Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Living... in “Room” with Ma. Jack was born in Room and it encompasses his entire world — including all of his favorite things like Skylight, Rug, and Lamp. What Jack doesn’t understand is that “Room” is actually a tiny shed where he and Ma are being kept prisoner by Old Nick. Two years after Ma was imprisoned she gave birth to Jack and he’s spent his entire life — all five years of it — inside of Room. On nights when Old Nick comes to visit, Ma makes Jack hide inside Wardrobe.
Profession... child. Jack’s main job is growing up, and Ma helps him keep his body strong and his mind sharp. Together Ma and Jack create games and toys, like a toy snake made out of eggshells. Jack relies on Ma to explain that the things he sees on TV are made up because only the things inside Room are real.
Interests... watching TV, learning about animals, and taking care of his long “magical” hair.
Relationship Status... single, like most children. Instead Jack’s whole world revolves around his mother, Ma, the only other person he’s ever interacted with.
Challenge... understanding the world. Now that Jack is five years old, his mother keeps talking about the fact that he is growing up. She tries to explain that there is a world outside of Room and that they need to escape. But it’s all a lot for Jack to handle and sometimes he just wishes he could go back to being four.
Personality... curious, imaginative, and cheerful. Although Jack can lose his temper like any kid, for the most part he has a zest for life. He loves playing games with Ma and he always has a million questions to ask her about the world. He’s incredibly bright and creative, although he can become overwhelmed when confronted with ideas or people that scare him.
Get to Know him in...
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Jack is a young boy of five years old who has lived all his life in one room. He believes everything within it are the only real things in the world. But what will happen when his Ma suddenly tells him that there are other things outside of Room?
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‘I wait for his boots to drop. They fall on Floor, one thump, two thumps, that’s how I know he’s going to get into Bed with Ma now and make it squeak. I count the squeaks because I’m excellent at numbers. I have to count, I can’t lose count, if I lose count I don’t know what. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10...’ Kidnapped as a teenage girl, Ma has been locked inside a purpose built room in her captor’s garden for seven years. Her five-year-old son, Jack, has no concept of the world outside and happily exists inside Room with the help of Ma’s games and his vivid imagination where objects like Rug, Lamp and TV are his only friends. But for Ma the time has come to escape and face their biggest challenge to date: the world outside Room.
