Analysis Of Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close stresses the importance of family, and when someone is taken away suddenly, how that can impact one’s views on life and one’s own morality. In addition, the novel emphasizes that people grieve in different ways and at different paces; this is shown through Oskar’s journey and his mother’s friend, Ron. Both characters use those things as ways to deal with the death of Thomas Schell, and both move at different paces. The book also looks into how deception can be an aspect of how people treat others who are grieving; both Oskar and his mother hide things from each other because they both believe it will help the other grieve more easily. Had the two characters not done this, they may not have coped with the death of Thomas the same way. The deception from the two characters when relating to the death of a family member shows how connected the themes of family, morality, and deception are in the novel Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.

For many people, life is about finding a raison d’ȇtre, or a reason to exist. This reason gives meaning to each day and is different for every person. For example, doctors save lives, lawyers seek justice, teachers educate students. In Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer, Oskar, a precocious nine-year-old, finds his own raison d’ȇtre. The story of Oskar Schell is existential; as shown through Oskar’s loneliness, his father’s death, and his attempt to find the lock that his father’s key opens.

In the story, “A Sound of Thunder” by Ray Bradbury a man by the name of Mr. Eckels goes on a safari expedition with a company called Time Safari Inc., sixty-five million years back in time. During this expedition they find a Tyrannosaurus Rex and Eckels becomes nervous and freaks out, after that he seems scared and steps off a path which is strictly forbidden as it can alter the timeline, in doing so he crushes a butterfly and changes what will become the present. Through this story Ray Bradbury is trying to convey the theme of all of your actions, even small ones, can grow and form into much greater consequences and outcomes. We shouldn’t be blind to the consequences of our actions.

Besides the intuitive black-and-white graphics, Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close displays a series of gripping texts that range from profound seriousness to adventurous lightheartedness. The story follows through the footsteps of a nine year old boy named Oscar Schell after his father passed away from the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. Oscar is left traumatized and is constantly unhappy with himself and others. Through his story, Oscar illustrates how to forgive himself from the feelings of regret, loss, and emotional strain. Furthermore, he provides an explicit example showing that even after a painful heart-rending experience, one can overcome fear and transcend grief.

It’s heavily implied (although not stated directly) that Oskar suffers from depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues, as well as autism, and these struggles are referenced frequently throughout the book in the form of metaphors. In the limousine on the way to his father’s funeral at the beginning of the book, Oskar is chastised by his mother and thinks, “She could tell that I was zipping up the sleeping bag of myself, and I could tell that she didn’t really love me.” (Foer, pg. 6) In this sentence, Oskar is attempting to express to the reader that he’s retreating within himself, closing himself off, internalizing these deep emotions in the wake of something tragic and painful. He’s already been hurt deeply by the death of his father, and the disapproval of his mother compounds this hurt, leading him to retreat and miscommunicate. Even though he’s physically talking (in fact, Oskar is extremely chatty for most of the limousine ride), Oskar is unable to express any of the big feelings that he’s experiencing because he’s been hurt and he’s attempting to protect

This book is told through the eyes of an extremely smart and funny nine-year-old who is also the narrator, Jonathan Safran Foer. He tells a story of the effects of his fathers tragic death, in the 9/11 terrorist attack, on his father, Oskar Schell, and his family as a whole. Oskar's father not only endured the pain of being trapped in the towers, but was killed due to not being able to escape. To add to the stories allready tragic story line, Oskar's grandparents had also witnessed terrorist attacks, like that of 9/11, during World War II and this brings back their old memories. The peoples horrible deaths in

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close centers on a young boy and his ways of dealing with the loss of his relationship with his mother and the determination he once had to decode his father 's messages. At a very young age, Oskar Schell lost his father, and this led to the

A loud buildup of sound, usually screaming, often is suddenly silenced to support the main argument. Because the argument changes so often, the screaming was used to demonstrate how overwhelming and horrible the situation was. Screaming is associated with terror, fear, and distress—something that the Bagby family

