Book 3 Listicle

5 Reasons Why Jack from Room is an Excellent Hero

Jack from Room by Emma Donoghue is a very unlikely hero. From the beginning of the book, Jack and his mother; “Ma” (as he refers to her) are trapped in a room. This room that they live in is actually a shack in the backyard of “Old Nick”. He is a man who kidnapped “Ma” when she was 19 years old. She was raped and gave birth to her son, Jack, who is now five years old. Ma decides that five years old is too old to be living in this room. She devises an escape plan to get her and Jack out of the room and get help. The plan couldn’t work without Jack’s amazing bravery and courage for such a young boy.

1. He is as brave as any adult

When Jack is in the truck escaping, he isn’t with his mother anymore. He is all alone (other than Old Nick) and he is only five years old. Most adults couldn’t even have enough courage to perform a stunt like this, but he is as brave as any human. When he gets nervous, Jack tells himself, “Ma’s not here, no time to cry…” (Donoghue 139). He knows, even at a young age, that he can’t quit on the plan or he can never save his mother or himself. He tells himself to be brave, and be strong.

2. He powers through

Jack finally wriggles himself out of the grip of the rug that he is wrapped up in and is starting the escape plan. Even when Jack can’t find the words to say to the man who witnesses Old Nick carrying him away, Jack says, “I can’t talk but I wave it at the somebody man” (Donoghue 142). Jack knows that he has to power through the pain and the misery that he is in to save his Ma and him. This man is triggered by the note, and notices that someone awful is going on here. If Jack hadn’t tried to throw the note, the man could have just thought that it was a temper tantrum. Jack powered through his pain and lack of words to pull through and save the day.

3. He pays attention to detail

In order for Jack to escape the way he did, he had to endure a long and bumpy ride in the back of Old Nick’s truck. Jack was uncomfortable because he was tight within the rug, bouncing around, and bumping up against edges of the truck that caused him to be hurt. However, through all of this, he still managed to help the police officers identify the house based on how many stop signs and turns they made. Jack, when talking to the police officers, says, “’But after the third time stopping, the truck went…All a different way” (Donoghue 148-149). Jack does an amazing job of paying attention to how many times the truck stopped along with when it turned. This allowed for the police officers to get a much better idea as to where “Room” might be. This is an amazing quality of a hero because it allows them to be knowledgeable and help with any details that they need.

4. He sacrificed everything

Even though Jack’s mother came up with the escape plan, Jack had to do all of the work. While it most likely isn’t possible for Ma to come up with a plan for her to leave and come back, Jack still did all of the grunt work. He sacrificed his life and his safe place to help his mother and himself get outside. “We say the plan over and over…” (Donoghue 132), Jack explains. He talks about how his mom gives his this very elaborate plan that is hard to memorize, as it is 9 steps. He is very scared and intimidated. But, as the great hero that he is, he tries his best to remember all the steps, and keeps practicing so he can get it right.

5. He doesn’t make a sound

In this case, heroism is defined by how quiet Jack can be, since he has to pretend to be dead. Playing the silent game for two minutes is hard for most children, but he has to not move or breathe much for a long period of time. Jack’s hero abilities help him to try and stay calm and quiet, even through pain. He knows he can’t make any sounds, “Owwww, down onto something hard. I don’t think I made a sound, I didn’t hear one” (Donoghue 138). Jack has to be silent, even though he is only five years old and is going through pain. I applaude the heroic abilities that Jack exemplifies in Room by Emma Donoghue. He pursues the escape plan that his mother devised to finally escape from their prison, and tries his best to please every person in the process.