In his Republic, Plato offered the now-famous Allegory of the Cave as a way of illustrating humanity's progression from ignorance to enlightenment: people begin their lives chained inside of a cave, watching the projections of shadow puppets on the cave's back wall and thinking those shadows to be the real things in the world. The TV in Room symbolizes the cruel version of Plato's Allegory of the Cave that has been brought to life in Jack's captivity. fiction, and the difficulty that many have in distinguishing between the two: Jack's hair is not the source of his power, but merely a representation of how fundamentally courageous he is. This ties into the novel's theme of fact vs. What's especially interesting about Jack's hair is that it also symbolizes the very limitations of symbols: when Jack's hair is cut off, he retains his courage and inner strength, unlike Samson. Ultimately, Jack is an extremely brave character in escaping Room as he did. This is reiterated in how Jack sees himself: despite being only five, he sees himself as Ma’s protector and wants to hurt Old Nick when he finds out what he did to her wrist many years ago. It therefore symbolically represents his strength, as Samson’s hair did before it was cut off. Jack's Hair (Symbol)Īs Jack grows up, his hair grows past his shoulders, as Ma does not cut it. Only once Jack and Ma return to Room at the end of the story and find that it has lost all symbolic significance are they truly free from it. Therefore, the symbolic connotations for him are not negative, providing a confusing paradox between what Room represents for the two main characters. He believes that these four walls are as big as the world will ever be. In contrast, Jack has spent his entire life in Room it is his home. This is emphasized by the fact that there is a door that Ma could attempt to leave through, yet her fear keeps her paralyzed from trying. For Ma, Room is a personal hell, and her confinement means that her life has been taken away from her. Physically, the garden shed in which Ma and Jack are held is simply an 11x11-foot room-yet, symbolically, it is much more. Symbolically, the skylight is also a source of light-and of hope-in a room that is otherwise dark and hopeless.

The skylight also develops into an important symbol for Jack: when he sees the leaf land on the skylight, it begins to prove to him that trees exist in the outside world, too-not just on the TV.

The skylight proves that there is an outside world still there, yet always remains out of reach it serves as a constant reminder of Ma’s captivity and the possibilities that are just out of reach. This important theme is portrayed in the skylight, the only part of Room that allows Ma and Jack a glimpse of the outside world.

Room is a novel that constantly contrasts the difference between freedom and captivity.

Room by emma donoghue literary analysis