Upon his last encounter with a Black, William Black, Oskar admits to the guilt he felt when he heard his father’s dying moments, “He needed me and I couldn’t pick up. I just couldn’t pick up. I just couldn’t. Are you there? He asked eleven times. I know because I’ve counted,” (Foer, 301). This perpetual state of guilt that devours Oskar, caused by the memory of the phone call, epitomizes the despair and lost that Oskar held upon his shoulders. Admitting this guilt to Mr. Black not only gives insight regarding 9/11 on Oskar’s mental state, but to the severity of the impact presented upon a young child. This verbal admittance permits Oskar to close the wound within himself and reconnect with the idea that his father is dead, yet life will be better. As the novel ends with, “We would have been safe,” (Foer, 326), Oskar moves past the influence of guilt and sadness regarding 9/11 and reconciles with his mother, grandmother, and

The frightful familiarity of the screams,and the fact that it happens in the nursery where the lions are, foreshadows the Hadleys’ imminent crisis. Later you are able to come to the conclusion that the children were in fact using the technology in the nursery to plan the details of their parents deaths, which ties to the fact that wholly depending on technology can lead to

At the beginning of the film, Oskar narrates that he has “always had a hard time doing somethings” (Daldry 2001). Here, Oskar alludes to his many social difficulties when interacting with others, as well as his other mood disorders frequently associated with ASD such as anxiety, hyperactivity, and paranoia (Autism Speaks). Oskar, as a result of the trauma of his father’s death and his disorder, struggles immensely with anxiety and guilt after we learn that he froze in fear on September 11th when the phone rang while he was home alone. When Oskar finally tells his Grandfather about the incident, he emotionally cries, “I wanted to pick up the

He injects striking images within the story to shock the viewer. With a “restricted” rating on the film the filmmakers are able to insert scenes that are parallel to real events during that time without losing authenticity. Child soldiers parade the streets and mutilated corpses flash between snippets of dialogue. Children cry. Even a little detail such as using mature language develops insight into the human condition; when placed in stressful situations individuals tend to be more colorful with their vocabulary. This, coupled with the score, is able to create compassionate emotions. As the French embassy is evacuated, the film score uses uncommon musical instruments and a rhythm that makes the viewer feel stressed and uncomfortable. It acts as a portal to the fear experienced during this

The way the themes of shame, pride and forgiveness integrate subtly into the minds of the audience is the defining line between a disaster and something truly wonderful.The character Ink is the visage of a literary grotesque: his very nature evokes a simultaneous notion of disgust and pity towardhis disfigured and tortured being.His pride and shamehave turned his consciousness outward: distorting his face and poisoning his doomed mind.I noticed right away that Inkis avery loud character: he shuffles his giant feet, grunts and constantly screams in frustration. He even bangs ona pair of poorly-crafted bongos to travel amongalternate dimensions.One thingthat is overlookedhowever,is how much auditory space he takes up when he is in frame. His cloak of rags and chains, a symbol of his eternal burden and suffering, creates a mournful rhythmicclanking and scufflingevery time he walks or even gestures with his deformed hands.Everywhere he walksit seems as though gravel is underfoot, even on the perfectly paved streets of the city. This symbolizes the weight of his suffering, and low-key adds to his desperation to become an Incubi: one who is devoid of

"A Sound of Thunder" (Ray Bradbury) and "The Lottery" (Shirley Jackson) are both connected through a specific quality that characters in both stories contain. That quality is the inability to make good decisions. When faced with alarming or stressful situations, Eckels, Travis, and the townsfolk in the lottery, make bad decisions. The townsfolk blunder through their life, blindly following the unjust tradition to stone someone to death each year. Eckels and Travis are both cowards, and cowards tend to make bad decisions because they are selfish. Both stories are connected by these cowardly people that make bad decisions.

Jonathan Safran Foer’s choice of the title Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2005) has significant meaning in terms of the struggle to find peace. Specifically, the phrase refers to Oskar’s loud thoughts and fears, and his journey to discover what the key opens to get closer to his deceased father. Oskar continuously uses these words throughout the novel, particularly in situations that make him overthink about specific aspects of his father’s death, such as closed spaces. For instance, he explains how “almost the whole ride to Bronx was underground, which made [him] incredibly panicky” (Foer 194). He feels as if disaster may occur at any moment, and therefore continuously avoids situations that make him uncomfortable. Oskar had a sense of