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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IzFWSrdwlCMhttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IzFWSrdwlCM

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Commentary           (Grandma and Thomas)

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Commentary           (Grandma and Thomas)

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Thomas Sr. leaves Grandma after discovering that she was pregnant. She quickly realizes this and falls into a frantic daze. "I brought the birdcages to the window.
I opened the windows, and opened the birdcages.
I poured the fish down the drain. I took the dogs and cats downstairs and removed their collars.
I released the insects onto the street.
And the mice.
I told them, Go.
All of you.
And they went.
And they didn't come back (185-186). Through his use of sentence structure, and mood Foer elucidates Grandmas attempt in moving past her loss. by saying "I opened the window, and opened the birdcages" It draws attention to the bird motif. Animals were something that Thomas struggled to let go of after the bombing of Dresden as on that disastrous day, he was responsible for killing dozens of different zoo animals. He was unable to move past this, and for that reason he kept lots of different animals with him to the point where it became engraved into his character. Grandma dependent heavily on Thomas, and he meant everything to her. However when he left her she was still able to move past her loss as she had a purpose (she was pregnant with Thomas). Because of this, she was quickly able to let go of him (both metaphorically displayed when she "releases the insects onto the street. And the mice". By literally letting go of all the animals, she metaphorically accepted the loss of Thomas Sr. and became liberated from her affliction. Only because of this was she able to progress above what she would achieve by holding on to what she no longer had, and be capable of happily raising her son.
-Braxton

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 Statement of theme                                      (Birds/Animals)

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 Statement of theme                                      (Birds/Animals)

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In Extremely loud and Incredibly close Foer Illustrates that Though the feeling of grief can be ensnaring, it is necessary to accept the loss in order to have freedom from the past and move on from the constriction of tragedy.

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Oskar and Mr. Black are meeting for the first time in Mr. Black's room. Oskar decides to try and turn his hearing aids on for the first time in a long time. “Maybe the hearing aids didn’t work anymore, or maybe the batteries had died of old age, or maybe he’d gone completely since he turned them off, which was possible. We looked at each other. Then, out of nowhere, a flock of birds flew by the window extremely fast and incredibly close. Maybe twenty of them. Maybe more. But they all seemed like just one bird, because somehow they all knew exactly what to do. Mr. Black grabbed his ears and made a bunch of weird sounds. he started crying— not out of happiness, I could tell, but not out of sadness either” (165). In this quote Foer uses tone to build suspense and emphasize the importance of moving beyond tragedy. Mr. Black had fought in many wars and travelled around the world. just when he was about to find happiness with a woman that he loved, he lost it all do to a small mistake he made. Because of this, he chose to isolate himself from the rest of the world in his apartment. He is only able to move beyond his pain when Oskar arrives and helps him get his guilt off his chest, and gives him a renewed sense of purpose. Oskar also decides to reactivate his hearing aids, literally and metaphorically showing how he has decided to listen to what the rest of the world has to say outside of the silent catastrophe that was his life. Despite his excitement he still had fear of being pulled back into tragedy shown when they thought “maybe the hearing aids didn’t work anymore, or maybe the batteries had died of old age” showing the doubt felt by both characters. Once activated the first thing mr. Black hears is “a flock of birds” which symbolises him moving forward. With his hearing aids being reactivated mr. Black finally becomes back intuned with the rest of the world. The birds were there to help Mr. Black by making noise ,and by showing him a piece of his past, they were able to help him move on from the constriction of tragedy. Through making a noise they reawakened Mr. Black to what he had become. Mr. Black “grabbed his ears” and “started crying” after realising how much he was missing. Because of this he finally was able to accept his loss and have freedom from his past.
-Braxton

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In “Caged Bird”, a poem by Maya Angelou, she juxtaposes a free bird with a caged bird, “The free bird thinks of another breeze and the trade winds soft...and he names the sky his own. But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams, his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream, his wings are clipped and his feet are tied so he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on the distant hill, for the caged bird sings of freedom.” In this quote, Angelou demonstrates the thirst for freedom felt by the caged bird. By using imagery of the caged bird “standing on a grave of dreams” while “his wing are clipped and his feet are tied”, she conveys the feelings of hopelessness the bird experiences, and the constriction his cage imposes on him. To further this argument, the author juxtaposes the predicament of the caged bird to a free bird. The free bird “names the sky his own” while the caged bird can only dream of “things unknown but longed for still”. Although the caged bird is trapped, it still longs for freedom from the bars. This shows that in the face of entrapment, one will always long for freedom.

-Jillian

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A free bird leaps

on the back of the wind

and floats downstream

till the current ends

and dips his wing

in the orange sun rays

and dares to claim the sky.

But a bird that stalks

down his narrow cage

can seldom see through

his bars of rage

his wings are clipped and

his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings

with a fearful trill

of things unknown

but longed for still

and his tune is heard

on the distant hill

for the caged bird

sings of freedom.

The free bird thinks of another breeze

and the trade winds soft through the sighing trees

and the fat worms waiting on a dawn bright lawn

and he names the sky his own

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams

his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream

his wings are clipped and his feet are tied

so he opens his throat to sing.

The caged bird sings

with a fearful trill

of things unknown

but longed for still

and his tune is heard

on the distant hill

for the caged bird

sings of freedom.

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As Oskar’s grandma tells about her childhood in Dresden, she collects letters of everyone she knows, including her friend,“[My schoolmate Mary] jumped on her bed for so many years that one afternoon, while I watched her jump, the seams burst. Feathers filled the small room. Our laughter kept the feathers in the air. I thought about birds. Could they fly if there wasn’t someone, somewhere, laughing?” (78). In this quote, the author show that laughter can alleviate the heavy feelings  the world can bring. The author uses the repetition of feathers to convey this idea, stating, feathers “filled the small room”. Grandma and her friend’s laughter “kept the feathers in the air”. Feathers represent the lightheartedness of life, but at some point fall to the ground. To further this idea, the author uses birds to symbolize freedom. However, when grandma thinks about birds, she wonder, “how could they fly I’d there wasn’t someone, somewhere, laughing?” This demonstrates that to have freedom, one must first find happiness. To truly move on from tragedy, laughter and joy must be present.
-Jillian

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Our motif is birds.

Birds represent freedom from the constriction of tragedy.

This is important because it applies to all the characters as they are all affected by tragedy.

Oskar, for instance, finds himself trapped in the past and struggling to move on after his father's death.

Oskar’s grandmother struggle with the loss of both her husband and her son.

Thomas Sr. is unable to move on from the loss of Anna and his experience at the bombings in Dresden.

Birds symbolize moving on from the past and finding joy in life again. Birds can see the bigger picture and go beyond what humans can see.

Birds are unique creatures that are capable of soaring through the sky and are not anchored by the constraint if gravity

In this metaphor Birds are what the characters are trying to be.

Gravity represents tragedy they had experienced. Like a bird, in order for the characters to move on, they need to let go of the weight of the past

The weightlessness of birds shows that to have freedom from tragedy, you must first find happiness.

The lightness or birds, combined with the freedom from gravity they experience all leads to seeing a world beyond their pain