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Jonathan Safran Foer was born on February 21, 1977 in Washington D.C. and is the writer of our book, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. Foer is an intelligent man and attended Princeton University where he studied Philosophy. While at Princeton, Foer was able to take a writing course under the novelist Joyce Carol Oates. Oates noted Foer's talent at an early stage, informing him that he had "that most important of writerly qualities, energy." Foer later wrote about Oates,"She was the first person to ever make me think I should try to write in any sort of serious way. And my life really changed after that”. Foers first “big break” was coming out of Princeton when his thesis (wrote at Princeton) turned into the book, Everything is Illuminated. The book was published by Houghton Mifflin in 2002 and this novel then went on to earn him the Jewish Book Award and the Guardian First Book Award. In 2005, the book become a film version. In the same year, Foer published his second novel Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close the story in which we know of nine-year-old Oskar Schell and his search across New York City for the lock that fits his secret key. Foer in this particular book uses writing techniques including varied typography and multiple narrators. The novel sold well and a movie-version was created in 2011 with big stars like Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock playing the parents of Oskar. Foers work has also been noted to be translated into thirty languages worldwide!! Foer currently teachers Creative Writing at NYU and lives with his wife Nicole Krauss and their two children in Brooklyn, New York.

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"Feminist criticisms of the Bush Administration distinguish its feminized security rhetoric, which claims to support women's rights in Iraq and Afghanistan, from its actions at home and abroad, which undermine hard-won gains for women." https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/politics-and-gender/article/w-stands-for-women-feminism-and-security-rhetoric-in-the-post911-bush-administration/214E67983959E68AC1AE24703F521EF8
Following 9/11, women in NYC began to rally suppourt, framing women's rights as an issue to be taken seriously, unlike before when misogynists had pushed it aside. Oskar, as an intelligent, young, male will have to quickly learn to adapt to the changing city.

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Throughout the first part of the book, we can see how Oskar and his family were affected immensely as a result of the September 11th, 2001 attack. This translates to the actual events that occurred and how most of New York City and the rest of the world were shaken by the terrorist acts. Immediately following the attacks, three national studies found widespread post-traumatic stress symptoms in the general U.S. population. A national telephone survey of 560 adults found that 44% of participants reported substantial stress reactions. This is due to the lack of safety and security they felt were in place when the attack happened. Media images being seen and many being apart of these attacks, the safety in these times of war and terrorism, were significantly associated with PTSD symptoms within the population. In New York City alone, the destruction and damage to the World Trade Center Twin Towers and 35 surrounding buildings resulted in almost 3,000 fatalities, 150,000 jobs lost, and $50 billion to $100 billion in economic costs. After the attacks, the recovery and cleanup period was lengthy, lasting through June 2003. We can see how the entire United States was in a shock as a result of this horrifying attack.

Source- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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A thought provoking and heart wrenching novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close follows the journey of nine year old, Oskar Schell as he sets out on a journey after the death of his father in 9/11. Following his pursuit of a lock his father let behind, Oskar explores NYC, in hopes of staying connected to his dad. Oskar struggles with grief and the trauma of the "worst day", coping by "inventing" and staying focused on one day, finding answers about his dad. We grow sympathetic to Oskar's lack of self love and fall in love with his quirky, inquisitive, and imaginative mind. Along the way we meet characters like Oskar's Grandma, Grandpa, and Mother. With every character on a journey of coping with grief of loss, mistakes, and regrets, they are all connected in a personal way. Throughout the novel, we see the significance of making every "I love you" necessary, and living every moment as if it's your last.

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New York City, being a heavily populated area, is full of a diverse range of people. When the 9/11 attack took place, the city was forced to come together and unite. Oskar, a young boy, broadens his horizons by venturing out into the city. In reality, he doesn't need the key to meet new people, it's just his aid in finding his way to his father.

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Within all the sections we've read so far, Oskar finds himself lying about anything and everything in order to find the lock that fits the key he found in his father's closet. There are different size lies for different situations weather it be a huge lie like Oskar withholding his father's last answering machine messages and lying to his mother about where he was going or even as small has how old he was. These lies are done for emotional protection of Oskar. However, they have the effect of creating emotional distance between the characters. Oskar feels very guilty about all these lies. We can tell he is because keeps track of them by numbering them.

