that again, he’d go away and I’d get hungrier and hungrier till I died.” (Donoghue 97) Hearing Ma’s story makes Jack curious of everything that happens and why it happens.

           

A text to text connection I made is by relating how Jack felt to the song “How” by Cranberries. The line “how you said you never would leave me alone, oh” relates to how Jack cannot live without his mother being there for him and that he forever need his mother to be with him. There is a time in the book when Jack is at Grandma’s house without Ma, while Ma is at the clinic recovering. Jack during this time feels alone and doesn’t want to do anything without Ma; all he wants is to be with her. Ma always told Jack that she would be in his head whenever he needed he, but when jack can’t hear Ma in his head, he yells “ Ma Ma Ma “ inside his head knowing that he is alone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_o9BMdMbqk

         

“But you said a birthday cake; it’s not a birthday cake if there’s no five candles on fire.” (Donoghue 23) On Jack’s fifth birthday, his mother made a cake for him, but placed five chocolates instead of five candles, but Jack wanted candles to make it a “real” birthday. Jack screamed and had a fit over this trivial issue. When I was five, I did similar things. Whenever I wanted something, I wanted it. Period. If I didn’t get it, I wouldn’t talk to my parents, throw fits and I would cry during the nights. Jack doesn’t realize that to get Sunday treats, his mother has to allow Old Nick to rape her multiple times a week. At the age of five, even I could not understand the reason behind why my parents couldn’t get the things I desired. For my parents it was difficult because they had arrived from India not too long ago before I was born and didn’t have enough income to fulfill my needs. Ma and jack’s living conditions are much harsher than mine were when I was young, but a five year olds mind cannot be changed.

         

          The image of Room symbolizes the entire world for Jack where he was born and grew up; it’s where he lives with his Ma as they learn, read, eat, sleep and play. Room is the place where Ma and Jack have been kept confined and isolated in. To Jack, Room is unforgettable as he moves on life, whereas for Ma she doesn’t want to have to remember it, think out it, talk about it or even see it again, But when Jack asks about Room Ma has to tell him about it reminding her of the past.

Room Blog

"My head's going to burst from all the new things I have to believe."(pg 88)

Jack who is five has never been out of Room, the only things that he considers are real are the objects in Room; an eleven by eleven room. Room is home for Jack, but to Ma, it's the prison where she's been kept for seven long years ever since she was nineteen. In Room there is a television but Ma does not allow Jack to watch for a long period of time, she also mutes the TV during commercials because she thinks that it destroys the brain making Jack want all the things seen on TV. Everything that Jack sees on TV he believes that it isn't real, unless it's things that they have in Room, for example vitamins. As far as people are concerned they aren't real to Jack, except for him, Ma, and Old Nick. When people like Jack are held kept in a room, they are unaware of all the things going on in the world, these people have no idea of what the outside world is really like and are unaware of the good and bad things about the world. However, when Ma tells Jack about Outside, it is hard for him to believe what his mother is saying since he has been held captive in an isolated room with Ma. For Jack it is necessary to see and touch everything he has missed out on and explore the outside. It isn’t easy to adjust to new changes especially if you have been held captive. For Jack it was adjusting to lights, being able to walk without colliding into objects, and being able to touch things. The excitement of knowing that there’s more to the world then themselves is uncontrollable.

This quote also helps the reader whether they are parents or may want to become parents in the future to give freedom to their kids and let them figure out what the goes on in the world and realize that everything and everyone isn’t good or bad. Parents need to be less protective while showing a little strictness towards their children and help them make the right decisions. Also the reader would somewhat feel pity for Jack knowing what he’s been through while at the same time, feeling proud for his bravery that he has showed.     

