Jenna’s Comments (group member since Apr 26, 2011)

Jenna’s comments from the Extremely Loud and Not Close. Group 5 group.

Often people believe that the best way to find the answer is to search for it. Without a journey or trials to get to a solution, it never feels as rewarding as when the answer just appears. However, sometimes during a quest, we can lose ourselves and forget to see what is happening right in front of us. In the novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, written by Jonathan Safran Foer, the story is told through a nine- year- old boy, Oskar, who is on a quest to become closer to his father who has died in the attacks of 9/11. Oskar journeys through New York to find the answers to a vase and a key he has found from his fathers possessions that has the name “Black” on it. Oskar is always creating inventions that would have prevented his father’s death, and trying to mask his grief. His grandparents are also grieving after losing everything in the bombings of Dresden, and they use each other to escape the past. It is clear through Oskar and his quest to find answers to his father’s death, and the relationship of his grandparents, that there are limitations to every quest.
By beginning a journey or quest to find something, the world around a person can slowly begin to fade, causing your life to be seen in a tunnel vision. When Oskar decides to make something out of his findings of his fathers old belongings he slowly begins to shut out the world. He is constantly inventing things that would have prevented his fathers death, however it is obvious he can’t change the way things have already played out. “Its just that everything was incredibly far away from me. It was worst at night. I started inventing things, and then I couldn’t stop,” (36). Oskar is using his quest and visions to keep things far away, he does not want to be involved as much in the real world, because he wants to be in the past when his father was still alive. This only causes his grief to grow, which leads him to continue to shut people out. He is not acting like your typical nine-year-old boy, because he is attempting to find ways to get closer to his father that he has lost and not out playing with friends or participating in sports or other activities that most young children are involved in. Even on his quest, Mr. Black, who is over one hundred years old, accompanies him. Oskar is always around older people, which is a way of tunneling out his childhood.
Along with narrowing one’s view, finding the answers to the quest can often serve as a way of putting off what you are actually searching for. Oskar keeps the secret of hearing the messages his father has left on the machine, as he was about to die in the attacks of 9/11. He is using the quest to stop himself from coming to terms with the fact that his father is gone. Because to Oskar, “…Feeling pain is better than not feeling…” (245). In reality, Oskar thinks he is using the quest to grieve for his father, when he is actually using it as a distraction from allowing himself to feel the grief of his loss. He wants to find out all the answers before he shares the messages, but in reality, there is not much to be found. Most importantly, Oskar becomes so engaged in his journey to learn about his father’s death, that he does not realize that his mother is orchestrating the whole quest. “I don’t believe in God, but I believe that things are extremely complicated, and her looking over me was as complicated as anything ever could be. But it was also incredibly simple. In my only life, she was my mom, and I was her son,” (324). At first he cannot see that his mother loves him and wants to let him deal with the pain, and in no way would let him run around New York with out knowing what he was actually doing. Becoming involved in the task of trying to find answers to his father’s death, Oskar is unable to see that becoming closer to his father could be as easy as talking to his mother and realizing she is in the same amount of pain as he is. She has even been in communication with all of the Blacks he has contacted, and warned them of his visits. Oskar thinks he is searching for closure, but he is avoiding grief through his quest.
Not only can a quest narrow the way a person sees the world around them, a quest can also be used to mask the inner pain one is feeling. Oskar’s Grandparents lost everything that truly mattered to them in the bombings of Dresden. After they had suffered this loss, they were both constantly on a quest to find anything to replace their losses and the pain they felt inside. When Oskar’s grandparents reunite, and they bond over the extreme hurt of losing Anna, a sister to the grandmother, and a lover to the grandfather, and they are married right away, thinking this will fix some grief they are feeling. However, you cannot replace a past love with a new one, because every love is different in its own way. Just as Oskar uses his quest to mask his grief, his grandparents use each other. His grandfather, Thomas, is trying to sculpt the grandmother to be as Anna was to him, and his Grandmother is trying to replace what she is now missing as a sister. “That’s been my problem. I miss what I already have, and I surround myself with things that are missing,” (174). Oskar’s grandmother finds ways to replace what she is missing in order to replace what she has had. However, the grandparents are in too much emotional pain to truly appreciate each other for who they are. Thomas already refused to speak after losing Anna, so his lack of communication only adds to masking the grief they are feeling. The relationship of the grandparents is a way of leaving their pain unspoken because they are too afraid to admit and talk about. Oskar also can’t speak his emotions, leading him to his quest.
As we have once learned from Dorothy in the movie, The Wizard of Oz, sometimes the idea of being on a quest can cause a person to get too involved with the journey to realize that the answer might not even be realistic, or even better right in front of them. “Follow the yellow brick road,” is all Dorothy can think about because once she reaches the Wizard of Oz, she can find out how she can return home and get out of the crazy world she has been placed in. In relation to Oskar, he is on a quest to find something he is not even sure of. He has found a vase and a key with the name “Black,” but there are not indications to what these will lead them too. Dorothy and Oskar will both do anything to get to their destination, which is the Wizard of Oz for Dorothy, and for Oskar, finding every black in New York, just to piece their missing pieces together. In the end, Dorothy realizes she had the power to go home all along; she just needed to learn that she does not need to run from her hearts desires. In Oskar’s case, he realizes that there are no answers to find, and that he is using it as a way to avoid losing his father.
It is clear that every quest has its limitations. By having a quest we can be distracted from the answers right in front of us just because we think that would make life too simple. When involved in journey, it is also easy to lose what is happening in the world around you, making the world seem narrow and you can lose sight of things you would normally see. Most of all, a person can use a quest to disguise what they are truly feeling. Quests can cause people to stop dealing with grief and loss and allow them to hide it all inside. For Oskar and his Grandparents, they are constantly trying to figure out ways to replace what they are now missing. They do not realize that it is impossible to replace what you have lost, and you must let go of the past, to make a better future. In the end, Oskar’s Grandparents realize that you cannot get back what you have lost, but you can recover and grow from it. A journey can cause you limitations, and it is up to you to see past them. Oskar learns to realize how much his mother loves him and his father’s death was out of his control. His quest may have taught him a lot, but in the end he sees that by just facing with his grief is the best way to go. Maybe a quest is not the best option. Finding the answers can be as simple as looking at yourself and realizing that something is missing or you are in pain. Instead of seeking a journey, just facing what you are trying to avoid could be the best solution.