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Oskar shows his emotion physically when we see how he gives himself bruises after he listens to the recordings of some of his dads last words. Oksar explains that he “Invented. I gave myself a bruise. I invented” on page 69. We can see the build up of emotions as he is listening to the horrible messages his dad left him and he's holding this secret from the ones he loves the most. Oskar then takes out his anger out on himself by pinching himself to make a bruise. It's very sad seeing the main character go through this pain and knowing that there is no other way for Oskar to cope with his issues and he takes it out on himself by self harm.

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Each of the three narrators describe each of their journey in a different way. Oskar’s is his definitive quest to find the lock that fits his father’s key. His journey through the streets of New York is a very physical expedition. However, by overcoming his fears of strangers, crowded places, and heights, Oskar also undertakes an emotional journey. This journey helps him move past his grief to better understand his connection to the world outside himself. We see the Grandma’s journey being very emotional from the start as she speaks of her childhood during World War II, and of her arrival in New York City seven years later. Her marriage with Thomas struggled with all rules they had focused on. Her focus then shifts and her journey becomes one of self-discovery through her correspondence. Thomas’s journey is about trying to escape the pain of his past. He is unable to escape the trauma of the bombings, and lives his life according to abstract rules which deny him the true possibility of happiness. We are then left off with seeing how he comes back after he learns of his sons sudden death. I really hope all these unique journeys keep intertwining through an emotional  link this story has to offer.

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Conflict may occur however, love binds people together, but family is an even deeper tie. We see this develop through the relationship with Oskar and his mother. Oskar being resentful and making her feel guilty of moving on so quickly after the loss of her husband, Oskars mother still planned his whole journey through New York City which shows her unconditional love for her son and willingness to be in his life even if she has to disguise it. The Grandma and Grandpa have a relationship that develops, eventually, into a very different kind of love than passion or desire. Although Grandpa left Grandma angrily when she became pregnant, because that broke the terms of their initial relationship, they eventually begin to forgive each other when he returns to her house after the tragic news of his son and becomes "the renter".

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Once his father dies, Oskar senses a change in his life where instead of only having one parent, he has none. The only thing his mother thinks about is relieving herself from the pain she experiences from not having her husband, however, Oskar has to be alone and find what his father set out for him on his own, and due to this, Oskar is never going to be the same child he was when he had his dad.

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Oskar’s Growing Resentment Towards his Mother

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Oskar’s Growing Resentment Towards his Mother

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As Oskar is grieving over the death of his father, he grows further apart from his mother. This stems from a resentment for her ability to move on faster than him. As humans, we cope in different ways. For Oskar, he is coping by keeping the traditions, and memories of his father alive. Whereas his mother attempts to cope by distracting herself and striving to move on. This frustrates Oskar immensely, especially with the arrival of Ron, his mothers “friend”. Oskar becomes defensive quickly, defending the role his deceased father continues to play in his life, and refuses to throw away his things just to simply “make space”. The relationship between Oskar and his mother is one of defensive nature, and grows rocky as the mother moves on, and Oskar is left behind, searching for answers.

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A quote I find extremely significant that Oskar says is on page 203 when he states that "I'm gonna bury my feelings deep inside me. No matter how much I feel, I'm not going to let it out." He then goes on to explain how he is not going to cry, nor is he going to bleed, nor is he going to tell anyone in the world if his heart "starts to go crazy". This is extremely unhealthy and a horrible solution to Oskar's grief and anger. This leads me to believe that Oskar feels as if no one cares about him, or how he is feeling. His father really was his world and the only one he felt he could confide in. Now that person is gone and he is left with no one but himself. I'm hopeful that he finds someone he can talk to, cry to, and express just exactly how he is feeling.

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I found Oskar's heart to heart with his mother to be extremely heart warming. It made me so happy to see them bond and be able to talk to one another. I think that Oskar was pleased to see his mother grieve over his father's death, since he's been waiting so long for it. I feel as if this made him accept his mother more and be more open to confiding in her. This became clear when Oskar told his mother that it would be OK if she fell in love again. This was a turning point for Oskar because he came to the realization that his mother does miss her husband, but that she is trying to accept what has happened, and that he is only holding her back from this. I was very satisfied with this particular event in the book, especially at the ending.

