Storytelling plays an essential role in a child’s development. Throughout the novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, stories provide the reader further insight into a character’s perspective. In the novel, Oskar’s father tells him the story of the “Sixth Borough” the night before he dies. This story is significant because it allows for the reader to understand Oskar’s view on life and his coping mechanisms after his father’s death. In the novel, the Sixth Borough represents the motifs of embracing uncertainty, love, and the inevitableness of time. The story of the Sixth Borough emphasizes the motif of embracing uncertainty. Oskar is searching for answers with a scientific backing. He admires Stephen Hawking for his ability to explain the unexplainable with proof. As a young boy, Oskar wants to know how his …show more content…
In the story, the Sixth Borough was floating away each year and could not be chained down forever. As the Sixth Borough drifts away, it drifts away from childhood to maturity. The passage of time is inevitable, and all children must grow up at some point, however, Oskar had to grow up extremely fast. This story is significant because it takes time to get over loss and Oskar’s father tells him that it is okay to fantasize about the past. Furthermore, the voice in the can, just like the messages on the phone, represent a preserving of the past. Throughout the novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, stories provide the reader further insight into a character’s perspective through the use of the motifs of embracing uncertainty, love, and time. The missing piece of central park from the Sixth Borough is similar to the lock and key because the missing part was at home the entire time. This story signifies that it is important to have some form of faith by not only a believing in scientific evidence and learn to cope with loss of a loved one over
In addition, this book succeeds in terms of depicting real life situations to young children. As presented in the story, Reed’s father lost his job; thus, causing him to move back in with
The book opens up to an adult Gene, visiting his old school years later. He comes back after fifteen years to get closure. He visits the buildings that were once so familiar to him, and reflects on how he’s changed, and the constant state of fear that had been so familiar then. But the main reason for his visit is to see the tree. There is a tone of regret as he remembers what happened so long ago, and how it all started.
They’re always about something bad happening” (McCarthy 269). So by this statement, we know that the boy while empathetic, still feels negative emotions for himself. We feel as if the boy is what keeps the book going, the fire; he is the only one who can and will keep the story going because he is seen as something greater than all. After the father dies, we see that the boy finds a group of wanderers and joins them.
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.
Drinking age is not a strange phrase in our lives. Every time when we go to club or buy some liquor, we have to show our photo ID to prove that we have already 21 and we are legal to drink wine. I think this is a really good method to control drinking problem. Before I read these two articles which are “The 21-Year-Old Drinking Age: I Voted for it, It Doesn’t Work” by Dr. Morris E. Chafetz and “The Drinking Age of 21 Saves Lives” by Toben F. Nelson and Traci L. Toomey, I only felt that when people grow up they will have self-control to hold their desire for drinking and could decide whether it is appropriate to drink at that moment. I didn’t collect any data or information to support my opinion,
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
This story begins to drive the sense of emotion with the very surroundings in which it takes place. The author starts the story by setting the scene with describing an apartment as poor, urban, and gloomy. With that description alone, readers can begin to feel pity for the family’s misfortune. After the apartments sad portrayal is displayed, the author intrigues the reader even further by explaining the family’s living arrangements. For example, the author states “It was their third apartment since the start of the war; they had
exciting retelling of the boy’s actions and stories and as well a very good book. Hoose’s use of
However, his words are a key element to the story because they reflect valuable lessons that the children may need for future reference. The narrator wants to save the children from heartache and disappointment; however he fails to realize that all children must experience these emotions for themselves in order to become mature. As the narrator stares into the lives of the children, it seems as though he is reliving his own life. His
In many fictional works the setting can change the whole story in the blink of an eye. The Boy In The Striped Pajamas is a book set in WWII. However, the story is told through the eyes of a young, innocent german boy named Bruno. Bruno’s family lives in Berlin until Hitler orders Bruno’s father to move to Auschwitz to direct the camp. Bruno eventually meets and befriends one of the Jewish prisoners living in the camp. Specific parts of the setting such as the weather and the time period can heavily influence the mood, negatively or positively. Also, individual aspects of the character’s surroundings can provide the basis for important events and/or twists in the plot. Character's thoughts, actions, and feelings can be developed with help from the setting. The setting of a concentration camp negatively influences the mood, provides the basis for pivotal events in the plot, and develops the character’s thoughts and actions in The Boy In The Striped Pajamas.
The fictional life and death of a twelve year old little boy named Robert is vividly articulated in this moving tale by Thomas Wolfe. The reader learns of the boy’s life through four well developed points of view. The reader’s first glimpse into Robert’s character is expressed through a third person narrative. This section takes place on a particularly important afternoon in the boy’s life. The second and third views are memories of the child, through the eyes of his mother and sister. His mother paints the picture of an extraordinary child whom she loved dearly and his sister illustrates the love that the boy had for others. Finally, an account from the narrator is given in the ending. It is in the last section of this work that the
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.
In Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Foer tells a story about a kid named Oskar who loses his dad in the 9/11 attacks. During this time, Foer introduces a new set of characters - Oskar’s grandma and grandpa. Their relationship is strained and lacks fundamental love that they cannot obtain. Because of this, the pair has created a disregard for each others feelings. Both have lost ways to get their messages across to each other, which has resulted in a failure to understand what each other has to say. By reason of this, the grandma and the grandpa misinterpret each other's words which causes tension between them, therefore resulting in a broken relationship. In Extremely Loud and Incredibly
Markus Zusak develops the theme the power of words in this novel by using words to create comfort and serenity throughout the time of the war. Words are used to help develop ideas, thoughts, and knowledge for young Liesel Meminger as she reads the books she steals from the mayor’s library. Liesel begins school not knowing anything at all including how to read and write. She learns from her adopted father, Hans Hubermann, who takes Liesel in since her parents are not capable of taking care of her. Each night, Hans reads to Liesel hoping she will develop and learn how to read and pronounce words. In the basement of the Hubermanns, Hans has walls which include the alphabet letters printed on them. Liesel and Hans develop a bond between them as he teaches her words. Words comfort Liesel as she goes through the hard times and makes her want to read more. The Hubermanns take in a Jew named Max along with Liesel. Liesel and Max become closer and grow a bond
Throughout the story “Samuel,” Grace Paley uses language to generate a healthy dialogue about the fragility of life by comparing the thoughts and reactions of all the characters in the story leading up to and following Samuel’s tragic death. The text leads the reader through four young boys’ adventures on a train. The story chronicles the thoughts of the passengers on the train in New York City, and their actions leading up to and following the unfortunate death of the main character, Samuel.