According to Wikipedia, "defamiliarization is the artistic technique of presenting to audiences common things in an unfamiliar or strange way in order to enhance the perception of the familiar." I really liked the examples of defamiliarization Donoghue used throughout Room, because not only did they enhance my perception of the familiar but made me enjoy the book even more.
One of my favorite examples was the scene in which Jack discovers crocs or "spongy shoes":
There's a store that's only shoes outside, bright spongy ones with holes all over them and Grandma lets me try on a pair, I choose yellow. There's no laces or Velcro even, I just put my foot in. They're so light it's like not having any on. We go in and Grandma pays five dollar papers for the shoes, that's the same as twenty quarters, I tell her I love them. (286)
Jack's unfamiliarity with crocs makes me smile, because I remember almost every single kid in my kindergarten class owning a pair except me. However, I didn't feel left out for not having crocs, because I thought they were the ugliest shoes to exist and I still do (sorry if I'm offending any croc lovers.) I'm glad that he loves his new shoes, because they aren't heavy like his velcro shoes and will help him adjust better to wearing shoes after five years of not wearing shoes.
There is also Jack's first experience playing with LEGOS that's also touching to me. He didn't have many toys in Room to play with and he mostly made up his own games like Parrot or Corpse with his own imagination. I loved playing with LEGOS as a kid, so reading about Jack playing around with the pieces brought me back to my childhood. Jack is amazed at how the bits are "magically turned into a car" (281). However, he is most surprised and amazed when Steppa "puts his car on the floor and steps on it, crunch. It's all in pieces" (282). The idea of starting over is very abstract to Jack and that's not only seen here when Steppa breaks the car but also when Ma hatches a plan for them to escape and start over in life. Jack doesn't scream or recoil to the broken LEGOS; he seems to respond pretty well, and that could be a metaphor foreshadowing his success in adapting to a new life away from Ma and Room.
Friday, December 16, 2016
Saturday, December 3, 2016
Room is Shrinking
The dynamic between Ma and Jack has changed from the beginning of the book to the end of Monday's reading (Undying p. 122). There is a side of Ma that emerges which Jack has never seen before, and through his storytelling, we see that he is noticing the changes and doesn't really like it.
Ma starts to reveal more about what's really going and tries to explain the things Jack doesn't quite fully understand like why she hates Old Nick but has to "fake thank" him. Each day is a new challenge for Ma to try to keep Jack in this bubble of Room she's created, but as he's getting older, she's running out of time and answers to his ceaseless questions. Jack even notices that Ma is telling him more than usual when he asks, "How did he make it?" referring to how Old Nick built Room, because he "think[s] she's not going to tell [him] but then she actually does (85).
There are also some changes in Ma's behavior in "Unlying" that allude to some sort of rebellion against Old Nick. Jack wakes up to Ma pounding Floor and she tells him that she needs to hit something and that she would love to break everything, and he explicitly says he doesn't "like her like this" (89). This fire in Ma is not her regular behavior in terms of what Jack has grown up with, and he doesn't like unfamiliarity. Ma also becomes more vulnerable with Jack in the scene on page 92 when she tells him that she's scared, and his response to her fear is very strong, "'You can't be scared.' I'm nearly shouting. 'Bad idea'." The world or Room as he knows it is changing before his very eyes, and he doesn't want that to happen, and this shows when he's uncooperative when Ma is trying to tell him her backstory. Jack hates the idea that Ma had a life before him, a name that wasn't Ma, and people that she knows that he doesn't. There is a thought from Jack that especially stood out to me on page 105, "I'd rather she was Gone for the day than all not-Ma like this." Jack's discomfort with finding out that Ma wants to leave room is blatantly apparent, because he even prefers her to be Gone rather than different. Ma being Gone is a really scary thing for a 5-year-old kid, because he's basically alone for the day and he knows that.
When Ma starts planning the big escape, Jack doesn't want anything to do with it, because he's scared and he also doesn't really want to leave Room. "Selfish" is not the right word for what Ma wants Jack to do, but it feels that way to Jack, even though she is doing this for their best interest. He tells her that maybe he will do the whole plan when he turns six, but Ma knows that time is running out and she pushes him to be her "superhero" (113). This scene reminded me a lot of Grant asking Jefferson to eat some of the stew for Miss Emma's sake, because heroes do things for others. Ma needs Jack to be strong for them, because he is essential to their plan if they want to escape. At the end of the chapter, Ma is very firm with Jack, "'I'm your mother.' Ma's nearly roaring. 'That means sometimes I have to choose for both of us'" (115). Jack hates this and even expresses that he wishes he got boxing gloves so he could be allowed to hit her. Ma is typically more passive and gentle with Jack, so this new side of her that is drawing the line right there reveals her desperation to get out. Things are quickly changing in Room, and the new dynamic between Ma and Jack indicates that he is not fully willing to accept all the changes.
Ma starts to reveal more about what's really going and tries to explain the things Jack doesn't quite fully understand like why she hates Old Nick but has to "fake thank" him. Each day is a new challenge for Ma to try to keep Jack in this bubble of Room she's created, but as he's getting older, she's running out of time and answers to his ceaseless questions. Jack even notices that Ma is telling him more than usual when he asks, "How did he make it?" referring to how Old Nick built Room, because he "think[s] she's not going to tell [him] but then she actually does (85).
There are also some changes in Ma's behavior in "Unlying" that allude to some sort of rebellion against Old Nick. Jack wakes up to Ma pounding Floor and she tells him that she needs to hit something and that she would love to break everything, and he explicitly says he doesn't "like her like this" (89). This fire in Ma is not her regular behavior in terms of what Jack has grown up with, and he doesn't like unfamiliarity. Ma also becomes more vulnerable with Jack in the scene on page 92 when she tells him that she's scared, and his response to her fear is very strong, "'You can't be scared.' I'm nearly shouting. 'Bad idea'." The world or Room as he knows it is changing before his very eyes, and he doesn't want that to happen, and this shows when he's uncooperative when Ma is trying to tell him her backstory. Jack hates the idea that Ma had a life before him, a name that wasn't Ma, and people that she knows that he doesn't. There is a thought from Jack that especially stood out to me on page 105, "I'd rather she was Gone for the day than all not-Ma like this." Jack's discomfort with finding out that Ma wants to leave room is blatantly apparent, because he even prefers her to be Gone rather than different. Ma being Gone is a really scary thing for a 5-year-old kid, because he's basically alone for the day and he knows that.
When Ma starts planning the big escape, Jack doesn't want anything to do with it, because he's scared and he also doesn't really want to leave Room. "Selfish" is not the right word for what Ma wants Jack to do, but it feels that way to Jack, even though she is doing this for their best interest. He tells her that maybe he will do the whole plan when he turns six, but Ma knows that time is running out and she pushes him to be her "superhero" (113). This scene reminded me a lot of Grant asking Jefferson to eat some of the stew for Miss Emma's sake, because heroes do things for others. Ma needs Jack to be strong for them, because he is essential to their plan if they want to escape. At the end of the chapter, Ma is very firm with Jack, "'I'm your mother.' Ma's nearly roaring. 'That means sometimes I have to choose for both of us'" (115). Jack hates this and even expresses that he wishes he got boxing gloves so he could be allowed to hit her. Ma is typically more passive and gentle with Jack, so this new side of her that is drawing the line right there reveals her desperation to get out. Things are quickly changing in Room, and the new dynamic between Ma and Jack indicates that he is not fully willing to accept all the changes.
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