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It has become clear that Oskar's only source of happiness and hope is his adventures on the weekend to go searching for answers. He expresses how "...it was Friday, which meant it was almost Saturday, which meant I was that much closer to the lock, which was happiness" (Page 207). The only thing Oskar looks forward to all week is the weekend, when he goes searching for the lock. This is very saddening that Oskar can't find happiness in anything else in life other than that one thing. He is holding on to something that is already gone.

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Oskar maintains a routine and certain rituals throughout the book that are noted several times. Oskar seems very unsteady in this novel by going out and wandering throughout New York City. However, he constructs specific rules that he strictly follows as apart of his rituals. For example, Oskar refuses to get onto public transportation and prefers to walk everywhere. We can also see how he asks for coffee every time he encounters someone and they ask what he wants to drink and the repetitiveness throughout his conversations as he asks each “Black” if they knew his father or the key. I believe the rituals throughout this novel sometimes help Oskars brain get throughout the day easier with no stress and anxiety. This expedition also helps him cope with his grief of his father's death. These rituals could also be a coping mechanism that provides Oskar with stability in his chaotic world.

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Oskar is having difficulty with how he feels on the inside and how he portrays himself on the outside. Our lives shape our personalities which shape who we are as a person, however, Oskar is unsure of who he is and the only person who really understood him was his father, so with him out of the picture, who can truly know what he is going through

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In this publication about the novel, a writer says, "Grief is extremely loud-- though it is often the thing we silence or refuse to acknowledge-- but it is also what brings us incredibly close". Every character in the novel is grieving. Whether it be over a loved one, their past, lost time, or the questions they will never have the answers to. The unifying question among all of these characters is why grief is inevitable. This struggle brings all of the characters together in a unique way, even though they are oblivious to it

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Parallel between Oskar and William Black

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Parallel between Oskar and William Black

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I found it interesting how several parallels were highlighted between Oskar and William Black's lives. First of all, both characters lost their father's to tragic deaths. Oskar's dad dying in the 9-11 attack, and William's father's sudden death from disease. In addition, both children were curious why their fathers never said "I love you". Oskar's father didn't say it on the last voice message, and William's father didn't say it in his letter. It is questionable whether these parallels have any significance, however I found them interesting and important to note.

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Within this novel, Oskar struggles with the fact that his father has passed away, leaving him with a plethora of unanswered questions. These questions Oskar develops leads to conflict within himself and towards the people around him such as his mother. Internally, Oskar struggles with conflict because he does not want to erase his memory of his father, however he is struggling to hold on to him and the memories. Therefore, this takes a toll on Oskar’s relationship with his mother. For example, during his searches around New York City to further his knowledge about the “clue” his father left behind, Oskar states “ Every time I left our aparatmet to go searching for the lock, I became a little lighter, because I was getting closer to Dad. But I also became a little heavier, because I was getting farther from Mom.” (pg 52) This demonstrates the emotional toll this death has had on Oskar and the unhealthy habits such as avoidance the family uses to cope with the scenario.

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"...just because you bury something, you don't really bury it" (page 322). I found this quote extremely intriguing and realistic as it represents Oskar throughout the novel. Although Oskar physically was present at the funeral to bury his father, he never emotionally buried him. He was on a hunt to become one step closer to his father who was already gone. This becomes obvious when Oskar says "I was surprised Dad wasn't there" (page 321) when he opens his casket. Oskar expected to be reconnected with his father when he reached the end of his search, however he wasn't.

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With a year or so passed since the death of his father, Oskar now takes a view of every situation puts a twist on it to make it seem like the worst possible thing could happen. I believe this is because time has passed and he still has not found the lock for the key, which this could create a mindset for him where the world's issues can never be resolved and great things and events can be turned upside down in an instant.

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Oskar reveals his confusion in regards to why he sees a doctor each week to discuss his feelings about his father's death. He explains how he is apprehensive about these meetings because he feels as if his feelings are practical after a death and that they shouldn't change. He states how "...you should wear heavy boots when your dad dies, and if you aren't wearing heavy boots, then you need help" (Page 200). This reveals how Oskar sees nothing wrong with his feelings, but everything wrong with his mother's feelings. I understand where Oskar is coming from, however he is dealing with grief differently with his mother and must come to terms and understand this.

