Everybody, despite their
background, upbringing, or current situation, gets horribly bored from time to
time. It’s actually kind of ridiculous how often we can get bored with
smartphones, tablets, computers, etc., but we do. In the book Room by Emma Donoghue, Jack lives in an
11 foot by 11 foot shed with his Ma, who was kidnapped at 19 by a mysterious
and evil man named Old Nick. Jack, of course, doesn’t learn the truth of his
situation until much later. At the beginning of the book, he has just turned 5
and doesn’t know of anything outside this shed he calls “room”. He doesn’t know
about going to the park, malls, museums, or even LEGOS. So how does he keep
himself preoccupied? Aside from watching TV when his mother allows it, doing
physical activities, coloring, and reading, he plays with toys. Most of which
he has made himself with the help of his Ma. One of these few toys is named
“Eggsnake”.
Eggsnake
is exactly what it sounds like - eggshells formed in the shape of a snake. Every
time Jack and his Ma eat eggs, they save the shell to put on the snake to make
him longer and longer. Jack and his Ma had been building this toy since jack
was three, and Jack plays with the snake a lot to pass the time. Eggsnake “lives
Under Bed all coiled up”(21), keeping him and his Ma safe. Jack has many toys,
but I feel that this toy is the most important because him and his Ma built it
together over the course of two years.
With Prince JackerJack’s Kit For Eggsnake you
never again have to worry about being bored! This kit will start you on your
way to having the time of your life playing with a snake constructed of
eggshells. The kit includes a couple eggshells, a needle, and some red string
to get your snake started. As time goes on, you can keep adding to Eggsnake
just like Jack and his Ma do. This item is perfect for the fans of Room who want to – in a sense – experience
what Jack did. Of course, fans can’t always experience being raised for five
years in a tiny shed, but playing with Jack’s toys would bring you one step
closer to experiencing life as he did. There are hundreds of possibilities of
what your individual snake can look like, but Jack’s snake had “patterns on [it] from pencils or crayons or
Pen or bits stuck on with flour glue, a foil crown and a yellow ribbon belt and
threads and bits of tissue for hairs”(21). What his eggsnake looks like is all
up to the reader’s imagination.
Building Eggsnake is simple! All you
have to do is thread the needle and stick it through eggshells! Jack says that
Eggsnake’s “tongue is a needle, that keeps the red thread going right through
him”(21-22). Since the needle is a part of Eggsnake, it may not be safe for
most children to play with. This would be a good way for fans to connect with
the book because very seldom do you read a book and have the ability to buy the
objects described in said book. Having Eggsnake curled up under your bed just
like Jack had, will help you experience how it was to have to make the toys you
play with. The only difference between you and him is that he didn’t know
anything else.
