Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Room, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Isolation
Growing Up
Parenting
Voyeurism and the Media
Summary
Analysis
In the morning, Jack notices some marks on Ma’s neck. When Jack points them out, Ma doesn’t respond to him. Jack apologizes for making his jeep fall down in the middle of the night—Ma says that Old Nick thought she was attacking him. Jack laughs, thinking the situation silly, but Ma explains it’s “the opposite of funny.” After TV and a bath, Ma and Jack have Phys Ed class. While Ma prepares lunch, Jack plays with his jeep, steering it around with his hands since the remote doesn’t work anymore. After lunch they read a while, and Jack can tell that Ma is sick of most of the books in Room. After reading some Alice in Wonderland, Jack breastfeeds, and then he and Ma play Scream again. During Scream, Jack can’t stop staring at the marks on Ma’s neck.
Even though Ma tries to continue with her and Jack’s “normal” routine, Jack is realizing more and more that there is a dark underside to their life in Room. Throughout this section of the novel, Jack’s burgeoning curiosity and increasing distrust of Old Nick will pave the way for his and Ma’s realization that they need to find a way out of Room.
Themes
After Scream, Ma and Jack amuse themselves with more games. They play “Keypad,” where Jack enters various numbers into the keypad by Door in hopes of making it open. After Dress-up and measuring things with Ruler, Jack and Ma play cards. When it is 5:01, Jack proclaims that it’s dinner time. After dinner, Ma and Jack watch TV—and Jack is startled when an advertisement for Ma’s painkillers is on. Jack is confused, and tells Ma that Old Nick must “go in TV” for the supplies he brings them. Ma quickly hurries Jack to bed.
Jack noticing the advertisements for the painkillers is yet another turning point in his life in Room. He’s beginning to understand that there is some overlap between what’s on TV and what’s real—and as he investigates that overlap, he will find answers he never imagined.
Themes
Jack asks more questions about the difference between “real” and “TV”—and Ma tries to explain that the things they see on TV are actually “pictures of real things.” Jack is shocked, and asks if Dora is real. Ma tries to explain the difference between TV and cartoons. Jack believes Ma is “tricking” him as she tries to tell him that there is a world outside Room—a world that is not Outer Space. Jack begs Ma to tell him everything, but she says she can’t think of the right words, and will explain the rest tomorrow.
As Jack demands to know the truth about the world, Ma is overwhelmed and struggles with how to properly explain things to Jack. The central struggle of her life, it seems, has been a battle with herself about how much to reveal to Jack—or not reveal—in order to keep his confusion and isolation to a minimum. Being asked to undo the work she’s done to keep Jack safe is a lot, and Ma is not sure how to respond immediately.
Themes
In the morning, Ma is “Gone”—occasionally, she has Gone days where she is not present and stays in bed all day. Jack fixes himself breakfast, gets dressed, and tries to pass the “hundreds” of hours in the day by watching endless programs on TV. He is mesmerized by the idea that TV is “pictures of real things.” He cannot imagine all the things he sees on TV existing in the world, and he “can’t breathe right” suddenly.
Without Ma’s guidance, Jack’s imagination goes wild—and he feels himself panicking as he struggles to make sense of the world without Ma’s guidance.
Themes
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Jack makes himself lunch at lunchtime and measures more things in Room with Ruler. He reads himself all of his books, including Alice in Wonderland. Occasionally, he goes over to Bed and checks on Ma—the marks around her neck have turned purple, and Jack wishes he could kick Old Nick. Jack watches so much TV he starts to feel sick, but he is unable to find anything else to do. He continues pondering which things on TV are actually real—he wishes he could ask Ma, but he knows she won’t respond. After eating some cold canned beans for dinner, Jack puts himself to bed in Wardrobe—but “want[s] some very much.” Even though he’s afraid Old Nick might come, Jack gets into Bed with Ma and lies near her.
Throughout Ma’s “Gone” day, Donoghue allows her readers to see how Jack’s thought process and imagination function without Ma’s input or mediation. Jack is confused and frightened, and seeks emotional closeness with Ma by breastfeeding even though she’s not really psychologically present for the act.
Themes
The next morning, Ma is up and about, and Jack helps her complete chores like flipping Mattress, dusting, and making a grocery list. Jack begs Ma to ask for candy for their Sundaytreat, but Ma doesn’t want Jack to end up with bad teeth like hers. After chores, Jack and Ma read together, and Jack stares at the marks on Ma’s neck wondering if they’ll ever go away. That night, in the middle of the night, Jack wakes up to Ma flicking Lamp on and off again over and over.
