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.
Ma is hardcore even though, as you said, she's not as easy to peg as "hero" from the beginning as Jack it. Because we have Campbell's blueprint and the recurring example of Odysseus as the poster child for what being a hero is about, it's easy to overlook things like resilience and self-sacrifice as heroic qualities (I mean Odysseus is pretty much self-interest all the way). I hadn't considered that Jack's escape was an entrance into the unknown for Ma as well as for Jack but I agree; you get the sense that Jack is Ma's purpose for staying alive and her willingness to essentially throw away her life (who knows what Nick will do if Jack gets away and Ma doesn't) on the slim chance that he can escape to the outside world is very heroic. You can see Ma's protectiveness even after she and Jack escape, during the interview with the captain and when the doctors want to run tests on Jack which Ma refuses. At this point, I'm curious to see how her protectiveness of Jack (that she's been exercising for five years) will come into conflict with the demands of the outside world, where he will probably have to start learning to do things by himself.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Ma is absurdly heroic. In my opinion, she is even more so than Jack. All the work she does to keep Jack safe from Old Nick and to keep Jack happy is so admirable. And even though Jack was the one who went outside, Ma must have been just as afraid as he was, but she had to look brave for the both of them.
ReplyDeleteI definitely saw Ma on her own hero's journey as well, but hers and Jack's are sort of staggered in that hers is already well underway when the book starts. This reminded me of the Odyssey, when the story begins in media res for Odysseus, but Telemachus's journey really doesn't start until the book starts.
ReplyDeleteOn an unrelated note, I think that Ma also fits perfectly into Grant's definition of a hero in A Lesson Before Dying, when Grant describes a hero as someone who is above everyone else and who would do anything for the people he or she loves. We can clearly see that Ma would do anything for Jack, and she sort of rises above Old Nick by playing along with the weird relationship that he has with her in order to protect Jack.
Ma certainly has several heroic aspects to her, and because of this we can put a spin on her character to make her out to be either a hero or a mentor figure. The mentor figure image of Ma comes easily, as simply being able to raise Jack properly--putting limits on his actions (such as watching TV) and doing the best with the limited resources she has--is a great feat considering the position she is in. It would be easy for Ma to be "Gone" everyday, but she realizes that she has a responsibility to raise Jack, and as a result devotes as much time and care to him as she can, despite how frustrating and depressing it can be at times to be constantly reminded of what she is missing out on.
ReplyDeleteMa is a very compelling character, especially in the way she is portrayed from Jack's point of view. In my opinion, Ma's most heroic action is sending Jack out alone. It takes extreme courage and faith in Jack to commit to the plan. Ma knows that once Jack is out in the real world, it is likely that he will find people to bring him to safety. However, she also knows that because Jack is inexperienced in the world, it is likely that he will not know how to find her. She is willing to sacrifice herself if it means Jack can escape room.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with this post! I thought that Ma's heroic journey through the first chapters (until dying) was overarching Jack's journey. I think that Ma's heroism is seen in getting Jack to be able to escape and free herself. Letting Jack go was really difficult for Ma and took a lot of strengh. I think that for the next part of the book we will see more of Jack's heroic journey as he progresses through the unknown of the new world.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree that Ma's journey is just as important and that she is just as heroic as jack. While both of their situations are hugely tragic, Ma has it a lot worse in almost every way which makes her story possibly even more amazing. On top of having to be the responsible person in Room and protecting Jack from Old Nick, she has the added burden of knowing what Outside was like and being taken away from it. I think being confined, knowing there was so much more to the world, would be much more psychologically difficult than not knowing or really anything else that either of them have to go through.
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