When reading Room, it was clear to me that incidents such as the one occurring in Room has happened in real life many times before. With this information, I decided to do some research to see the outcomes of these various situations.
The first that came to mind was that of the three women whom Ariel Castro, the Puerto Rican man living in Cleveland, kidnapped over the span of three years (one in each of 2002, 2003, and 2004). He kept each of the women locked in bedrooms until his capture in 2013. They survived constant and repeated emotional, physical, verbal, and sexual abuse, as well as frequent death threats. One of the women bore Castro's child, and another was impregnated five times, but Castro starved or beat her so miscarriage was induced. The women were fed a meal a day, went to the bathroom at infrequently emptied plastic toilets, and were allowed to shower at most twice a week. In 2013, Castro left the house unlocked. One of the women thought it was a trick or a "test" (something Castro had done before) so she did not leave. However she did capture the attention of neighbors and Castro was soon arrested. Castro pleaded guilty to kidnap, rape, and aggravated murder and received life in prison without parole plus 1,000 years. A month into his sentence, he hung himself.
This situation obviously closely resembles Ma and Jack's situation in Room. However, I wonder most how the women he kidnapped (and the child, who was at times taken out of the house by Castro) adjusted back into normal life. What I found was quite interesting. The women who were taken by Castro returned to Castro's home and spoke with neighbors about the ordeal. One of the women seemed to relish in the tables being turned so quickly and for Castro to now be locked up. At his trial she told him "You took eleven years of my life away, but now I have it back. I spent eleven years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning". This approach seems like quite the opposite of Ma's, who wants to forget about Old Nick and Room and never have to think of either of them again.
The other situation that was brought up in resemblance to room was one that Claire's student discussion group brought up as the basis for Room. Josef Fritzl had kept his daughter Elizabeth Fritzl locked up in his basement for 24 years. She had eight children, four of whom were kept with her, aged 19, 18, and 5. One of her children died just days after being born. Eventually, Elisabeth's 19 year old daughter was critically ill so Josef arranges her to go to the hospital. A week later he releases Elisabeth and her other two children, saying she has decided to return home after a 24 year absence. He had done all of this without his wife, Rosemarie, ever finding out. Soon, Josef was arrested, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to life in prison.
The author of Room, Emma Donoghue, said it is going too far to say that her book was based on the Fritzl case. She does, however, admit that she did get the idea from the Fritzl case, citing the five year old boy kept by Josef Fritzl as the child that sparked the idea for Jack. Similarly to Ma and Jack, the Fritzl's were extremely pale upon release and couldn't stay in the Sun for too long. They were kept in a hospital for several months without publicity as to respect their privacy. They also all suffered from panic attacks and other mental obstacles associated with their previous living conditions. However, it is known that they all made a full recovery and are now doing well. This case is much more similar to Room regarding the aftermath of the situation, and rightfully so considering Donoghue admits getting the idea for her book from this case.
What we can imply from the different cases I have mentioned is that different people cope different ways and that Ma and Jack do not deserve to be judged or ridiculed because of their coping mechanisms (i.e. breastfeeding). Regardless of the ways they handle their release, they went through a horrible situation and anything they do to stay alive or their actions after their release should be applauded.
Okay, I am very impressed by your background research on these other cases. I think it's very interesting to look at Room in comparison to these other cases especially when thinking about the plans Ma and Jack came up for their "Great Escape." Overall though, the thought of how real Ma and Jack's case is is terrifying.
ReplyDeleteI think your point about the first case where the women says, "You took eleven years of my life away, but now I have it back. I spent eleven years in hell. Now your hell is just beginning" shows a lot about Ma's character. Even though she had every reason to be bitter about her situation, she choses to move on and focus on the next chapter of her life with Jack.
ReplyDeleteIt's really interesting to draw parallels with the real world. I hope that this means that Jack and Ma turn out okay!
ReplyDeleteOne interesting sidenote to the Castro case concerns the neighbor who took part in the rescue (I only remember bits and pieces of the story, as I didn't care to follow it closely). But the one young woman who got out of the house ran and banged on a neighbor's door, and he responded and called police, etc. At first he was hailed in the press as a "hero" (and I would agree with that definition, including the girl who ran as an even braver example)--akin to the guy who calls the police when he encounters Jack running from the truck (who in Donoghue's novel doesn't seem to be hailed as a hero, and the press seems to totally ignore him). But then some details emerged about the Castro neighbor, certain legal entanglements in his background, and there was this move among the press to "take back" his hero status, as if a criminal record disqualifies someone from a selfless act of heroism. The media only is interested in heroes who fit the profile, apparently.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the guy who called the police for Jack, and I liked the way he just disappeared from the story after that. I think it would have been uncomfortable if he'd suddenly been a part of Jack's life after that, bringing him presents or something cheesy like that. Instead, he just shows up out of nowhere and helps Jack, then disappears. I think he is an example of a more ordinary hero that you would find every day. He doesn't do anything particularly difficult--he basically just identifies a bad situation and makes a phone call. However, he saved two lives with that phone call, when he could have just turned his back.
DeleteMaybe the guy had done something bad in his life, like the neighbor in the Cleveland case. But like the women who had been trapped for years, I think the "rescuer" deserves some privacy too. Instead of digging into their backgrounds to find some sensational negative aspect, we should acknowledge their heroism for doing their duty as fellow humans.