Public Display of Disaffection

In the article, “Public Display of Disaffection” by Anne Kingston with Alex Ballingall, the journalists portray Kevin Newman’s and Pamela Eyring’s thoughts of the usage of “electronic gadgetry” in public places. Firstly, we are losing our one-on-one people skills and the ability to engage in uninterrupted, focused conversation. For example, we “send a thank-you note via email,” which is one-on-one but is not face to face and is impolite. During emailing a person may get interrupted by other emails and distracted while sending the thank-you email. Even though a thank-you is a thank-you and is appreciated, saying thank-you to someone in person is polite and generous. Receiving the thank-you in person would mean a lot to the receiver and would make the person feel good about themselves. Doing a favor for someone and not getting a thank-you is disrespectful and rude. I agree that being able to communicate with someone face to face presents fresh social conundrums and is more appreciated. Furthermore, the usage of cell phones is distracting during a conversation with someone else, dinner, a conference, theaters, and etc. The glow of screens, loud cell phone conversations in elevators, narcissistic multi-taskers holding up line ups and dinner companions checking messages is “fostering self-importance.” These cell phone users do this “as if waiting perform an organ transplant” which they assume is so important that it can’t wait. People talking loud on their cell phones is like hearing and knowing one end of the conversation, its distracting because “we’re trying to predict what the [other] person is saying.” Also, talking into a cell phone while a cashier is trying to talk to you is not good manners and by doing this you are also holding up the lineup. Customers that are waiting behind get annoyed and tend to give the cell phone user “the stare” and other disgusting looks. I completely that using cell phones in public places mentioned above are rude, distracting and the person doing that is unaware of what they are doing is wrong “cell phone-related rudeness is so bad that it’s treated like a disease requiring awareness.” Lastly, the younger you are, the more tolerant you will be about electronic distraction. A recent survey says that “10 per cent of people under the age of 25 didn’t see anything wrong with texting during sex.” Sex isn’t supposed to be interrupted by text messages; in fact it should not even be interrupted in the first place. Sex is about making love not replying to text messages or phone calls. Many people would say that cell phones and other electronic devices are a distraction in general. I agree with the survey conducted by the consumer electronic site Retrevo that younger people are more tolerant about electronic distractions during sex and other activities. In conclusion, cell phones distractions are not appreciated by anyone and people are fed up of hearing cell phones go off in public.

            

                 I believe that cell phones are acceptable during emergencies no matter what the public location is, the emergency could be anything such as a family member being ill or someone fighting between life and death. Cell phones should also be acceptable if it has anything to do with a person’s safety. As long as the cell phone is on a low vibrate mode and is put away it should be acceptable. Cell phones are unacceptable when they are being used in restaurants, conferences, theatres, and meetings. No one wants to be interrupted in these places, it not only distracts you but, it also distracts other around you. I don’t think that school, movie theatres, and other public places should consider bans or cell phone jammers like Europe because cell phones are important to have nearby in case of any emergency. However, in schools the usage of cell phones during class should not be permitted “Students who have stopped using their cell phone in class reported, on average, a 10 per cent increase in their grade point average,” but should be allowed to use otherwise such as during breaks.

Superpower

               If there was one superpower that I would absolutely want, it would be the ability to fly. The feeling of flying freely through white fluffy clouds with the wind blowing through my roots and following through the rest of my hair, like a bird being freed from a cage. With the ability to fly I would never need a driver’s license and neither would I have go write the learner’s test and take the road test. No time would be wasted at intersections waiting for traffic lights to change and also there would no waiting in traffic. I wouldn’t have to deal with other road users and their poor driving skill and be delayed in traffic. Since flying doesn’t require wearing a seatbelt, I wouldn’t get fined for not wearing one. For not following the simplest rules of the road, you could get fined. For example, the usage of a cell phone while driving, a fine that is worth $167.00. If I could fly there would be no speed limits, no stopping at signs and wait for pedestrians to cross the road. Best of all, I would not need to buy a car, pay for vehicle maintenance and pay for gas which is rising in its prices. The only maintenance required might be washing the cape (laugh). Not having a car would save me money because there would be no need for automotive insurance. When it comes to traveling, no more buying airline tickets, putting up with flight delays, and lengthy layovers. I could go to any place I desire to. Flying not only saves me money it also prevents me from increasing my carbon and ecological footprints. Although my flying superpower benefits me, it could also be beneficial with saving lives of others. For example, if a child is stuck in a house that is caught on fire, I could give the child a new life by flying him or her out of the burning house. Ultimately, the power to fly would be adventurous and entertaining due to the tricks that I could do in the air.