'Writing, if handled correctly... is nothing more than a different name for conversation... The most sincere respect that can be given to the understanding of reader is to halve the question amicably, and leave him something to imagine, in his turn, as well as yourself.' (Laurence Sterne) Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The importance of Room, a 2010 novel written by Emma Donoghue, lies in its authentic yet accessible character study of Jack and his mother, who are held captive and then escape. Because of the careful selection of language and the understandably distorted perspective of the main character, who is a child, readers become immersed in the story as they try to discover their true psychological state. The depiction of being kidnapped, held captive, and ultimately on the run is often sensationalized in the news, while fictional literature has the ability to focus more on the individual, subjective suffering of the victims. "Because Room recreates the private trauma of recent real-life cases, which usually remain hidden from the public, it goes beyond how the media is able to represent such cases, which makes the process of reading Room an experience potentially voyeuristic" (Dinter 55 ). It is a novel that offers more than a narrative about the tragedy or an account of before and after the traumatic event. Rather, its primary focus is the innocent mind of a child, who faces an enormous amount of anguish without having the mental capacity to understand it. The slow process of growing up in difficult circumstances and then being overwhelmed by the outside world offers a new perspective on a situation so particular that it is usually represented by much older characters. Having a child narrator offers a unique opportunity for the entire story to become a story "in the making", a story that is further developed and explored by the audience. “Because child storytellers are unable to control the effects of their surroundings, they are trapped as observers and sometimes as reluctant participants in their situation. Children have a limited perspective, but their voice can transcend these limits” (Farrow, 13) They are simply passive narrators who inform the audience of what happens in the story. Jack is the perfect example of this as a 5 year old boy, born to a mother who was kidnapped and then repeatedly raped and abused of the world is strictly limited to the small room in which both are held against their will and to a television that gives him a tiny view of the outside world. The intrinsic inability due to his young age as well as his protective mechanism to block certain events makes Jack an unreliable yet authentic narrator. In the wardrobe I always try to squeeze my eyes shut and turn off quickly so I don't hear old Nick coming, then I'll be in bed with mum eating a little and everything's OK" ( Donoghue 33). Jack feels that old Nick is hurting his mother while the reader knows that what is really happening is rape. This not only makes us more empathetic and emotionally invested in the story, but we are also asked to focus more on his mother, whose adversities are not directly acknowledged. In the chapter 'Unlying', he states: 'He won't wake up properly. She's here, but not really. He lies in bed with pillows on his head' (Donoghue 74). It is impossible for such a young character to provide a more informative description of his state, yet we, mature readers, can assume that he is having a depressive episode.This is a common occurrence in the book, leading us to always look for traces of information about how he is dealing with the situation. The outward expression of the trauma clearly varies between the two, and Jack's narrative is unable to fathom the full situational context or the emotional repercussions. What is unconventional about this novel is how comfortable the main character seems in such a horrible circumstance. Ma's innocence, youthful ignorance, and deliberate fabrication of stories to protect Jack make the book more accessible to a wider audience. «Physical distance guarantees the narrator a status of unattainability and almost divinity, because the Narrator finds himself in a situation that the Reader will never be able to reach. As a result, the reader cannot offensively question the narrator's depiction of their surroundings and must take parts of the narrative at face value, due to the spatial circumstances. The Room's descriptions are harmful to our imagination and our perception of what Jack and Ma's living conditions are. Every sentence is a stated fact that sometimes needs to be thought about critically keeping in mind that Jack's point of view Jack is the only one we'll ever have. Clarity is offered when the main characters are freed and spend time in a clinic, where they undergo recovery. What readers get is a dialogue between our two main characters with the staff and family, allowing us to get to know them better, but Jack's narration becomes confusing due to unfamiliarity with "the outside." At this point it is her mother, Ma, who becomes the focus of this book, especially as we see her interact with the doctors and her family. “He and Mom talk about things like why he can't sleep, his racing heart and reenactments.” Even though Jack doesn't understand what these terms mean, it's an important clue to us about what could easily be post-traumatic stress disorder. The language becomes more direct when Jack witnesses an interview with his mother, in which she describes their shocking ordeal to a television presenter. For the first time ever, we can adequately fill in all the gaps in the story, which up until that point had only been vague guesses based on fractions of information provided by a child. It is also a time when morality and ethics must be judged by the public; the questions posed by the TV presenter are so bold that we feel directly questioned. The mother is asked if she has ever thought about asking old Nick, the man who kidnapped her, raped her and raped her in every way possible, to take her son away, "to leave him outside a hospital, let's say, so that could be adopted." (Donoghue 33). We come across a dilemma that the child narrator himself is profoundly unaware of, as he profoundly emphasizes to Ma, that he did in fact have to make that choice. This is the pinnacle of Donoghue's writing, because the stakes of a dialogue between the reader and Ma could not be higher. It's not uncommon to question the value of having a main character so young, whose life experience is limited. Jessica Lynn Griffin Farrow admits in her article titled The Struggle to Survive and Thrive: Assessing the Cognitive Complexities of Trauma and Recovery in Emma Donoghue's Room that "Some critics might argue that childish storytelling does readers a disservice." Children are not as attentive to their surroundings, which means the reader is responsible for filling in the blanks left by the child narrator.' This shows that the dilemma is a matter of perspective. One could argue that the story would be much more compelling