The Never Ending Hero's Journey

            The novel Room by Emma Donoghue details the captivating story of Jack and Ma’s escape from capture and adaption to the real world. Both Jack and Ma arguably have multiple hero narratives. Their first heroic feats come from their individual efforts that lead to their escape from Room, and their heroism is also evident in the way they adjust to the alarmingly contrasting outside world.

            Jack and Ma’s first heroic journey is quite obvious. Their call to adventure is the escape from their imprisonment. Without having any previous experience raising kids, Ma raises Jack so that he is ready to undertake the escape. She tells him fairy tales of imprisonment and daring escapes. She replaces the character’s names with Jack so that he identifies with the characters and feels that he can be the rescuer in the stories. Jack leaves Room and navigates the outside world. He has to evade Old Nick and find help in an environment he is entirely unfamiliar.

            In terms of plot, Room could have easily ended here. The escape from Room is a satisfying ending to a novel. Instead, Emma Donoghue chooses to continue the novel with the story of how Jack and Ma integrate into society. It is almost as if she writes a sequel contained within the same novel.

            After their escape, Jack feels as if he has used up all his brave, or his courage. It is evident that this is not the case. Jack has to embark on a new journey to explore the world around him. Each day is a struggle to wrap his mind around the concept that the world is bigger than just Room. Ma has to deal with the fact that the world is not the same as it was when she was kidnapped. She has to adjust to animosity from the media and overcome her depression.

             This series of heroic escapades got me thinking about how this similar concept could apply to the other characters we have read about so far. They do not merely embark on one journey, their lives are made up of a sequence of heroic adventures. This is more obvious in some characters than others. In The Odyssey, Odyssues’ return home is his second heroic journey we know of, his first being his fight in the Trojan War. At the end of As I Lay Dying, the entire Bundren family has to return home and adjust to Anse’s new wife. Cash comes to mind as the most daunting journey; he has to live without the use of one of his legs. This is especially challenging considering carpentry is what he loves to do. I like to imagine that in A Lesson Before Dying, Grant returns to his school with a new approach. His experience with Jefferson changes his mentality so that he battles against the oppression of the segregated schools. If we are to take Jefferson as a Christ figure, his journey could live on through Paul. In the Bible, Paul the Apostle spreads the gospel after Christ’s death, similarly to Paul spreading Jefferson’s story. Paul the Apostle is a bridge between the Jews and the Gentiles, and Paul could be a bridge between the Black and White communities.

            It is reassuring to think that although the novel ends, our heroes continue. Even if we do not ever read about it, there are new journeys awaiting them.