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Oskar is an afflicted child, one who has to overcome the death of his father at the age of just 9 years old. He has witnessed a traumatic, era-bending event, and will now have to cope with his future, possibly alone.
On the other hand, he is intelligent to the point of rudeness, standoffish to people he meets (except a chosen few), and makes his mother's life difficult, particularly in the case of the keys given to the postman and cohorts.

This poses the question; how is the author trying to make us, as readers, see Oskar? Is he the child who lost his dad and struggling to continue a normal life? Or is he the child who is using his circumstances to be an angst-y pre-teen to those around him who care?

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At the end of the first half, Oskar experiences varying emotions towards his mother due to her not mourning his dad's death in the way he wants her to. This causes his resentment towards his mother to turn into anger and which ultimately made him lash out at her saying that she should've been the one who died. What she doesn't understand is that he is only nine and even though he is incredibly intelligent, his maturity level is still only that of a kid who is nine and he doesn't get why she wants to get her mind off of her deceased husband.

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When Oskar meets the final Black of the first half, he finds out that he is deaf. This is important for Oskar because he has yet to find someone with difficulties in life other than himself. As a foil to Oskar, being deaf has forced Mr. Black into his appartment after a long life of exploring and adventuring; opposite to Mr. Black, the death of Oskar’s father is pushing Oskar to get out into the world, having been sheltered almost his whole life. Conversation between the two results in the betterment of both characters, cumulating in a friendship I believe will stand the test of the novel as I read further.

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On page 295, Oskar states “The whole point of the key is that I found it in my dad’s closet, and since he’s dead, I couldn’t ask him what it meant so I had to find out for myself”. We can see by this that Oskar is not only trying to find the lock but he’s trying to find his dad. He wants to amend everything that happened and put an end to an unfortunate chapter of his life

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It is upsetting how tragically altered Oskar's life has become. For only being 9, he has admitted to his suffering and believes that it will never end. In a way, it seems as if he is hollow inside and his personality will never be the same without his father, making his state of mind to be questioned

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Oskar's mind is extremely complex and processes deep information in a manner way above his age.
The way this is translated to us is through random outbursts of text throughout information.
It is as if we are trying to listen to a story or watching a movie while somebody blurts out random facts about their day, or about the actors in your ear.

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"New York City encompasses five different county-level administrative divisions called boroughs: Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boroughs_of_New_York_City

As for the 6th burrow, Oskar talks about it in a mystical context, with a dream-like land. This is another example of how Oskar is reliant on his dad despite his passing.

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I agree with this analysis which states Oskar is creating a fable through which his father survives; I believe (alluding to my Reading Check #4) that Oskar never truly finds an answer to his search.

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Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close What's Up With the Ending?

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What does the ending mean in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close book, meaning of the ending

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While reading this book, a reoccurring question is if we are supposed to sympathize for Oskar or feel annoyed by his personality. Personally, I feel bad for Oskar and all he has been through because he struggles with processing it all. Eventually, it even leads to him self harming leaving bruises among his body. Later on, Oskar states “I DONT PUT THEM THERE FOR HER, BUT I STILL WANT HER TO ASK ME HOW I GOT THEM ( EVEN THOUGH SHE PROBABLY KNOWS), AND TO FEEL BAD FOR ME” (72-73). This illsuartes Oskar’s small cry for help towards his mom in his desperate time and makes me question how this young innocent child can be deemed as “annoying.”

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At the end of reading check 4 it asked if we felt satisfied with the novel after completion. I said I did not; I felt as if although it covered Oskar's childhood issues well, I felt as if he did not reach true closure, and he may suffer with psychological problems in the future; We do not know the author's true intentions as to whether he wanted us to believe he had reached closure or not, but I would have liked to see a flash-forward into a future for Oskar where he has grown up and fully comprehended and dealt with the problems of his childhood.