Even though Ma has gathered herself up emotionally after her “Gone” day, she still doesn’t broach the subject of things that are “TV” or “real” with Jack. She busies herself with her routine instead, and tries desperately to attract attention by using Lamp—she seems to know that the need to get Jack out of Room is more pressing than ever.
Themes
On Saturday, after a day of cartoons, games, and a diner of mini pizzas, Jack asks for a brand-new story. Ma begins telling Jack a story about a mermaid who is captured by a fisherman. The fisherman brings the mermaid home to his cottage, where he forces her to marry him and have a baby. The mermaid searches each day while the fisherman is out fishing for an escape—and one day, she finds it, and returns to the sea. The story upsets Jack and makes him cry. Ma looks at her watch and sees that it’s nearly 8:30—she hurries Jack into Wardrobe.
When Ma tries to convey her experience with Old Nick through a heavily-disguised fable about a mermaid, Jack still reacts violently and emotionally to the story. Though Jack wants to know more things about the world and experience new stories, he’s still unprepared for how cruel the world can be—even when it’s presented through a veil.
Themes
Old Nick arrives and complains about the pungent smell of food in Room. Ma suggests putting in an extractor fan to help with the stuffiness, but Old Nick berates Ma for her stupidity and says he might as well “stick a flashing neon arrow on the roof.” Old Nick reminds Ma how “good” she and Jack have things in Room, and Ma quickly agrees, thanking Old Nick for taking such good care of her and Jack. Jack nervously counts his teeth. Soon, Lamp shuts off, and Jack counts 97 creaks. Even after everything goes quiet, Jack can’t fall asleep.
Old Nick’s tactic for silencing Ma is to point out “how much” he does for them and “how good” things are in Room. He is trying to gaslight Ma into believing he’s a good person while actively distancing her from reality. Jack’s nervous tooth-counting—an act tied to the desire to remind himself of who he is and establish an identity—seems to reflect those anxieties about what’s real and what isn’t.
Themes
Sunday night, during dinner, Ma reaches into her mouth and pulls out a bite of food—Bad Tooth is stuck in the mush. Ma says she’s relieved to be rid of Bad Tooth. Jack says Ma should put Bad Tooth under her pillow, but Ma says the tooth fairy doesn’t know about Room. Jack begins thinking about what’s outside of Room, and starts wondering if he and Ma are “still real” if they’re the “only ones” not outside. After dinner, when Ma tells Jack a story, Jack asks her if her fairy tales are real. She explains that they’re a “different kind of true.” Jack asks if the Berlin Wall is “true.” Ma says there was a wall, but it’s not there anymore. Jack feels exhausted and falls asleep quickly.
As Ma and Jack begin discussing the nuance of what’s “real” and “true” and what’s false, Jack feels fatigued and even more deeply confused than before. The idea that some things on TV are real—and some things that are “fake” are real in ways beyond the literal—is too much for him to process.
Themes
That night, Jack awakens to the sounds of Ma and Old Nick arguing. Ma is begging for more vitamins and fresh vegetables, but Old Nick complains about money. He explains, in a fit of frustration, that he’s been laid off from his job for six whole months. When Ma asks Old Nick how he’s going to pay the bills, Old Nick speaks roughly to her. Jack, afraid Old Nick is going to hurt Ma again, makes a sound. Old Nick comes over to Wardrobe and peers in through the slats at Jack, asking Ma if she keeps him locked up “all day as well as all night.” Ma insists that Jack is just “shy,” and begs Old Nick to come to bed. Old Nick warns Ma not to forget about where she got Jack. Lamp shuts off, and though Jack tries not to count the creaks tonight, he can’t help it.
Old Nick’s confession to Ma about having lost his job—and having been unemployed for months—is in many ways the last straw in terms of Ma’s determination to get out of Room. Old Nick’s increasing instability is a warning sign to Ma that things may soon get even worse for her and Jack. This passage also strongly hints (as others have before) that Old Nick is Jack’s father.
Themes
Jack wakes in the middle of the night. Curious to see what Old Nick looks like, he steps out of Wardrobe and stands over Old Nick, watching him. Old Nick’s eyes snap open and he calmly greets Jack—but Ma, hearing what’s happening, begins screaming at the top of her lungs for Old Nick to leave Jack alone. Jack races back into Wardrobe. Old Nick calls Ma a “basket case.” Ma reminds Old Nick of a deal they struck long ago—she stays quiet so long as Old Nick leaves Jack alone. Even after Jack hears Door beep, Ma doesn’t come for him—inside Wardrobe, scared and alone, he has trouble falling asleep.
