The Irish hare

A year of reading Irish Lit

[angelaireland]

“She doesn’t switch on, she doesn’t groan even or roll over, she’s not moving when I pull her. This is the most Gone she’s ever.”

Room (248)

[angelaireland]

“People are locker up in all sorts of ways.”

Room (236)

[angelaireland]

“Great, I’ve got my life back!”

Room (219)

[angelaireland]

“If we stay indoors all the time is like we never did our Great Escape at all”

Room (210)

[angelaireland]

Week 17 blog

Room by Emma Donoghue Pg: 150-210 Words: 462 Summary: After plan A didn’t work Ma convinces jack to try plan B and he agreed to it. The plan had steps to it and Jack had to follow them. Jack was not able to follow through and Old Nick saw him, alive, trying to escape from the back of the truck. Jack ran from old Nick until he found someone to help him and that person called the cops. Jack explains everything to the cops to try and save Ma back in room, but since his vocabulary was not expanded he had difficulties, but after some time they managed to find the shed where Ma was with jacks help describing the location. After saving Ma, they are sent to a rehabilitation facility. Analysis: Everything was new to Jack. He has never been outside and most of this chapter is him describing the new things he found in the rehab facility such as stairs and how he doesn’t know how to “use them” and toilets that flushes on their own. Ma Tells him to to worry about the toilets but Jack is not very found of them and he says “I don’t like clever toilets looking at our butts” referring to the movement sensor that makes the toilet flush on its own. He and Ma are required to wear masks all of the time and there are a lot of new things that makes Jack “miss room”. Ma explains to him several times that they are “free to do what they wanted” but Jack misses his routine and asks if they are ever going back home. Ma snapped when jack asks that and she says “It wasn’t a home, it was a soundproofed cell” but Jack doesn’t understand and she knows he does not mean harm so most of the time she just explains to him what everything is and how things works in outside. Personal Response: This chapter is heartbreaking. At the same time that we see that they are free from old Nick we see the difficulties they go through. Obviously is much better than being within four walls all of the time but to Jack, he doesn’t know anything or anyone but Ma. He comes in contact with so much at once, and at one point I see Ma’s excitement to show him everything but he doesn’t want to. It’s very frustrating for both of them and the more they explore the new world the more Jack misses room and Ma doesn’t even like to remember that experience, because to her it was prison but to Jack it was all he knew, all his life and this “outside” is not his environment. It’s so hard to read and not feel the pain they go through with all coming down on Jack and Ma.

[angelaireland]

“It wasn’t a home, it was a soundproofed cell.”

Room (207)

[angelaireland]

“I don’t know why she would want to read the paper instead of being asleep”

Room (185)

[angelaireland]

“I can tell because she is gray, she is a statue and all naked”

Room (176)

[angelaireland]

“I don’t like clever toilets looking at our butts.”

Room (162)

[angelaireland]

Week 16 Blog

Room by Emma Donoghue Pg: 90-150 Words: 504 Summary: After Old Nick left Ma and Jack without power for days he decided to turn it back on and brought them some food. Ma is afraid he might do it again so she comes up with a plan of scape, she calls it The Great Escape like the book. Jack and Ma start making up the plan and Jack would be the main character of the whole act. She plans on making jack look sick so Old Nick can take him to the hospital and there Jack would y’all to the doctor and tell him about room and how he and Ma were captives of Nick. That plan does not work, but Ma has a plan B and that involves more work. Analysis: Jack is afraid of plan A all the time but he agrees to do it because he is convinced that he will save Ma and be her hero. Plan A was to make him look sick enough to have old nick take him to the hospital, so Ma makes him look sick by putting old food and throwing up close to and placing a heat bag on his head to pretend a ferver l. Old Nick comes into room and Ma starts acting, she convinces him to touch Jack and have him take him to the hospital. Jack stays still following Ma’s instructions but the plan didn’t work. But Ma expected the plan no to work so she came up with a next step. Plan B was to pretend Jack died and have him go outside and bring help. She rolled jack up in rug and play dead, and so he does. Old Nick bought it and was taking Jack to bury him somewhere and when he does Jack escapes. But old Nick saw him and ran after him. Jack saw a man with kids and a dog and ran to him. The man though it was weird the whole situation and called the cops but Old Nick takes the truck and ran away. Personal Response: The plan was amazing and I didn’t think it would work. Through the whole conversation Old Nick has with Ma before he takes Jack I think he will unwrap rug and find out the truth. I wanted to read the whole thing at once. I still do. The whole plan was well thought and executed. When Jack went inside rug and Old Nick picked him up and put him in the truck Jack says he yelled and yelped and at the moment I kept thinking Old Nick was going to find out and kill him for real, but he continues saying that it was only in his head and I’m able to breath again. This whole week was thrilling and impossible to stop reading to know what happens to Jack and if he can get help and save Ma. Jack is able to find help but old Nick runs away. I’m afraid the cops won’t get there on time to save Ma and Old Nick might kill her.

[angelaireland]

“A person comes up behind and picks up the poo in a bag like it’s treasures”

Room(140)

[angelaireland]

I’m the banana! You are the banana!

Room (129)

[angelaireland]

“You’re so good at pretending you’re even tricking yourself.”

Room (116)

[angelaireland]

“Nearly a hundred percent, that’s ninety-nine. Is ninety-nine enough?

Room (93)

[angelaireland]

Blog week 15

Room by Emma Donoghue Page: 30-90 words: 490 Summary: One of the Sundays in the book Room, Jack describes his morning routines like all the other days. He noticed that the marks in his mother’s neck seems to be fading and that Old Nick has not left any new ones the night before. They have beagles for breakfast and Ma’s bad tooth come out. Jack decided to keep it. During the night Old Nick comes and Jack goes to hide inside the wardrobe like every night. Ma doesn’t like when he interacts with Old Nick. Jack seems to never have seen him before. So that night Jack decides to take a look at Old Nick while he is asleep. He goes close to the bed on old Nick’s side and looks at him but Old Nick wakes up. Ma attacked Old Nick for going near her Son and Old Nick decides to punish them. Critical analysis: Old Nick didn’t do anything to Jack when he saw him he just moved up to take a good look. Ma attacked him because she doesn’t like when Old Nick goes near her son. Jack goes back to wardrobe and only watched Ma and Nick. He goes away and Jack goes to apologize. On the next day they wake up and there’s no power. The TV is not working and the food in the fridge starts to go bad and worst of all they have no heating. It’s April and it’s rather cold where they are so they change their routine to more exercise to keep them warm and more games since there’s no TV. Old Nick has not turned the power back on or brought them food. They are in the cold and running out of food. Jack always says Ma is not hurngry when it’s time to eat and she just feeds him instead. Meanwhile they have nothing else to do Ma tells Jack the story of her life and how she got into Room. Personal Response: This part was very sand and heart breaking. Ma was 19 when old Nick abducted her and kept her prisoner for all those years. She even had to give birth to Jack inside of Room. Jack has a hard time believing Ma when she tells him about the outside world so I figured the boy has never been outside and all he has ever known is Room. Old Nick is Jack’s father but Ma still doesn’t like when he tries to get close to him. Old Nick bought jack a gift for his birthday but did not let him get close to Jack in any way. So much that when he tried to look at the boy she attacked him. Old Nick doesn’t seem hostile but he is the one that abducted Ma for his own pleasure wherever he wants so I understand her fear of letting him get close to the boy.

[angelaireland]

“I belong to you!”

Room (76)

[angelaireland]

“I’m not out there, though, me and Ma, we’re the only ones not there. Are we still real?”

Room (71)