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Come the close of the novel the only person present in Oskar's fantasy is his Dad. Since that is the last thing we hear from the author, what happens to the mum, the grandma, his (sort of) friends the Blacks? Is this an intentional omission of information, or was it a mistake then realized as wonderful writing

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Destruction caused by the actions of others

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Destruction caused by the actions of others

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In the novel, when Oskar is having a conversation with his mother about her personality being pessimistic or optimistic, he states "Then I have some bad news for you, because humans are going to destroy each other as soon as it becomes easy enough to" (43). This quote foreshadows the attacks on 9/11 and how so many have demonstrated such hatred towards others to kill thousands of people how have loved ones who need them, and Oskar is ultimately caught in a situation where he lost the one person who truly understood him. Due to his father's passing, his innocence for being a young boy is irrelevant because he has to be the person to preserve his father's legacy whereas his mother has moved on fairly quick.

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The novel follows a “Full Circle” story line. At the beginning, Oskar sets out to find the lock and eventually does find it in the end.  Oskar, as a character, also experiences a full circle growth. Oskar starts the novel off being close minded about moving forward, rejects the help of others, and refuses to open up to anyone’s about his feelings. By the end of the novel, he receives the closure he needed about his dad, and forms a strong relationship with his mom. Along the way, he opens up to the people around him, and finally comes to terms with his ndividuality and his emotions.

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This quote was on page 182 and even though it's seen from Oskars Grandma's point of view, this "Theory of Emptiness" she is describing is still very relevant. The Grandma explains this to show how she's only really ever loved her sister Anna and even Thomas, her husband was "Nothing" to her. Throughout this book we also see how Oskar is struggling with his father's death and we can see the love he had for him and no one will ever fill that hole in his heart.

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Foer Interview: worth listening to...beware possible spoilers!

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Foer Interview: worth listening to...beware possible spoilers!

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Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a novel told through a 9-year old narrator who lost his father in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers. Reviewer Alan Cheuse teaches writing at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

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Jonathan Safran Foer Returns with 'Loud and Close'

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Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a novel told through a 9-year old narrator who lost his father in the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers. Reviewer Alan Cheuse teaches writing at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

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While the book ended more abruptly than expected, I kind of felt that I knew Oskar as a real person. His values and thoughts raised questions that become apparent as we grow older. Death is a concept that comes with age. We might not ever fully understand the reasons behind it, however, we expect it to come someday.

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The events that occur in our lives can be some of the worst and are very unexpected to say the least. With life comes the thought of death. They intertwine in a way that is very difficult to grasp, and death is uncertainly unexpected. This quote on page 215 is very broad, however it does raise many questions.

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A binary opposition that is present in “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” is old versus young. This opposition is illustrated through Oskar’s unique relationship with his grandmother. Oskar doesn’t really relate to children his age, or mention having any friends, however he has no problem connecting with his grandma. At one point in the novel, Oskar developed a list of his favorite people, and listed his grandmother as first and mother as second. Moreover, this is symbolic because usually mother has a closer bond with her child over anyone, yet in this case it’s his grandmother.

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On page 126 and 127 the author uses oxymorons to describe situations that the grandfather experienced having contrasting emotions attached to them. He says “handsome and broken”, and “awkward and natural”. This makes authors relate to the way the grandfather was feeling in those moments. Persoanlly, I’ve been in situations in which I have felt so genuinely comfortable yet uncomfortable at the same time. I think this leaves readers with a take away that not everything is black and white, especially in this mans life. Things can be one way and the exact opposite at the same time depending on ones personal experience. I found this significant because in this novel, things do not simply have surface level meanings.

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Seeing the story from Grandpa’s point of view really made me analyze the differences in how life was seen between the characters. Grandpa was there watching over his family even without them being aware and it depicts a caring side of his character that Grandma and Oskar skip over. Grandpa suffered severe PTSD from the bombing in Dresden and I don’t really blame him for not knowing how to handle life after.

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Each individual in this world has a unique story which is present within our lives. When Oskar was talking to William Black, he didn't want his story to end because he was afraid of the ending. That is exactly what we don't want happening in our lives, however, every story has an ending, and I feel that Oskar is not only coping with his father's death, but also try to live with the other lives that will be ended in the distant future.

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From the beginning, the tone set in the novel is very somber and sorrowful. All the characters are experiencing grief from the death of a loved one. Although there is an occasional glimmer of hope from Oskar's grandmother, or moments of humor from Oskar's unique personality, overall the tone is bleak and dark.