Even though Old Nick is the one with total control over Ma and Jack, this passage makes it clear that he has an abject fear of being discovered—and realizes that she could topple his life to the ground with little more than a well-timed scream while Door is open.
Themes
In the morning, Jack wakes up in Bed with Ma. He apologizes for the night before and asks Ma what Old Nick meant by where Ma “got” Jack. Ma explains that Old Nick thinks Jack “belong[s]” to him. Jack laughs at the idea. Ma tries to turn Lamp on, but nothing happens. Ma looks at Thermostat and realizes that Old Nick has cut the power in Room. It is freezing outside, and as Ma and Jack go about their routine, Jack’s ears, toes, and fingers hurt from the cold. Jack asks Ma if the cold will get worse—Ma assures Jack that it’s nearly April, and the weather is getting warmer.
Jack clearly doesn’t understand that Old Nick is his biological father, and he has no idea how much power Old Nick has over him and Ma. Now that Old Nick has cut the power, however, Jack is getting an introduction to the kind of absolute control Old Nick exercises over his and Ma’s circumstances.
Themes
Ma and Jack try to ignore the cold by playing games as they wait for the power to come back on. They nearly run out of things to do as the hours pass. When it’s time for dinner, Ma prepares all the food that’s most perishable—cheese and broccoli. Ma and Jack sing songs as they get ready for bed, and Jack asks if the power will be back on tomorrow. Ma apologizes to Jack and explains that the power has been cut because Old Nick is angry with Ma for screaming the night before.
Ma feels guilty that the power cut is her fault, but she attempts to be honest with Jack about why things are happening the way they’re happening. Ma focuses so hard on protecting Jack sometimes that she doesn’t realize her actions could actually harm the both of them.
Themes
When Ma and Jack wake up the next morning, the air is even colder. Jack says he’s happy that Old Nick didn’t come in the night, and he wishes aloud that Old Nick would never come back. Ma explains that if Old Nick stayed away forever, they’d have no food. After breakfast, Ma and Jack do lots of Phys Ed to try to warm up, but they both get tired very quickly.
As much as Ma hates to admit it, she needs for things with Old Nick to be civil—otherwise, she and Jack will just suffer more.
Themes
Ma tells Jack that she wants to tell him a story and pulls him into her arms inside Rocker. Ma begins telling Jack a story. She asks him to think about Alice, and how she wasn’t always in Wonderland—Jack remembers how Alice fell down a large hole by accident into the other realm. Ma explains that she is like Alice: she’s “from somewhere else.” Ma tries to tell Jack about her life before Room—she explains she had a mother and father who adopted her, and a brother named Paul, and they all lived in a big house with a hammock in the yard. Jack has a hard time understanding the story as real and focusing, but Ma insists he keep listening.
Jack’s confusion about the nuance of “real” and “fake” in terms of stories—and his limited understanding of the world beyond Room—make the task before Ma a difficult one. Nevertheless, she remains determined to try and educate Jack about the reality of their circumstances in preparation for finding a way to escape Room.
Themes
The more Ma tries to tell Jack about her life outside of Room, the less Jack seems to understand. He asks her if she really “lived in TV one time,” and the frustrated Ma responds that she once lived in the real world—a world of which Room is just one “tiny stinky piece.” Jack accuses Ma of trying to trick him, but Ma promises that she wouldn’t lie to Jack. When he was smaller, he was too little to understand, so she had to simplify things—but now, she says, she is “unlying.” Jack begins listening more intently to Ma, and asks her questions about how Old Nick made Room. Ma ruefully explains that Room is entirely sound-proofed, a fact about which Old Nick loves to boast.
Ma has done a lot of very painful and difficult work over the course of Jack’s life—she has lied to him about the way things really are in hopes of simplifying the world and shielding him from the more difficult truths of their unique existence. Now, even as she tries to explain her motives for lying to Jack and usher in the process of “unlying,” she has a hard time connecting to her son and re-teaching him the ideas he has clung to for years.
Themes
When Ma spots a leaf on top of Skylight later in the afternoon, she helps Jack climb up on Table to get a better look. As Jack looks up at the leaf, he becomes confused and upset and accuses Ma of lying about “Outside.” Jack sits on the floor and plays alone with his jeep while Ma angrily bustles around the kitchen, counting how many rations she and Jack have left. Room grows colder and colder.
