Reader's Journal-     Fiction

#3                                                     Reader’s Journal                                             9/12/11

Dear Mrs. Zrihen,

            For this past two weeks, I’ve read the book ROOM by Emma Donoghue. Since this book had a total of three hundred and thirty six pages, I currently have a very little amount left to read since I already completed a reader’s journal on this book. The author wrote this book as a genre of realistic fiction. Realistic fiction is a type of subgenre, which falls in the category of fiction. It is written as believable fiction that is set in the present, (within the last 50 years).

I used various strategies before, during, and after reading this book. Before reading I asked myself questions about what happened in my previous reading. I also tried predicting what was going to happen and what events would take place at the end of the book, based on the beginning. During reading, I finished writing down all the literary elements I found towards the end of the book, to write my reader’s journal and better understand this book. Also, I visualized events by making mental pictures of what I was reading so that I would feel as if I were character in the book, with the help of the author’s vivid descriptions and Jacks clever use in words. After reading, I compare and contrasted the events from my first reader’s journal to what I read. Also, I critiqued and analyzed the book so that I can make a reflection and finally write my readers journal.

            There were many quotes in the book that has touched my heart. The quotes were found on the kindle (don’t know the page number). I found this passage online, made up of a bunch of different things Jack said, all bunched up into a summary-like passage. They are many different things Jack said. “ Today I’m five I was four last night going to sleep but when I woke up in bed in the dark, I changed to five! Abracadabra! Ma used to be sad and all alone and cried until she didn’t have any tears left. And now there are two of us together in Room! Old Nick lives outside and he brings groceries and clothes and disappears the trash. I see him some nights. Not all of him close up. I’m not sure if he’s real for real. Sometimes i'm still awake and I can hear him, and my chest goes dungdungdunb. He’s the only thing that makes Ma scared. She says Old Nick thinks we belong to him because room does. But ma and I belong to eachother. Everything in Room is ours. Now that i'm five, Ma says room is too small for me. She says there are things outside the walls. Like grass and ice cream and other people that are real. Those are only on TV. Room has everything. Outside isn’t real. Room is real! Room is all there is.”

 I chose this quote that I found online because even though it is not directly in the same order as said in the book, it made everything clear on what the book was all about. It made me feel scared and mysterious, being my mood towards the book. I was surprised on how brain washed Jack was towards nothing being real. The significance it has towards the book is that it summarizes what is most important about this book, without spoiling it! Also, by reading this passage, you can clearly notice it was written by a child.

            Now that I’ve read more of the book, I would like to make a correction to my past readers journal. Old Nick is very much an antagonist. Clearly, as said in the passage, Old Nick is the only thing that makes Ma scared. He also he holds them in captivity, in Room. Also, as I stated in my last reader’s journal, the other characters (Jack and Ma) are both protagonists and round. They are described very clearly, especially because it was written in Jacks perspective. While reading, I learned that Ma was kidnapped when she was nineteen and held in captivity for seven years, where she got pregnant with her son, Jack. This was why they were both kept in an 11’ by 11’ room for such a long period of time.  The tone was sad and mysterious. The setting of the book takes place in Room; Jack has grown up in the same room his whole life. The social conditions are that Jack and his Ma live in the same room together that is owned by Old Nick. The weather conditions were whatever temperatures were set inside the room.

            The plot structure throughout the book was extremely interesting! The exposition started off at a quite slow pace. The author mainly just showed how Jack and Ma were very close with each other, living in an extremely small room, where Jack believes is really the only thing in life. During the rising action, the book started getting better and better! It showed what they did in their everyday life, being trapped in a room. The climax ended up with the real truth about Old Nick! It showed how he owns the Room and that he forces them to stay inside of it, in captivity. The falling action was the moments where things were getting much better… Ma stated that Jack was getting too old to keep living in that room. She started to teach him about the outside. I haven't finished the book so i really don't know the resolution yet. I predict that Ma will plan an escape to leave the Room. But I really can’t imagine how Jack will leave and the way he’ll react. Room is everything to him. I will defiantly finish the book quickly so that i can include it in my next readers journal!

 The conflict is external, Man vs. man. Jack and mostly Ma are against Old Nick. The point of view was 1^st person because it was written by a child’s perspective; using words like I, me, we, etc. The pattern of organization was chronological order because all the events happened in order in which they occurred from first to last. The author’s purpose was to entertain the reader with a fictional story. Finally, the author is unbiased and objective because it does not include her story or opinions about the subject. One response starter I chose to answer was: I wished that the author didn’t start the book off at a slow start because after that, the book is really good and worth reading! The theme was to never stop believing and worrying about everything. Finally, the motif was the power of family. This is because Jack and his Ma were extremely close and that really allowed them to work together to accomplish what they wanted to.

Although I found everything, I really didn’t come across a lot other figurative language! I figured that because it was written from the point of view of a five year old, the author didn’t include many! The only figurative language i found was when Jack says "my heart dungdungdunb when he came in the room. This statement was an onomatopoeia. Obviously, the other figurative language lines were announced in my previous readers journal.

All in all, I rate this book an 8.5-10 because it was really a page turner! It is really a book worth reading! I really recommend it to everyone because I feel that they would really be interested in this subject! If you decide to read it, I learned that even though the beginning has a slow start, you really have to continue reading because the book gets a lot better! Hope you will give this book a chance!

Love,

Joelle Ben-Nissan 802