Physical, Mental, and Emotional Freedom in 'Room' Samara Green 9th Grade

When thinking of the word “freedom”, one definition usually comes to mind; physical freedom, or the ability to go wherever, whenever. However, there are many more aspects to freedom than just physical freedom. There is mental freedom, which is having peace of mind and being able to think clearly and there is emotional freedom, which is having the freedom to express your inner thoughts and emotions without fear. The novel Room, by Emma Donoghue, is about a five-year-old boy named Jack who has spent his whole life confined in an eleven-by-eleven foot space (“Room”) with his mother, whom he calls “Ma”. The novel explores the concept of freedom and discusses how Ma and Jack’s experiences in Room limit their freedom in a physical, mental, and emotional way.

Ma and Jack’s freedom is physically limited in Room, as they are trapped inside by their captor, Old Nick, and are literally unable to escape. They are constricted to the eleven-by-eleven foot perimeters of Room, and when Jack figures out how small a space Room is, it proves further how physically limited he is. As he’s counting the tiles in Room, Jack explains, “Another rule is, the wide of the walls is the same as the wide of Floor, I count eleven feet going both ways, that...