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In Freudian Theory,  our personality develops from the interactions among what he proposed as the three fundamental structures of the human mind: the id, ego, and superego. In Oskar's mind, his id are his adventures across NYC to find the Black's, and his following adventures with Mr. Black. His superego are the back thoughts he has pondering if it's all worth it, the contemplation of people he meets, and the judgement of his own, and other people's actions. Finally, the ego is the delicate balance he finds by doing both, and appeasing both sides of his mind, with the third.

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A very real thought that occurs to Oskar is the question “Which would I choose?” if he was involved in 9/11. This thought provoked him to think of specific scenarios that could’ve happened to the thousands of innocent people in the terrorist attack. He comes to the conclusion that he would burn, because “feeling pain is still better than not feeling...” This illustrates the harsh choice people had to make, which was choosing which way to die by weighing out pros and cons on pain level.

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Everyone within this novel has lost someone whether it be a dad, sister, mother, or a marriage that slowly broke away. It is hard for the characters to comprehend “why”, and the confusion wrapped around their losses brings them closer together. One could say the silence endured during their mourning is ironically the “ Extremely Loud “ part of the novels title, and “Incredibly Close” is how the family was brought together in this difficult time.

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https://www.litcharts.com/lit/extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close/characters/mom

I think the bonding moment Oskar and his mother had at the end of the novel was a breakthrough moment for the both of them. Oskar said it was the first time mom didn’t hold back her tears, and it was the first time he’s cried to her about the situation. The two were able to communicate on a real level for the first time the whole novel.

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As the novel has progressed, I have observed Oskar’s many superstitions and fears come to light. For example, the way he avoids public transportation. Oskar refuses to take any form of public transportation, from buses to trains, to subways to even taxis. The only way he gets around the city is by foot. He realizes it takes him much longer to get to his destination, however he is stubborn and refuses. In addition, his fear of elevators. Oskar refuses to take an elevator up to any floor, as he must take the stairs. Just a few examples noted, it is clear that Oskar sets rigid rules for himself as he wanders through the city on a mission to reach his goal.

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“why didn’t I learn to treat everything like it was the last time” (281) This quote is heavily relatable to a lot of aspects in life. In the novel, Oskar’s grandfather is learning that everything good (or bad) will come to an end eventually. You never truly know what you have until it’s gone, and this book is really surrounded by that quote.

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In his expenditures, Oskar is acquainted with an old man how is surprisingly in a sort of similar situation that Oskar is in. They both do not have the people they once felt very close to anymore and while Oskar is grieving since he is young, the old man seems content with life because he knows that he has lived his life to the fullest. In theory, I believe that the old man is the "key" that reveals the answers that Oskar is seeking.

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Heavy boots. A feeling of not being able to move on, depression, and worthlessness. Oskar endeavors with the pain of searching for closure amongst the enormous city he lives in, which makes him have “ heavy boots “ because the more he searches, the more questions arise.

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I believe that the pictures that are put into the story are very symbolic and Jonathan Safran Foer puts them in there for many amazing reasons. We understand that this story is being told from the perspective of a 9 year old who is very intelligent, Oskar. The pictures in a way help us to understand whats going through the creative brain of his. For example, many things Oskar enjoys including Stephen Hawkings, the turtles and the paper airplanes are many of the few images featured. However, we see that raw and upsetting side as we see 2 images of what seems to be a person falling from the World Trade Center Twin Towers. We can only assume that Oskar infers that it's his father. Just how Oskar loves to piece the puzzle together after he finds the key, I believe Foer uses these pictures to piece this book together and that the book represents a kind of puzzle.

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Within the first and second chapter of the novel, the color white has made multiple appearances. The color is a symbol of Oskar’s purity and innocence and is also the opposite of black which surrounds death. For example, Oskar states “She also gave me a white blazer, because I only wear white clothes, and it’s too big to wear so it will last me a long time.” (3) This demonstrates that he is trying to disassociate himself from the color “black” and what meaning surrounds it.

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A phrase was said that caught my attention and made me think for a second, conveying how "...that's all anyone wants from anyone else, not love itself but the knowledge that love is there, like new batteries in the flashlight in the emergency kit in the hall closet"(p. 130). I found this quote to be very intriguing because I think we all have different outlooks on love and what love feels like. This made me look at love differently though, as although the act of loving someone and being
loved is important for the heart if soul, however knowing love is there and present in their lives has the ability to make a person feel safe and secure. In my opinion, Oskar is lacking this feeling right now in his life. Although he has his grandmother, who he has a very close bond with, the love from his father is now a dark hole in his life in which is no longer comforting to him anymore.

