That Special Place

   The Room is such an interesting concept because it can be seen as so many things depending on who's looking at it. To the outside world who had never set foot in Room, it was like a foreign planet inhabited by aliens that needed to be questioned about their way of life.  They will never know what it is like to have so much of their life taken away for someone else's cruel pleasure and we as the reader never truly will either. There is also Ma who had spent seven years there. Ma saw it as a prison that was taking away her life and the only thing from letting Room do that is her motivation and savior Jack. She needed to stay strong and put on a mask of happiness in front of Old Nick to keep Jack safe.

   Lastly we have Jack and to Jack Room was a special place. It's where he found comfort, safety and peace. But for Ma it means the complete opposite. She rarely had the same feelings of security because she was able to experience the outside world. As the novel goes on Jack slowly makes a transition from wanting to return to Room to seeing it as just a small shed. Instead of developing a hatred for Room, Jack was able to say good-bye as if it were a part of his family. It makes his actions during the great escape seem so much more heroic in my opinion because unlike his mother, Jack actually planned on coming back. If I were in Jack's position I don't think I would have been able to go through with Ma's plan in leaving everything I knew for this new world of things that I thought were all just on TV. Does anyone else feel this way or is there something about this situation that would still compel you to do it anyway?