Skip to main content

Not My Hero



After getting to know more about the characters in Room, I can’t help it but make a connection between Jack and Old Nick. They are completely different people in every way, but they do share one common trait.

In terms of symbolism, Jack is the hope and savior for Ma. Jack gives Ma someone to love and care for during her imprisonment. Ma would have gone insane if it wasn’t for him. For example, Ma was a TV addict before Jack was born. She didn’t have anything to do or anything to look forward to as her life was filled with hopelessness. Only when Jack was born did Ma begin to live again. She started caring about more personal hygiene and staying off of the TV more. In contrast to Jack, Old Nick is the all evil character. This psychopath/sociopath kidnapped Ma when she was 19 and not mention that he had already built Room prior to the kidnapping. He kept her locked up for 7 years, sexually abused her every day, and killed Ma’s first-born.

 There is no doubt that these two characters are polar opposites, but they do share a common trait: they have both built a fantasy world where they are the main hero. I would say that Room is definitely not imaginary for Jack since it is his real world, but from the reader's perspective, it is an imaginary world. As mentioned before, Jack is Ma’s hero in that he gives her hope and happiness. However, the same can’t be said about Old Nick. In his own twisted world, he acts as though he is Ma’s hero. On page 69, Old Nick says, “I don’t think you appreciate how good you’ve got it here” and also on page 72, “You have no idea about the world of today. I mean, where do you think the money’s going keep coming from?” It’s evident that he’s acting as if he provides them everything and that life is so good for them in Room with his support. Honestly, it is all BS from Old Nick. I can’t understand how he could ever think that he is the hero. What’s even the logic in that? But yes, in general, that is the only common trait that Jack and Old Nick share.

Comments

  1. Aidan GarrettApril 20, 2019 at 9:08 PM

    This is really interesting! What I find particularly notable is that Nick tries to portray himself as the hero to Ma while he actually the villain while Jack is actually her hero without even knowing it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. David SunApril 21, 2019 at 11:08 AM

    That's actually a really interesting point. They both see themselves as Ma's hero, but in different ways. Old Nick also takes on a sort of dad-like role: praising himself about what neat work he's done, etc. It's quite sick, but it does make sense.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JoshuaApril 21, 2019 at 2:37 PM

    I'd never thought of that connection before. I'd argue that Jack doesn't really see himself as Ma's hero until she tells him he is as they're going over the plan. It seemed to me like he actually thought of Ma as more of a hero than himself for most of the story at least.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Abraham HanApril 21, 2019 at 9:04 PM

    Interesting point! In some ways, both Jack and Old Nick wants Ma for themselves, and while with Jack it's consensual, with Old Nick it definitely is not. But the underlying obsession for Ma is true for both of them. I think the two of them represent the different kinds of love, the perverted and corrupt, and the naive and innocent. Interesting point once again, good post.

    ReplyDelete
  5. KatMay 9, 2019 at 12:56 PM

    This post brings up a really interesting point that I hadn't considered before. Nick definitely tries to portray himself as a hero to Ma for providing her with basic human essentials, not even mentioning all of the horrible things he puts her through. It makes me wonder if Nick actually thought he was a hero, as disturbing as that is, or if he knows that he is just messing with Ma's brain.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Relationship Between Denver and Sethe

    Throughout the reading of Beloved , I have noticed a trend in the relationship between Sethe and Denver. Denver always seems slightly tentative towards Sethe and we know why. She is scared that her mother might kill her just like she did with Beloved. For instance, on page 206 (according to my version of the book), Denver states, “When she finishes the combing and starts the braiding, I get sleepy. I want to go to sleep but I know If I do I won’t wake up“.   It is disturbing to see the distrust Denver has for her mom, despite no ill intent from Sethe. The animosity between them, however, hasn’t always existed.      There is a point in time where Denver is clueless of Sethe’s past. It’s probable that their relationship might have actually been a normal mother and daughter relationship. The truth comes out after Denver’s incident with the bullies at her school. The effect of the truth impacts Denver so much to the point where she is unable to speak for a few years
8 comments
Read more

The Revenge of the Odyssey

From our class discussion last week, a topic came up that I thought was very interesting. It was that the Odyssey has a series of revenge cycles. Throughout the book, almost every character has wanted to take revenge on someone. The most notable of these is Odysseus’ mass murder of the suitors. They ransacked his house and tried to court his wife, so it makes sense that he would be looking to get back at them. Another example of revenge in the Odyssey is when Odysseus decides to blind Polyphemus after he killed Odysseus’ crew members. This incident set off Poseidon’s rage and he trapped Odysseus on Calypso's island for 7 years. The cycles of revenge continue to the very end of the book when the suitors’ fathers want to murder Odysseus. I think that all of these revenge cycles were set off by one incident: Odysseus blinding Polyphemus. If he had kept his cool and not blinded Polyphemus, then everything would have been fine. He had another chance to save himself and crew, simply
6 comments
Read more

Athena's True Intentions

What is Athena’s true intention? We all know that Athena adores Odysseus and Telemachus. She blesses Odysseus during the invasion of Troy and guides Telemachus on his journey. As phrased by Mr. Mitchell, Athena “digs Odysseus.” However, it is not clear why she is helping them after abandoning Odysseus on Calypso’s island for seven years and allowing the suitors to torment Telemachus for most of his life.             One theory I have is that Athena feels remorse for abandoning Odysseus; after all, she is responsible for him. As consolation for Odysseus, Athena decides to free him and helps mold his son into a hero. If Odysseus had made it home in time, he would have been the one teaching Telemachus the ways of a hero, so perhaps Athena wants to develop Telemachus to make up for lost time due to Odysseus’ absence. There also seems to be an urgency for Telemachus’ development which has to do with his father’s arrival to Ithaca. It could be that Athena plans to have Telemachus ready to
6 comments
Read more