Although, as noted in previous class discussion, most people view Jack's actions as basically heroic in nature, I would argue against this notion. We see from the start the opposing views of Room as we compare Jack to Ma, since Ma has lived outside and despises her situation as she is aware of the outside world. In contrast, Jack was born in Room and thus has never experienced the outside world, obtaining information only through the use of a television set, such that he truly seeks to continue his existence in Room. Even to the last minute before completing Ma's plan of escape, Jack resists through complaints and, although I believe he truly knows that his existence must change, he is selfish in that he bases his thinking only on the short-term events. Of course, Jack is only a five-year old child who cannot distinguish what is truly necessary in his life from what he desires, thus it is impossible to view this protagonist as a true hero since he only follows the orders he obtains from Ma. In a way, he does show bravery in completing the plot, yet, what other options does he have? Jack can only agree and carry out the actions which he is told to do by his mother.
Obviously, a hero must be not only brave, but also needs to possess a cunning and intelligent quality that leads them across their obstacle in order to complete their project. Even when Jack is interviewed by the police, he finds great difficulty
in speaking, ergo we can conclude that he lacks the cunning quality of a
hero. Jack, although as previously mentioned brave, is merely an essential pawn that is used for escape in Ma's method of flight from the confinement of Room, thus Ma uses intelligence to overcome Old Nick's strength. Basically, Ma finds a way to combine Jack's potential with her intelligence in order to devise an escape from Room.
I can see how Jack can be seen as just a pawn in Ma's plan, but I disagree in the idea that Jack is not a hero. Yes, during the escape plan, he is just carrying out Ma's escape plan, but he also thinks for himself. When he is unable to get out of rug, he keeps trying, keeping the final goal in mind. When Old Nick realizes Jack is alive, Jack does the sensible thing and runs for his life and tries to find the nearest person for help. Although Jack is following Ma's, Ma is not controlling him on his journey, that is entirely Jack's doing, and he is successful.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Jack is successful but I think what Quintin is trying to get at here is that in this whole situation, it is Ma who comes out as the hero. Sure, it's Jack who did the hard work, but without Ma's directions, her confidence in him, her "fake-crying", and her convincing Old Nick to bury him [in a galaxy] far far away, are all things that were essential for the plan to work out. So in his own small way, he's a hero, but it is Ma who truly came out victorious in this. It might seem a little unfair, but welcome to the Outside. Barack Obama didn't kill Osama bin Laden but it was him that ordered that to happen, which is why he got the Nobel Peace Prize (ironic huh?).
DeleteI would agree in that Jack is brave and could therefore be considered heroic, yet he does not truly devise his plans by himself and relies solely on the decisions of Ma. Although he changes later in the novel, perhaps for the worse, at this point he is heroic in that he executes the action
ReplyDeleteThe Great Escape seems to me like one more instance where it doesn't quite make sense to speak of Ma and Jack as separate entities--they really are in a kind of "mind-meld" here, as Jack describes them as sharing a mind, or being a "me-and-Ma" rather than an individual. It's an act of crazy courage for Jack to play dead and escape from Rug and go seek help in a world he's never even seen before, and I'm on the edge of my seat reading his escape narrative. But it's also a staggering act of courage for Ma to send him on this mission: don't think for a second that it's in any way easy for a mother, *especially* one in her position, to send Jack instead of herself, as if she's making him do the "hard stuff." I can't even imagine what "the longest hour of her life" (as she puts it) must have been like, waiting back in Room to find out what would happen. So many things could go wrong; she might never see Jack again. She's completely honest when she says that she would be the one to do it if she could, but she can't. It has to be Jack. This takes courage for him and for her, and I have no desire to parse which of them is "more heroic." They are a kind of composite hero, two in one, even moreso than Athena and Odysseus.
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