Room

Jack wakes up the next morning having peed the small bed he shares with Ma. He alerts Ma to the pee. Ma tells him it is no problem, but Jack worries because his shirt has pee on it, and the rest of his clothes are in Room.

Ma suggests they bathe. Jack is confused because they normally bathe after breakfast. Ma says they have no schedule now. Ma throws away Jack’s shirt and assures him that he will get new clothes. Jack is at first scared to join Ma in the shower, but he is more afraid when she gets in without him. Ma enjoys her first shower in seven years.

Ma puts Jack in an adult-sized robe, rolling and tying it so it fits him. Ma throws away Jack’s old socks. Jack digs the socks out of the garbage to retrieve Ma’s tooth. Jack wants to nurse, but Ma keeps telling him he can have some later. Ma wants to go outside and explore, but Jack believed they already were in the Outside. He worries about Old Nick showing up, but Ma reassures Jack that he cannot find them here.

They go downstairs for breakfast. Jack has never seen stairs, so he scoots on his bottom to get down. In the cafeteria, Jack is overwhelmed. The people smell funny, and there are so many of them. Some congratulate Ma and Jack, others compliment Jack’s heroism. Jack is scared and stays quiet. It is Easter, so Jack gets chocolate eggs with breakfast. Noreen makes several plates of food for Jack, so he can try everything. Dr. Clay suggests Ma take Jack back to the room to eat since he is overwhelmed. After breakfast, Jack nurses from Ma, and they nap.

Dr. Clay and Ma talk about Ma’s trauma and insomnia. He gives Ma some medications and agrees to let her manage them herself. Dr. Clay gives Jack some sunglasses for when he goes outside. He also gives Jack vaccinations. Dr. Clay says Jack is “like a newborn in many ways” and may have trouble with things like social adjustments, sensory processing, and spatial perception (182). Dr. Clay met with other specialists to discuss Jack. They want to first make him feel safe before bringing in new people.

A cop delivers word that they have caught Old Nick. Ma shows Old Nick’s mugshots to Jack and says they are safe now. Dr. Clay asks Jack if Old Nick ever hurt him. Ma is offended because she took good care of Jack. Jack recalls how Old Nick dropped him on the street. Dr. Clay says they need to confirm Jack’s DNA, not because he suspects anyone else could be Jack’s father, but because they need all the evidence against Old Nick that they can gather.

At lunchtime, Jack is still full from breakfast, so he takes a nap. Ma reads the paper instead of joining him. Jack wonders why she does not want to sleep with him. When Jack wakes up later, Ma soothes him, telling him it is okay. Noreen delivers new clothes for them. Jack loves his new astronaut pajamas, but he hates his tennis shoes.

Ma’s mom arrives for an emotional reunion. Jack is shy around Grandma, but she is delighted to meet him. Grandma introduces the man with her as Leo, then asks Leo to excuse them. Leo is Grandma’s new husband. Grandma and Ma’s dad divorced after Ma disappeared. Grandpa believed Ma died, but Grandma would not accept that. Ma’s dad moved back to Australia, but he is flying back now that Ma is alive. Paul, Ma’s brother, is married now, too, and has a little girl.

While eating dinner in their room, Jack watches as the sun sets out the window. He loves the window because there is always something new to see. That night, Jack struggles to sleep. He misses his things in Room. He does not understand why they cannot go back to Room to sleep. He wakes Ma to ask how long they will be at the clinic, but Ma does not know. Jack asks if they are locked in, and Ma sharply replies that they are not. Jack wonders why they have to stay if they are not locked in.

The next day, Jack experiences new things like eating in the dining hall. He practices his manners when interacting with staff. He is still jumpy with loud and sudden noises. He carries his shoes because he does not like wearing them.

Dr. Clay and Ma discuss Ma’s journals and feelings as she processes her trauma. Jack talks to Dr. Clay too. Jack plays with Play-Doh while talking about Room. Dr. Clay is surprised Jack never had Play-Doh for Sundaytreat, but Ma gets defensive, explaining that it dries out and they needed things to last. After Dr. Clay leaves, Jack nurses from Ma and they nap.

