The idea of the Sixth Borough is a central idea in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. The story first comes about in the first chapter, with Oskar's father telling it as a bed time story. The entirety of the story is revealed in a later chapter on p. 217, and although these are the only occasions when the sixth borough is discussed, I believe it raises crucial ideas that are present throughout the novel. The tale of New York's Sixth Borough that Oskar's father recites to Oskar is one of profound sadness and loss. Thomas tells a story of how New York once had a sixth borough, and how over the years, it gradually floated away into the Atlantic, never to be seen again. The only piece of the sixth borough that was left was Central Park. The people who were left in the sixth borough are frozen in time, forever left in the state in which they departed New York City. Obviously, this story is a huge metaphor for September 11th. Parallels can be drawn to numerous other events and personal relationships in the novel, but primarily, it serves to symbolize the loss of life in the 9/11 attacks. The World Trade Center was once a part of the Big Apple, but like the sixth borough, it left New York without leaving much evidence behind. The only way of knowing whether or not those two skyscrapers existed would be to observe the massive holes on the ground, and in the skyline, symbolized by the pillars of light on p. 253. More importantly, I believe the tale of the sixth borough raises the idea of preservation of life through memory. “There's nothing that could convince someone who didn't want to be convinced. But there is an abundance of clues that would give the wanting believer something to hold on to.” This quote is from Thomas in response to Oskar saying he is an optimist. Other events are brought up in the novel that parallel the story. In one chapter, Hiroshima is discussed through a survivor's testimony. It's self-explanatory as to how this parallels the sixth borough. The idea of people being “frozen in time” applies very well too. As soon that great, thunderous light was released, the people of Hiroshima were reduced to memory. In the wake of a nuclear blast, nothing is left to be remembered in a physical manifestation. Truly, the only thing tying those who died with the waking world is their memory. The same goes with the Dresden fire bombing during WWII. Dresden is the home city of Oskar's grandfather and grandmother. In one of his grandfather's letters, he goes into great detail about the death and destruction of the firebombings. Much like Hiroshima or 9/11, nothing is left of the people who suffered and met their ends. After the bombing, Dresden became another sixth borough, with only trace remains of the once sprawling city. As with the World Trade Center, Hiroshima, and the Sixth Borough, Dresden entered the realm of memory, frozen in time. The personal relationships also parallel the story of the sixth borough. Most prominently is the relationship between Oskar and his deceased father, Thomas. Nothing was left of Thomas after the worst day, not even an identifiable body. The closest Oskar felt to his father was during his journey to find the lock. The closest he was able to get to his dad was through remembrance. In fact, that idea is confirmed at the conclusion of the novel when Oskar and his grandfather bury the letters in Thomas' empty coffin. What was once an empty coffin now has a tie to the physical world again, through his family's memory of him. What I got out of this book and the tale of the sixth borough is that your loved ones can never truly die. The memory of them is just as real as when they were alive.
The tale of New York's Sixth Borough that Oskar's father recites to Oskar is one of profound sadness and loss. Thomas tells a story of how New York once had a sixth borough, and how over the years, it gradually floated away into the Atlantic, never to be seen again. The only piece of the sixth borough that was left was Central Park. The people who were left in the sixth borough are frozen in time, forever left in the state in which they departed New York City.
Obviously, this story is a huge metaphor for September 11th. Parallels can be drawn to numerous other events and personal relationships in the novel, but primarily, it serves to symbolize the loss of life in the 9/11 attacks. The World Trade Center was once a part of the Big Apple, but like the sixth borough, it left New York without leaving much evidence behind. The only way of knowing whether or not those two skyscrapers existed would be to observe the massive holes on the ground, and in the skyline, symbolized by the pillars of light on p. 253.
More importantly, I believe the tale of the sixth borough raises the idea of preservation of life through memory. “There's nothing that could convince someone who didn't want to be convinced. But there is an abundance of clues that would give the wanting believer something to hold on to.” This quote is from Thomas in response to Oskar saying he is an optimist.
Other events are brought up in the novel that parallel the story. In one chapter, Hiroshima is discussed through a survivor's testimony. It's self-explanatory as to how this parallels the sixth borough. The idea of people being “frozen in time” applies very well too. As soon that great, thunderous light was released, the people of Hiroshima were reduced to memory. In the wake of a nuclear blast, nothing is left to be remembered in a physical manifestation. Truly, the only thing tying those who died with the waking world is their memory.
The same goes with the Dresden fire bombing during WWII. Dresden is the home city of Oskar's grandfather and grandmother. In one of his grandfather's letters, he goes into great detail about the death and destruction of the firebombings. Much like Hiroshima or 9/11, nothing is left of the people who suffered and met their ends. After the bombing, Dresden became another sixth borough, with only trace remains of the once sprawling city. As with the World Trade Center, Hiroshima, and the Sixth Borough, Dresden entered the realm of memory, frozen in time.
The personal relationships also parallel the story of the sixth borough. Most prominently is the relationship between Oskar and his deceased father, Thomas. Nothing was left of Thomas after the worst day, not even an identifiable body. The closest Oskar felt to his father was during his journey to find the lock. The closest he was able to get to his dad was through remembrance. In fact, that idea is confirmed at the conclusion of the novel when Oskar and his grandfather bury the letters in Thomas' empty coffin. What was once an empty coffin now has a tie to the physical world again, through his family's memory of him.
What I got out of this book and the tale of the sixth borough is that your loved ones can never truly die. The memory of them is just as real as when they were alive.