Yeah...I don't know, I just didn't enjoy the ending.
I get that Jack kinda got closure and it shows how Jack has changed so much that he can barely recognize Room anymore, but I was expecting more. I didn't have something specific in mind, but I just wanted more of Jack learning and growing. It was clear how he was making progress, he was able to function without Ma, he was able to experience more of the world, and he even cut his hair.
It's great that he changed so much, but again, the ending felt a bit rushed, and so I really didn't like it. Then again, I just didn't really enjoy the book either, so maybe that's part of the reason why I didn't like the ending.
But other than me whining about the ending and the book in general, I want to look at how Jack's adventure fits into the hero's journey.
There's the call to adventure first. Jack starts out like all heroes do, in some "normal" situation. For Jack, being in Room is normal, because he's never experienced anything outside of Room. His call to adventure is when Ma tells him that they need to escape from Room, and Jack refuses at first. This is his refusal of the call, but once Jack agrees to it, he needs a helper. I think the helper is Ajeet, the dude with the dog that called the police. He scares away Nick and calls the police, who manage to find out where Room is.
Thanks to the help of Ajeet and the police, Jack is able to cross the threshold, learning how to live in Outside. This is probably one of Jack's biggest challenges. The other big challenges Jack must face are learning how to act in social situations and learning how to function without Ma. While these are difficult for Jack to learn, he does manage to become slightly more independent, he learns about proper ways to act towards others, and he does learn about living in Outside.
After this part Jack doesn't really follow the hero's journey as closely. He doesn't meet any kind of guardian deity who's been protecting him and he doesn't confront his father. However, he does face temptations for going back to Room. Every time he doesn't like something, like being stuck in the hospital or having to go smell flowers and all that good stuff, he wants to go back to Room. It's not unreasonable, he's a little kid who was technically tricked into leaving Room. The period of rest and fulfillment for Jack might be when he's living with Ma in their apartment, but that doesn't last very long so I don't know what to call that.
I don't think Jack follows the returning part of the hero's journey that much. I mean, he returns to look at Room and see how it isn't really Room anymore, but that's about it. I don't think Jack's a master of two worlds because he's already started to forget about things in Room, like where Plant used to be.
Anyways, that's just what I think about the ending of the book and of how Jack's adventure fits into the hero's journey.