When they wake up, Jack’s nose is dripping. He has caught his first cold. Jack worries he is going to die, but Ma reassures him that he will get over it. They eat a healthy lunch.

Ma convinces Jack to go outside, but he is overwhelmed by how loud the wind is and how bright the sun is. Dr. Clay and Noreen give Jack a bag to breathe into, and they go back inside. Grandma brings them books from when Ma and Uncle Paul were kids. Jack cannot believe Ma was ever a kid. Grandma asks Ma to tell her what happened in the room. Ma refuses because she is trying to forget.

Ma and Jack meet with their lawyer, Morris. Morris wants to sue the media for publishing old photos of Ma. He delivers a bag full of cards and presents that have been sent from strangers around the country. Jack opens the presents and Ma reads him some of the cards. There are too many presents, so Ma tells him to choose five and donate the rest. Jack chooses six and hopes she does not notice.

Morris and Ma discuss Old Nick’s potential sentence. Ma asks about a baby, “the first one” (203). Morris explains that they cannot get Old Nick for murder if the child was not born alive. Later, Jack asks about the other baby. Ma explains that her first child was a girl, but she came out with her cord around her neck and could not breathe. Old Nick would not help. Jack imagines that the first baby was him too, just not ready yet, and he came back when he was ready. During Jack’s birth, Ma did not let Old Nick enter Room.

Jack falls out of bed that night again, but he refuses to sleep alone. Ma is sick now too. Noreen gives Jack a digital watch. When Noreen suggests Jack is homesick, Ma gets upset, so Noreen apologizes for her word choice. Jack wonders if they have a home without Room.

Jack draws a picture of Room for Dr. Clay. Dr. Clay and Jack talk about counting things. Jack is surprised to learn other people count things when they’re nervous. Ma and Dr. Clay talk about separation anxiety, but Ma stresses that she and Jack will not be separated. Dr. Clay thinks it is good that Ma got Jack out of their situation so young.

They go outside again. This time, Noreen narrates Jack’s walk as though it is a television show. This helps Jack relax. They look at the cars, the grass, and the sky. Ma shows Jack the flowers and the trees. Ma points out an ant. Jack’s relieved she does not squish it. A media helicopter flies overhead, so Ma and Noreen rush back inside with Jack.

Grandma visits, along with Uncle Paul and his wife, Deana. They have a toddler named Bronwyn. Deana tells Jack that Bronwyn would love to meet him. Paul is emotional. He takes some photos of Ma and Jack to send to their father, who is flying in soon.

Grandma greets Jack, who is still learning how to respond to greetings. Leo comes in to see everyone. Jack calls Leo “Steppa,” meaning step-grandpa. Jack asks Ma to breastfeed. Grandma judges Ma for still breastfeeding a five-year-old, despite acknowledging the circumstances.

When everyone leaves, Ma nurses Jack. She falls asleep, so Jack looks at the newspaper. He finds a sensationalized article about him and Ma. It refers to Jack as “Bonsai Boy” and describes how he cannot properly use the stairs and may have “long-term developmental retardation” (216). Later, Jack asks Ma about the article. Ma explains what a bonsai tree is and tells Jack not to worry because the paper gets things wrong.

Jack dreams of Ajeet mailing him Raja’s poop because Jack took six toys instead of five. He wakes Ma up to confess about the toys. Ma comforts him. The next morning, Ma and Jack count their friends—people they have met who are kind to them. Jack asks about Leo, but Ma says he reeks of dope and is Grandma’s rebound. When Jack tells Dr. Clay about his dreams, Dr. Clay says his brain is cleaning out the scary thoughts.

Ma and Jack go to the computer room. Ma tries to log into her old social media to check up on old friends while Jack plays a Dora the Explorer game. Ma researches other cases like hers.

Paul gifts Ma an MP3 player. Ma shares songs with Jack. While listening to “All You Need is Love” by the Beatles, Ma tells Jack of an experiment with baby monkeys who were not given their parents love, and they grew up weird. Jack is scared by this story. Ma apologizes and regrets mentioning it. She is having a hard time remembering to be herself again while still being Jack’s Ma. Jack cannot separate the two. 