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I totally agree. I think part of the reason why he is having so much trouble finding meaning for the key is he realizes that everyone else in the world also has stuff to deal with. I don't even think it occurs to him that other families have lost loved ones to 9/11 or that there are constantly issues popping up in the daily lives of people all over the world. To me, it seems as if Oskar might have thought other people didn't feel emotions as greatly as he did because what happened to him was so life changing. Now that he sees that normal people like him are struggling too, I think it really opens his eyes.

Have we read that far yet? I mean I've finished, but I didn't think we were there with the reading schedule yet. I do think that this inspires Oscar to keep going, I think he was almost getting bored with his quest because it wasn't leading him any where exciting. Now I feel like he just got his fire turned on again, and he will want to make something out of his quest.

I would say more like his grandfather. His grandmother focuses more about what happened, and his grandfather focuses on how it made him feel. Also, with dealing with the past, Oskar bruises himself, and his grandfather no longer speaks, so I see some similarities in how they respond to loss and grief.

Yeah, it was a pretty awkward encounter! Stan the doorman is just to cool for him I guess.

I agree, I think Mr. Black is going to influence Oskar to either move on or lead him in the direction of what he is really trying to get out of this unknown quest.

I think it has little bit to do with both. I also think it could relate to the quest that he is on because in the letter it explains that Stephen Hawking hopes to one day respond to everyone who writes him a letter. It could possibly be him waiting for answer to the letter he wrote Stephen Hawking, just as if he is searching for an answer on his quest, but he really has no idea what the answer is going to be.

It seems as if Oskar's Grandparents are going to let their troubles and pain from the past bombing where they lost love ones dictate actions for the rest of their lives. By not really talking about what happened they seemed to keep everything from the past to themselves. Do you think Oskar is going to behave the same way in regards to losing his father in 9/11? Or do you think he could possibly find the answers to his questions, remember the past, but carry on life with out letting the past dictate his future?Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close