Jack was the perfect narrator

Today in class, we turned in and shared our creative genre projects. My group did a rewriting of Jack’s escape scene in Room from four new perspectives. I wrote my section from Ma’s perspective, and the other three group members wrote parts for Raja (the dog), Ajeet (the dog’s owner) and Officer Oh. What the project taught me might be obvious, but was simply that Jack is the perfect narrator for this story. I learned to appreciate the narrative style more, as I realize how well it fits the telling of this plot.

I want to first compare the story told through Jack to the story if it were to be told by Ma. I tried to simply translate one scene, and it was very difficult. There is so much more complexity to a character who has suffered through so much like Ma has. It was nearly impossible to keep a reader interested in such a depressing story when it is told through Ma’s eyes. As people have said many times in class, the innocence Jack brings allows him to narrate these difficult passages, because Jack defamiliarizes the horrors the reader faces.

The other important aspect of Jack’s narration is in the style itself. Donoghue spins the story through a mix of dialogue, classic narration and thought. There are times in which Jack’s narrative voice feels like it is disconnected from the 5-year-old which allows us to simply get a picture of the scene around him. By doing this, Donoghue can show us some important images without Jack interfering. There is also a large amount of dialogue in the novel which is crucial. The time that it is most important is during the interview. By simply repeating the words being spoken to the reader, we can make our own judgements on what is being said without having the meanings of the words changed by Jack’s young mind. The final part of Jack’s narration is when Donoghue seems to tell us his thoughts. There are many times in which we are shown Jack’s reaction to things by having his thoughts narrated to us. This gives us a deeper connection with our narrator, and a deeper understanding of what he is going through.

Overall, I believe Donoghue chose the perfect candidate to tell this story. She also crafted the perfect style for her narrator which improved the novel greatly. After trying to change the point of view and style in my creative project, I gained a lot of respect for her choices.

What were Macon's motives in the robbery?

Chapter 1 of Angry Black White Boy ends in a very peculiar way. The robbery scene is when we first see Macon act rather than be all talk, but it still seems a little odd. I think the main problem I had with this robbery was how much he managed to make it about himself and his personal life rather than his cause. He might tell someone that he only robbed the men because he was appalled by their racist remarks, but as readers, we see his thought process.

I was a little uncomfortable because of how he related one of the cab riders to a high school bully. “The one on the left, Mr. Eighty-fifth and Fifth, had the same rock-solid Roman nose as a guy Macon had known in high school, a senior when Macon was a freshman. Scott Cartwright was probably president of his fraternity; he’d been lacrosse captain back then. Out of the blue one day, he had stopped Macon in the hall outside the cafeteria and poked a thick finger into Macon’s bird-chest.” Obviously, Macon has a lot of resentment built up towards his hold classmates and by comparing these two people, it seems that possibly that hate was what made Macon rob this man. It simply makes the who situation a shade of grey. Why is Macon really doing this?

Another interesting part of this cab section is when he first picks up the two men. “The vapors of entitlement that steamed from these yuppies irked him; they were so fucking sure the cab would stop for them. They’d never been snubbed in their lives, sized up and passed by because the driver thought they wouldn’t pay or that they wanted to be taken somewhere ghetto. Back home, Macon had flagged cabs while Lajuan and Aura stood discreetly down the block, pretending not to be with him, approaching only when Macon had the door open.” In this quote, we see how Macon is aware of how entitled these white businessmen are, but we also see how Macon has used his same privilege in the past. I found this passage to be important because it sets a precedent for Macon using his privilege, but at the same time hating others who have the same privilege.

The whole robbing scene is filled with possible problematic elements. We never truly know what Macon’s motives are. He even says “And your phone, Cartwright,” calling the man the name of his high school bully. We will have to see if Macon figures out what he is fighting for.

Success

As a class, we have just recently read a couple of, in my opinion, very important chapters of “A Lesson Before Dying”. I feel that the latest chapters (21-23) have contained the times where Grant has made the most progress. I finally think that he truly cares about Jefferson, and Jefferson sees that as well, as is seen in their growing connection. I am not 100% sure yet about who is the hero in “A Lesson Before Dying”, but these recent scenes have helped me to think that Grant could make a great hero. His journey to the jail cell each day has finally started to make changes in his mentality.

             The first breakthrough occurs when Grant goes to visit Jefferson. At first it didn’t seem like anything special and, as usual, Grant was not too excited about having to do this “chore”. Yet for some reason, Jefferson was willing to talk! He tells Grant that he wants a lot of ice cream for his last meal. Although this really didn’t seem too important, it triggered something in Grant who then decided that he would go out and get a radio for Jefferson to listen to. This is a pretty generous act by Grant which I saw as a big step towards the heroic role Grant will probably take.

            The following day, when Grant brings the radio, it is a success. Seeing Jefferson have some enjoyment in his life really made me happy as a reader, and it made Grant happy too. The only issue was that his aunt does not approve of the radio, yet in my opinion I don’t think it really matters because the radio helped Grant get closer to Jefferson. The rest of the chapter was more and more success. Grant gives Jefferson some pecans and Jefferson even asks Grant to thank his students for the nuts! Grant was really happy after this breakthrough, and things are looking up for Jefferson becoming the man his family wants him to be.

            Reading these last few chapters, there were a lot of upbeat moments, and it felt weird in the context of Jefferson’s execution. I think that I was just happy that Grant was achieving his goal and possibly becoming the hero of the book. We just have to see if there is continued success.

Ma, the Hero Room Needed

Having recently read the chapter “Dying”, we are all aware of Jack’s heroic journey, but I believe that Ma’s heroic journey is just as compelling of a story. Since Jack is our narrator, we automatically see Ma as a strong and important character. Yet, much of what is heroic about Ma are in her actions, things that Jack does not completely understand.

The best example is when Ma tells her own mini hero’s journey about the time she tried to fight Nick. As she tells Jack this story, we see the awe and respect Jack has for his mother. Even though her escape failed and left her wrist hurt, we see that there is still admiration from Jack that she even tried. He hears the story, and even though he doesn’t really know what the world outside is like, Jack knows that if his Ma wants it so bad so should he.

There are many other parallels to a hero’s journey, but in the most recent chapter, I think the biggest parallel is the idea of the unknown. When Jack ventures into the new world alone, he must leave Ma behind to wonder what is happening to the most important thing in her life. I know that I could never imagine what it would be like to feel the fear that Ma would for herself and for Jack. By sending Jack out into the world, Ma let her fate be unknown, and it would take real courage to stay calm in Room until Jack comes to save her.

Along with the fear of the unknown, by sending away Jack, Ma put herself if grave danger. It seems as if the plan was meant mainly to save Jack, and that Ma was heroic enough to possibly sacrifice herself if Nick came back to kill her. Overall, all her actions around Jack simply compound the fact that she is a hero simply for staying alive as long as she has. Although Jack is the character who gets to go on a physical journey, I believe that Ma is just as much of a hero. And although Jack is unable to understand the scope of his mother’s love for him, we are able to see it in her heroic actions.