asking her captor to take Jack away and leave him at a hospital so he could be adopted and have a normal, happy childhood. Ma breaks down at this and Jack rushes over to comfort her.
T e interview aff ects Ma badly and the next day she is too depressed to get out of bed. She and Jack were supposed to go to the Natural History Museum with Uncle Paul and his family, but Jack goes without her. T ey stop at a shopping mall and Deana buys Jack a Dora the Explorer backpack. Deana takes Jack and Bronwyn into the women’s toilets and Jack touches Bronwyn’s private parts out of curiosity. Deana slaps his hand away but cuts it with her ring by accident. T ey go into a bookshop and Jack sees a copy of a book he had in Room. He takes the book and puts it in his backpack. When they leave the shop, a man approaches Paul and tells him that Jack stole the book. Paul pays for it and they leave the mall, bringing Jack straight back to the clinic.
When Jack returns to the hospital room, he fi nds that Ma is unconscious because she has taken a drug overdose.
Questions up to the point where Pilar gives Jack a second lollipop: 1. How have reporters found out about Jack and Ma? 2. Why does Ma want the door leſt open when she is giving her statement? 3. Why do the police offi cers stare at Ma while she is nursing Jack?
4. Name two things Jack does not like about the outside world and say why you think he does not like them.
5. Why do Jack and Ma have to wear masks? 6. Why do you think Jack pretends not to see Pilar when she smiles at him?
7. T e news reporter says that Jack and Ma have ‘an eerie pallor’ and ‘appear to be in a borderline catatonic state.’ What does this mean?
8. Why is Dr Clay so angry with Pilar? 9. Describe Jack and Ma’s physical condition.
10. Ma tells Dr Clay that nothing happened to Jack, ‘nothing like what you’re insinuating’. What do you think she means by this?
Writing Task:
What do you think will be Jack’s greatest challenges in adapting to life outside Room? Explain your answer.
