Room Part 3: Dying Quotes
Room Part 3: Dying Quotes
How we cite the quotes:
[Part.Paragraph]
Quote 10
Near the start [of the note], there's two words I never saw before, Ma says they're her names like TV persons have, what everybody in Outside used to call her, it's only me who says Ma. (3.329)
This is the first time Jack learns that Ma has a name other than Ma (though we never get to know it). Maybe we never get to know it because Karen Jones, or whatever her name is, is never who she'll be to Jack. To Jack, the only word to describe her is, and always will be, Ma.
Quote 11
"It's OK, sweetie. It's OK." Who's sweetie? His eyes are looking at my eyes, it's me that's the sweetie. (3.783-3.784)
Jack has only been known as Jack to Ma. The concept of pet names or nicknames is completely foreign to him, especially when these names are coming from a male stranger he just met.
Quote 12
"Scared is what you're feeling," says Ma. "but brave is what you're doing. […] Scaredybrave." "Scave." (3.306, 3.07-3.308)
We kind of like "scaredybrave" more than "scave" but it's a good word that becomes kind of a mantra for Jack. This word is Ma's way of helping Jack overcome his fears, not by ignoring them, but by understanding that it's okay to be scared as long as you can push through your fear.