Jack notices that other boys on the Outside have short hair. Jack does not want a haircut because he will lose his strength, like Samson. Jack wishes to spend time with other kids.

Jack and Ma go to a private dentist’s visit. The dentist examines Jack’s teeth first, which are perfect, then seats Jack in a kid’s room. However, Jack panics when he hears the drills working on Ma, so he comes back out to sit with her the entire time.

Jack wishes he brought Ma’s tooth to the dentist to get fixed. During dinner, Noreen tells Ma that her dad is there. Ma rushes down to see him immediately while Jack finishes his dinner. Noreen brings Jack to Ma and Grandpa, but Grandpa cannot look at him. He is uncomfortable with Jack because Jack reminds Grandpa of Old Nick. He cannot handle it, so he leaves, upsetting Ma.

Jack wakes up crying in the night, thinking about the monkeys from Ma’s story. Ma says Jack cannot burden his mind with all the bad things in the world all the time. Ma pushes them out of her head so she can sleep.

Ma has a television interview. Jack is afraid to be away from Ma, so Ma agrees that Jack can sit in the corner during the interview. Morris explains to the producers that Jack is not to have any photos or videos taken of him and not to be shown on the television segment.

The reporter asks Ma about the outside and how she has changed over the years of captivity. She then asks more probing questions about whether Ma ever developed sympathy for her captor. Ma says she was polite to Old Nick to protect Jack. The reporter asks if it was hard raising Jack. Ma says it was easy because they had each other. They discuss Ma’s approach to raising Jack by not letting him believe there was a world outside of Room for his own benefit.

The reporter says Ma is a beacon of hope for people everywhere. Ma does not like the attention. All she did was survive and raise Jack. The reporter asks if Ma considered letting her captor leave Jack at a hospital so he could have freedom and normalcy. Ma gets flustered at this question. Ma thinks she made the right choices for Jack, but she begins to cry as the reporter presses her. Jack runs up to hug Ma, and Morris shouts again that Jack is not to be recorded.

The next morning, Ma is Gone. Jack tells Noreen about it. Noreen helps Jack get ready on his own and tends to Ma, whose only demand is to be left alone to sleep. Paul, Deana, and Bronwyn wait downstairs. They have planned a day out for Jack and Ma. At Noreen’s encouragement, Jack goes without Ma, but he is apprehensive.

Paul and Deana take Jack and Bronwyn to the mall to find a birthday present for one of Bronwyn’s friends. Jack and Bronwyn ride in a wagon. Jack gets excited about a Dora the Explorer backpack. Deana buys it for him. Bronwyn throws a tantrum because she wants a bag too. Deana and Paul quickly become overwhelmed managing both kids in the mall. Jack is fascinated by the many things he sees.

Jack kicks his shoes off, but a woman finds them and brings them to the group. Missing Ma, Jack asks to go back to the clinic. Paul assures him they will take him back in a bit.

Jack is scared of the urinals in the men’s restroom, so Deana takes him into the women’s room instead. Jack watches Deana change Bronwyn’s diaper. He is confused because Bronwyn has different parts, so he pokes her privates. Deana slaps Jack’s hand away and scolds him, telling him he cannot touch others’ private parts. Jack’s hand bleeds because Deana’s ring scratched him. Deana apologizes. Jack wishes he were with Ma.

As they walk, Jack spots a copy of Dylan the Digger in a store. He is excited to see his friend from Room, so he takes the book. Deana picks out a book for Bronwyn’s friend. As they leave, Deana gives Jack a coin to make a wish in a fountain. Jack wishes to go back to Room. The man working the bookstore confronts them about Jack stealing the book. Paul apologizes and pays.

Ma is still sleeping at the clinic. Jack notices she has vomited. He tries to wake Ma, but she is unresponsive. He notifies Noreen, who calls in a Code Blue. Ma’s pill bottle is empty: She has taken an overdose, though Jack does not understand this. People rush in to tend to Ma. Jack is taken to the hallway, screaming for her desperately.