The Room The Room, by Emma Donoghue, is a novel of how hard it is to deal with the outside world for the first time as a five year-old. Jack, the five year-old, is confused on how the outside world works and how this has affected both, his mother and himself. Ma has always thought about escaping and didn 't think how difficult it would be for Jack to adapt. "Some of the women grow long hair like us," I tell Ma, "but the men don 't." "Oh, a few do, rock stars. It 's not a rule, just a convention." "What 's a—?" "A silly habit everyone has." (4.1068-4.1070), the quote means that Ma wants to balance into letting Jack live the way he wants and teaching him society’s rules. The more Jack asks questions the more Ma will question society’s