Symbolism, Imagery and Theme in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

That made him change a lot because he didn't feel wanted in the society. Why didn't he just man up and talk about the problems face to face with his dad? He wasn't that type of person. He didn't feel wanted from family and society that is why he ran away and didn't care if anyone missed him since he would've thought that it was fake love all along like from his father.

Because the father was so involved with himself, he did not make the time or put the effort to develop a proper relationship with his son.

While other may just quickly glance at the narrator’s paintings and not notice anything, Rockwell had always examined the narrator’s work in silence and noticed the subtle details of the narrator’s paintings. Because of Rockwell’s unconventionality, he is able to discern through the façade the narrator puts on and unveil his true identity. Unlike the other individuals who have scrutinized the narrator’s paintings, Rockwell began “frowning at a picture [the narrator] had made.” This illustrates his peculiar thoughts where he is capable of discovering something different from the narrator’s paintings of Sara. Rockwell is able to analyze the meaning behind the narrator’s paintings of Sara and eventually pry out the true meaning of his artwork. Rockwell represents the brutal, cold reality that the narrator must confront and accept. This is demonstrated through his honest, direct words as he tells the narrator that he is “doing [him] a favour by telling you this.” He wishes that the narrator will gradually begin to abandon his painful past and embrace the reality that he must end up confronting. Towards the end, even

father and son. He describes his bond with his father as a support system; they both ensure the

When the object falls, she finds it in the grass and she later identifies it as a simple maple key. Dillard identifies the key after describing her experience because she was unsure of what it was as it was falling but knew after had fallen. The maple key, which usually is in pairs falls single. She greets the maple with a simple

Along in with the author’s use of metaphors is the frequent use of imagery. In this reading, it is simple to envision the scenes as the different scenarios are explained and the audience can easily picture Staples in the places he is describing and also the people he comes across. Perhaps the most powerful and memorable imagery is provided in the author’s description of people’s different reactions and faces when they come into contact with him. Actions speak volumes and an immediate change of facial expression is possibly one of the

I sat at a table where were rich food and wine in abundance, an obsequious attendance, but sincerity and truth were not; and I went away hungry from the inhospitable board. The hospitality was as cold as the ices.” (117). This quote found highlighted in one of his books shows just how important finding the truth about his father was to him. He valued the truth and knowledge over all the other nice things in life. He felt like he was not getting the truth out of his family about what was really going on early in their lives. As a result he felt like he wasn’t himself anymore once he was given that truth of his father’s past. He felt like “his ‘entire childhood seemed like a fiction’” (123). He was not in a right mind and ultimately felt like it was in his best interests to find himself. One could argue that he did find his truth and should have returned home. While this is certainly a valid argument one must look at it in a less black and white manor. He did find the truth about his father but he had not yet found the truth about himself, which was arguably more important than anything else.

his fathers custody, and in the beginning of the story, he did not want to help his father

As soon as it came towards the end of the book he found his father to be someone, more like something that kept him from

”(28). He paints a harrowing image in the reader’s mind that they will never

"Alex admitted that the only food in his pack was a ten-pound bag of rice. His gear seemed exceedingly minimal for the harsh conditions of the interior, which in April still lay buried under the winter snowpack. Alex’s cheap leather hiking boots were neither waterproof nor well insulated. His rifle was only .22 caliber, a bore too small to rely on if he expected to

Additionally, by including less detail, Spiegelman makes his characters easier to relate to, or as McCloud references, more universal. After Vladek recalls the hanging of a few of his associates, Spiegelman illustrates a very plain, bleak image of him mourning their loss in present day. The image consists of the most basic character features, making it effortless for the reader to mentally input their face on Vladek’s. Overall, this “amplification through simplification” (McCloud), aids the reader in feeling the emotion of the character, finding a deeper connection to the story as a whole, and can reveal universal truths.

The sketchbook provides him with an outlet to cope with his circumstances. Max is often found in the basement alone with nothing but his thoughts. He is able to produce this art “in the loneliest moments in the basement” (277). He wanted to write a story explaining everything he had been through leading up to where he is now. However, the thoughts all came out as something different, sketches. He found the collection of his thoughts had “felt true”(277). To Max they feel more true because they were random thoughts which he feels meaning in them. He knew that he would eventually want to share his views of the cruel world with Liesel when she is old enough. Losing everything, Max finds great significance in this sketchbook which helps him relieve emotions. Max’s use of drawing while he is in the basement helps him subsist with his unforutante turn of events. He was figuring out ways to express his feelings during this time. Illustrating and writing a story called “The Standover Man”, is how he spends most of his days. For Max the art is used as a way he can express his story to Liesel. He often finds himself still in pain from his past and scared of “standover men” in his life (225).

put words to his feelings concerning his father. At the start of the story Jonathan plainly states

Last of all, digging up the coffin of Oskar’s father could be a catharsis for both Oskar and his grandfather. For both of them it is a purging of emotions, for obvious reasons. Whether it creates closure is the question. For Oskar it does not create closure. He expects it will, but the empty coffin shocks him. “Or maybe I was surprised by how empty is was. I felt like I was looking into the dictionary definition of emptiness.”