The Shed of Horror

As the novel Room by Emma Donoghue unfolds, we learn more and more about the horrific situation Jack and Ma are in. Ma was kidnapped years ago by Old Nick after he had lured her close by claiming that his dog was sick. She has been held captive since then, and from the sounds of it, is raped by him on the daily at night. During her captivity, she has given birth to Jack, whom she has tried to raise to the best of her abilities without letting Jack know the entire story and the horrendous situation they are in.

From the information we’ve been given at the moment, they are confined in a single room shed filled with bare necessities of life (and not much else). The shed is roughly 11x11 feet. Sure, it might be bigger than the average prison cell (which is 6x8), but that is still significantly smaller than the amount of space a mother and a growing child would need. The 11x11 feet shed shrinks even more when you think about the fact that the room also contains a small kitchen, bathroom, wardrobe, bed, and TV set.

I couldn’t help but feel like the entire scenario displayed in Room was eerily (and sadly) similar to some of the stories I’ve heard on the news before. The first thing I thought of was the story about the Turpin family’s House of Horrors that surfaced not too long ago in 2018. I’m pretty sure we’ve all heard at least bits and pieces of the story, but here’s a quick recap: David Allen Turpin and Louise Ann Turpin were two adults in Perris, California in the U.S. They imprisoned their 13 children for years and even decades in some cases. It wasn’t until January 14^th of 2018 that one of the children managed to escape and contact the authorities. When the police entered the home, the found the children in a dark, dirty, and foul-smelling room. The children imprisoned inside ranged from the ages of 2 to 29.

The Turpins had shackled, beat, and even strangled their children. The kids were allowed one meal per day and one shower per year. The children were extremely malnourished (the 29-year-old woman weighed only 82 pounds) and lacked basic knowledge of the world, just like Jack currently is.

Humanity has done some amazing things over the course of its existence (ex. finding ways to contact a person on the opposite side of the planet, landing on the moon, etc.) but there’s absolutely no denying that some of us are some pretty despicable beings. The fact that this fictional novel could just as easily be a true story about a kid recounting his experiences is horribly depressing and makes me disappointed in the human race in some ways.