This passage demonstrates how Jack’s refusal to believe Ma about the world is quickly becoming a matter of life and death. If he’s unable to go along with what she tells him—and aid her in her hopes of escaping—they may suffer a terrible fate.
Themes
After a dinner of cereal, Ma and Jack get into bed early—there is nothing else for them to do. They play word games until they grow tired. As he gets sleepier, Jack asks some questions about the world outside, and Ma answers them.
This passage shows that, in spite of his reservations, at the end of the day, Ma is the only thing Jack knows—and slowly but surely, he’s growing more and more willing to trust her.
Themes
In the morning, the air in Room is still frigid. Ma is on the floor, banging on the ground. Jack asks Ma what she’s doing, and she tells him she “need[ed] to hit something.” As Ma and Jack share a bagel for breakfast, Jack notices that they can see their breaths. Jack asks Ma if her parents and brother can come visit Room—Ma says she prays they will every night before bed, but admits that her family doesn’t know where Room is. Jack suggests they consult Dora’s map. Ma tells him that Room is “not on any map.”
Ma’s increasing frustration with Old Nick’s show of power turns from anger to resignation to depression very quickly.
Themes
After Phys Ed, Jack spots through Skylight an airplane flying overhead and is excited to see something “real.” There is hardly any food left in Room—for lunch, Ma and Jack are forced to share seven crackers and some rancid cheese. Jack asks Ma if they can go Outside “tomorrow.” Ma explains that they are held prisoner by Old Nick, and since he is the only one who knows the code to Keypad, they cannot leave. Ma begins crying. Jack gets scared and worries aloud that Old Nick will never uncut the power or bring more food. Ma says she’s sure he will.
Even though Ma had hoped to help Jack understand that there is a world outside Room—and make it sound appealing enough that he’d want to help them both escape—in light of their new circumstances, Jack’s optimism and excitement just makes Ma more anxious and upset.
Themes
It is growing dark outside, and Jack is getting hungry again. Ma tells Jack that she needs to share a new story with him—a story about how she came to be in Room. Ma explains that when she was 19, Old Nick “stole” her from a parking lot on her college’s campus after telling her that he needed help with his sick dog. The story confuses Jack, who keeps asking questions about details such as the dog’s name and how many wheels Old Nick’s truck had. Ma begs Jack to focus on what matters as she continues her story. She tells him that Old Nick blindfolded her and drove her away from her college. Jack tells Ma that he wants a different story, but Ma insists on Jack listening to “what happened.”
Ma has been telling Jack a version of her story, coded in fake characters and circumstances, for days now—but when confronted with the real thing, Jack is even more upset and confused than ever. He insists he doesn’t want to hear Ma’s story—but Ma is at the point where she’s refusing, flat-out, to let Jack back away from the truth any longer.
Themes
Ma explains that, at first, she slept 16 hours a day due to the depression she felt at being sequestered in Room. She was sick and scared, and she left the TV on for such long stretches of time that she started to hallucinate. Ma tried to escape Room by attempting to crack Skylight and dig through the floor—but once she got through the cork floor, she realized that Old Nick had lined the walls and ground of Room with chain-link fence.
As Ma recalls the early days of her captivity, Donoghue paints a picture of the total isolation of Room and the sheer misery Ma encountered when she realized that escaping on her own was an impossibility.
Themes
Jack says he wants to “have a mutiny” against Old Nick and hurt him. Ma says hurting Old Nick doesn’t work—one time, she smashed the lid of the toilet tank over his head as he walked in Door, but she didn’t do it hard enough and Old Nick shut Door. Ma pressed a knife to Old Nick’s throat and ordered him to give her the code—but he gave her false numbers, and while she was pressing them into Keypad, he twisted her wrist and broke it, taking the knife back from her. Jack now understands why one of Ma’s wrists always hurts her. He begins to cry, and though he wishes he could say something to Ma, no words will come out.
Jack is horrified to hear the truth about his mother’s painful past inside of Room and scared to think of her pitting herself against Old Nick time and time again and failing over and over.
Themes
Ma explains that she and Jack can’t try to hurt Old Nick again, and then goes quiet. Jack understands why Ma has told him her “terrible story:” she wants them to escape. Jack falls asleep, and when he wakes again in the middle of the night, Lamp has come back on—the power is back.