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Watching the end of the movie in comparison to the book was very different in which the watcher/reader was left off. In the movie Oskar looks under the seat of a swing to revealing the finish line of the "Sixth Borough" scavenger hunt his dad prepared for him before he tragically passed away which gave him a sense of relief that hbis dad would always be with him to challenge him beyond imagination. However in the book, the key led to nothing and it just ended with that and not knowing where Oskar would go from there with his mental state. The hard truth in the book is that no matter where the key led Oskar, it wouldn't have provided him with any closure about his Dad's death. Dad died tragically, and there's no changing that. Oskar's going to have find closure from within his journey.

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On page 163 Oskar says, “there are so many times when you know you’re feeling a lot of something, but you don’t know what the something is…confusion changes your mood”. I completely relate to this statement in everyday life. In the face of emotional and traumatic experiences, emotions run rampid and deciphering them from one other takes a toll on you. Oskar is in search of so much throughout the novel. Not only a way to keep his father close to him, but more knowledge pertaining to himself. I think he really is lost and searching for a way of understanding who he is, because no one truly does, not even himself

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The novel ends with disturbing images, not words. Jonathan Safran Foer did this throughout the book to show a characters feelings or make the reader feel a certain way. Foer presents the reader with a backwards flipbook of a man falling out of the World Trade Center. However, instead of going down, the man appears to be falling up. This wordless, upside-down and tragic image provides more closure than words could convey in this story. Even though the flip book is traumatic and terrifying, there’s also an immense amount of hope that the reader can’t help but feel when we see the man flying upwards.

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In understanding the mans life as he tells of his relationship with his wife, we must realize that as humans we are conditioned to face choices. I think in deciding how to spend the rest of your life, thinking about yourself is incredibly crucial. In order to ensure your own happiness, making selfish choices in necessary. Although someone who likes to make everyone around me happy, I’ve been in situations in which I’ve had to think about my self first. Personally, it’s one of the biggest things that I struggle with, and I can’t imagine having  to make the decision this man did. The concept of choices comes up throughout the novel in Oskar’s life too as his mother makes the “selfish” decision to pick her happiness over the grieving of her husband.

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On page 170 Oskar demands of his mother, "promise me you wont fall in love". This shows his insecurity of somebody replacing his dad, even though he doesnt realise nobody can actually replace his dad. This is a display of Oskar's childhood innocence and lack of understanding surrounding the complex concept of love.

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Oskar’s encounter with one of the first Black’s he met left me surprised yet eager to see how the rest play out. In my opinion, this encounter reveals much more about Oskar’s journey than just the key. It reveals a deeper emotion that he is feeling. Not only is he searching for the lock for the key, he’s searching for love and connection, as well as protection and attention. This is revealed when he invites Abby to his play, The Hamlet, as well as when he tries to kiss her. The motivation behind his expedition was to get reconnected with his father, however an underlying motive behind this journey is his need for him to find himself and to find his purpose in the world.

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A reoccurring theme within the first couple chapters of this novel is death and the mystery surrounding it. Oskar is not only attempting to cope with his situation of no longer having a father figure, but trying to comprehend why this happened.

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Oskar’s grandmother tells the story of her and her late husband, Oskar’s grandfather, and teaches him a crucial lesson about love. I predict that this lesson will come back into play amongst Oskar’s journey. This is a significant lesson in my opinion because it illustrates putting others before oneself for the other’s benefit, even without full understanding. A true sign of love is risk and spontaneity; two characteristics that Oskar upholds throughout the beginning of his endeavor to find the mysterious lock. I wonder if Oskar will find himself doing such a thing for someone he cares deeply about.

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In the Granpa’s letter to his son, he says, “I’s the tragedy of loving, you can’t love anything more than something you miss” (208). This is relevant to Oskar’s life as he is missing his father more than anything. Although a typical grieving child would cling to others, Oskar is incapable of openly loving his mother due to his longing for his father. In a way, he is trying to stop missing his father by finding answers but he’s stuck wondering until he does find the lock. Ultimately, he’s digging himself further into missing his dad and won’t be able to fully love his mom until he learns to accept the loss of his father.

