Personal Response to ‘Room’ by Emma Donoghue

Reading has always been part of my life. Reading was enjoyable even from a very young age. My gran would always read me a traditional fairy tale before bed and my mum constantly had a book in her hands. This is a reason why reading has always been pleasurable. Growing up with two brothers meant that the texts in the house were often of a dark nature and these are the texts I continue to enjoy. My first experience of being hooked to a book was ‘Cirque du Freak’ by Darren Shan. Shan created an imaginary world that I found myself lost in. From that point most books I have read featured themes such as; murder, fear, fantasy, adventure and mystery.

I found ‘Room’ by Emma Donoghue an enjoyable but challenging read. The book introduced the reader to themes of fear, communication, family and society. Donoghue used language that allowed the reader to immerse themselves in the main characters ‘Jack’ and ‘Ma’s’ world. I found myself constantly wanting to know what was going to happen next and I was intrigued by the character ‘Old Nick’. The story appealed to me because of its dark themes and context. The story was very realistic as cases of kidnapping happen often in this world which made me even more interesting in Donoghues telling of the story. Donoghue could capture moments which triggered certain emotions. Such as happiness and relief when ‘Jack’ and ‘Ma’ finally escaped room although sadness was also captured as ‘Jack’ did not fully grasp why they had to escape from the room.

‘Room’ was a challenging read at times as you often had to put yourself in ‘Jacks’ mind to understand what he was talking about. Jack often used personification when talking about furniture in the room. His language acquisition was at times very typical of a child his age however he would often discuss subjects and use words not typical of a five-year-old. Donoghue used words like “Scave” (Donoghue,2010) which ‘Jack’ described as a “Word-sandwich” (Donoghue, 2010) which immersed the reader in childlike mannerisms. These ‘Word-sandwiches’ though logical to ‘Jack’ often were not logical to the reader which added a challenging aspect to the book.

I would recommend this book to many of my friends as most of them enjoy stories with a realistic feel to them. The book could be described as a gripping, interesting and intense novel with various twists.

‘Room’ developed my reading skills as it has been a while since I sat down and read a full novel. I found myself often having to read over sentences to make sure I understood the context in which Donoghue was trying to convey. I developed a greater awareness for the importance of grammar after reading ‘Room’ as ‘Jacks’ speech was not always grammatically correct. Through school and college, I understood that fiction could be used in academic study. Fiction helps us to understand and analysis many subjects such as; a person language acquisition, behavioural development and implications of peoples’ actions. ‘Room’ was very effective in helping me to understand language acquisition and development because of the language Donoghue used. Donoghue used words like “Meltedly spoon” (Donoghue, 2010) to show ‘Jacks’ language acquisition and development, that he understood grammatical rules enough to make his own words. Once ‘Jack’ and ‘Ma’ escaped the room Donoghue showed ‘Jacks’ language skills developing and his grammar becoming more correct.

‘Room’ encouraged me to find more novels that have realistic themes. I feel that it important to immerse myself in many fictional texts as this will help me grow as a person.

References:

Dongohue, E. (2010) Room. London: Picador.