In the novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, there are many different themes that Jonathan Safran Foer explores through various characters. However, the most interesting of those is the idea of death and secrets. Oskar Schell lost his father during the 9-11 attacks in New York City and since then, he has felt guilt and unhappiness. Oskar lived with his mother and his grandmother, who lived right across the street, always watched over Oskar. He liked to explore, solve riddles and look for mistakes in the newspaper; just like his father once did. One day, Oskar decided to go into his father’s old workroom and it looked like it was waiting for him to return. When Oskar started looking through his closet, he came across a blue vase and inside was an envelope, one with the name “Black” written on it. Inside the envelope Oskar discovered the adventure he would pursue for the next few months. It was a key, he had no idea what it was for but he knew it meant something so be began his search.
Oskar decided to look up every person with the last name Black and go speak to them and hope they had some answers about a key. This is how be met Mr. Black, who lived right above him in apartment 6A.
Mr. Black has seen many different things in his lifetime and has gone through many things as well. He too experienced a death, his wife died many years ago leaving Mr. Black alone and only able to live in the memory of her. This is what brought him to this particular apartment complex.
The constant theme in this novel is the idea that secrets are everywhere and each character in the novel is keeping important information from the other. The reason Mr. Black comes in, is that he is one of the biggest secret-keepers of them all.
Thomas Schell’s death is the foremost catalyst to why the secrets exist in the first place. Mr. Black appears to be only along for the ride and just wants to enjoy life again. When in reality, that is one of the biggest secret of all. Oskar’s mother calls Mr. Black and tells him everything Oskar wants to do and ask him if he will watch over Oskar while he is in search for the answer of the mysterious key. So, Mr. Black keeps the secret and pretends to go along with Oskar when he knows what the outcome will be. These secrets are a chain reaction, once one person keeps a secret then so does the next and next and so forth.
Not only does Mr. Black know about Oskar’s mission but he also knows who the renter is, Oskar’s grandfather. In the beginning, Mr. Black tells the grandfather to leave and not get near Oskar but after a while that does not work. So, here is another secret, Oskar is face-to-face with his grandfather whom he never knew. Oskar is such a complex character in that he is so gifted and smart but naïve to those who are tricking him.
As one looks at Oskar and his mother, they can clearly see that they do not have a bond like Oskar and his father. This makes Oskar want to be more closed off and keep secrets from her. The biggest of which was not telling her about the voicemails that his father had left on the machine to tell them that he was okay and that he would be home soon. I think that the secrets actually push people away from each other because you believe you are protecting the other from harm, when really you are just further distancing yourself from them.
The result of all these secrets on Oskar is tremendous and he begins to wonder why his mother does not ever ask where he’s going and why he comes in so late, especially at such a young age. But, eventually the secrets begin to unfold right before his eyes and he now can see what is going on.
When Oskar finally met his grandfather that is when Mr. Black knew it was his time to go. He had done his job and successfully watched over Oskar as he tried to discover what it was that his father left behind. Oskar and his grandfather were also keeping secrets from one another but at this point in the novel, the secrets are beginning to unweave and reveal the bigger picture.
In the end, Oskar realizes that his mother was looking out for him all along. She wanted him to go on this adventure so he could always remember and cherish his father. These secrets had a very great effect on Oskar, he was able to realize what he had and he was able to find his grandfather.
Ultimately, these secrets all came from death, from the death of Thomas Schell. Each character experienced the effects of secrets or they too had their own but they did not just protect people, they were kept to help them figure things out on their own. They were meant to be opened with the key in the envelope and relieved to understand the bigger truth.
Oskar decided to look up every person with the last name Black and go speak to them and hope they had some answers about a key. This is how be met Mr. Black, who lived right above him in apartment 6A.
Mr. Black has seen many different things in his lifetime and has gone through many things as well. He too experienced a death, his wife died many years ago leaving Mr. Black alone and only able to live in the memory of her. This is what brought him to this particular apartment complex.
The constant theme in this novel is the idea that secrets are everywhere and each character in the novel is keeping important information from the other. The reason Mr. Black comes in, is that he is one of the biggest secret-keepers of them all.
Thomas Schell’s death is the foremost catalyst to why the secrets exist in the first place. Mr. Black appears to be only along for the ride and just wants to enjoy life again. When in reality, that is one of the biggest secret of all. Oskar’s mother calls Mr. Black and tells him everything Oskar wants to do and ask him if he will watch over Oskar while he is in search for the answer of the mysterious key. So, Mr. Black keeps the secret and pretends to go along with Oskar when he knows what the outcome will be. These secrets are a chain reaction, once one person keeps a secret then so does the next and next and so forth.
Not only does Mr. Black know about Oskar’s mission but he also knows who the renter is, Oskar’s grandfather. In the beginning, Mr. Black tells the grandfather to leave and not get near Oskar but after a while that does not work. So, here is another secret, Oskar is face-to-face with his grandfather whom he never knew. Oskar is such a complex character in that he is so gifted and smart but naïve to those who are tricking him.
As one looks at Oskar and his mother, they can clearly see that they do not have a bond like Oskar and his father. This makes Oskar want to be more closed off and keep secrets from her. The biggest of which was not telling her about the voicemails that his father had left on the machine to tell them that he was okay and that he would be home soon. I think that the secrets actually push people away from each other because you believe you are protecting the other from harm, when really you are just further distancing yourself from them.
The result of all these secrets on Oskar is tremendous and he begins to wonder why his mother does not ever ask where he’s going and why he comes in so late, especially at such a young age. But, eventually the secrets begin to unfold right before his eyes and he now can see what is going on.
When Oskar finally met his grandfather that is when Mr. Black knew it was his time to go. He had done his job and successfully watched over Oskar as he tried to discover what it was that his father left behind. Oskar and his grandfather were also keeping secrets from one another but at this point in the novel, the secrets are beginning to unweave and reveal the bigger picture.
In the end, Oskar realizes that his mother was looking out for him all along. She wanted him to go on this adventure so he could always remember and cherish his father. These secrets had a very great effect on Oskar, he was able to realize what he had and he was able to find his grandfather.
Ultimately, these secrets all came from death, from the death of Thomas Schell. Each character experienced the effects of secrets or they too had their own but they did not just protect people, they were kept to help them figure things out on their own. They were meant to be opened with the key in the envelope and relieved to understand the bigger truth.