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On page 203, Oskar is telling Dr. Fien about his goal to bury all of his emotions in attempt of making things easier. Granted, emotions are complicated and do make things increasingly difficult to understand. However, it is not smart or even remotely healthy for Oskar to suppress all of his feelings. I know his goal is simply to focus on his father. But, his father would hate to see him hurting himself and ignoring his feelings. I wonder how long Oskar will be able to go ignoring his emotions until it starts to take a serious toll on him.

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Inability to lose things that need to be lost

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Inability to lose things that need to be lost

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On page 113, a quote that caught my attention was, "I can only hold on to the things I want to lose". In our lives we all regret mistakes, acquaint ourselves with people we know we shouldn't, and display certain traits that could be an annoyance to others, however, even though we may want to get rid of these dilemmas, our minds are saying hold on because we know that are personalities derive from these ideas. In relation to Oskar, he wants to put his dad's death to peace, but he knows that he doesn't want to lose everything he experienced with his father, making it difficult to move on.

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The Grandpa of Oskar in his letter to his son says, “I’m so afraid of losing something I love that I refuse to love anything” (216). This is incredibly relevant to all loss after trauma. I think that in the face of loss, humans are conditioned to do what ever they can to avoid it. Losing someone you love is the most terrifying and surreal experience one could go through. Oskar is experiencing this first hand.

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A common picture that shows up through the book is a doorknob. In Dresden, Oskar’s grandather burned his hand down to the flesh on a metal doorknob back at his home. These reoccurring pictures depicts the trauma he suffers from. In addition, when they appear with no reasoning in the book, it is implying that Grandfather is thinking of the horrid time. Symbolically, a doorknob could mean a new beginning, but what does it mean when someone is too scared to open it? I personally feel like this is a struggle Oskar’s grandfather deals with.

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On page 293, when referring to a picture, Oskar says, “the closer you looked, the less you could see”.. I think this was relevant to Oskar’s entire search. The lock was practically right in front of him the entire 8 months he searched. And on top of that, everyone around him new what he was doing. I think that the closer he got, the more he lost sight of his goal. Yes, he wanted to find the lock, but at the end of the day, what really brought him closure was the break through moment he had with his mom. Proving that sometimes it takes a step back or reality check to realize what really matters in life, because getting caught up in the chase is so easy.

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Rivalries form competition between to people who have different takes on certain situations. We see this sort of rivalry with Oskar and his mother as Oskar holds grudges with his mother for her moving on faster and not still grieving over his father's death. Obviously as curious as Oskar is, he keeps asking questions about him and showing her how in fact, she does not care at all. This turns into a big argument in which is started when he makes remarks about her laughing with Ron. This arguments escalates to where Oskar screams on page 171, “If I could have chosen, I would have chosen you”. This is powerful because it ends with the mother saying she has been “Hurt” since the worst day.

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After discovering the key, Oscar finds a sense of purpose in tracking down where it belongs. It becomes his escape from his daily routine and the grief he still feels from the death of his father. As they key becomes his new primary focus, he begins wandering all over the city, on a mission, with hopes of finding the missing piece that will make him feel reconnected to his father, so he thinks.

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Throughout this section of the novel, we see Oskar commence his journey for information and knowledge pertaining to his father. With a growing desire to find out more about the key in his dad’s closet, Oskar loses his once innocent self by lying and keeping secrets. Obviously with pure intentions, this illustrates Oskar’s determined and ambitious character. With only his mother and grandmother in his corner after his father’s death, Oskar could chose to stick close to them, grieving the conventional way. Instead, Oskar follows the adventurous and inquisitive characteristics of his father and does what he can to continue the adventures that he once had. This quote (see picture) stands out as it shows that Oskar’s determined attitude often causes him to have “heavy boots”, and an overall lack of happiness. He knows that he cannot tell his mother and grandmother about the voice messages without causing a massive uproar, after a year of not knowing. He continues to keep secrets because he doesn’t want to give up. Not only on his adventure and search for knowledge, but for what could be, his final resurgence of information about his dad.