Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close: Last Blog Post of the Year!

            The main protagonist in this book is Oskar Schell. Throughout the book, I have realized that Oskar is a really complicated child. Not only is he complicated, but he is ambitious and driven to do things like finding out the truth about the key. Sometimes I wonder what it is like to be Oskar. He's got everything bundled up and bottled up inside of him. That's unhealthy. I have realized that throughout the book, Oskar goes through many obstacles that even many grown ups haven't gone through. Throughout the book, I have noticed lots of close connections and family ties.

            Oskar has made me thankful for having a fatherly figure in my life. I mean, sure, Oskar has Ron. Ron is his mother's new boyfriend, but Oskar absolutely hates his guts! Having a complete stranger just pop up in your life is not the best case scenario for a child who is 9 and misses his father. Oskar absolutely despises him. I can't exactly connect because this has never happened to me, but this is exactly like hating a girl because she is ridiculously full of herself and snobby. Well, maybe not, but you get what I'm getting at. I feel for him because since Oskar knows about the messages that his father sent on the day of 9/11, he feels that his mom shouldn't be meeting new people. He doesn't want his mother to move on. As a child, I can see how he thinks his mom is trying to forget about his father. He feels as if his mom is trying to replace his dad with another guy.  

            Oskar and his mom have a confusing relationship. I mean sure, they have a normal son and mother relationship, but it is so much more complicated than that. I feel that there's tension every time they talk. For example on page 171, Oskar and his mother have a heart to heart. It gets real intense and personal too. It's about being happy and Dad. Oskar at one point says "I'm not trying to find ways to be happy, and I won't." This line upsets me. I agree that mom shouldn't forget about dad, but as a child, your kind of obligated to grow up. I already know that Oskar is an intelligent child, but some times I wish he saw the brighter sides to things. He gets this thing called "heavy boots," which I think is just a way for him to describe the feeling of being depressed or upset. This death impacts him so much that it causes tension between him and his mom. Soon later on page 173, Oskar writes a reflection that says the following:

                        "... to feel sorry for me (because she should realize how hard things are for me), and to feel terrible (because at least some of it is her fault) and to promise me that she won't die and leave me alone. But she didn't say anything."

At the end of the day, Oskar just wants his mom to remember his father and what he's done. He doesn't want his mom to forget about his dad because he means so much to him. As a child, Oskar has gone through so many things and him reflecting on this makes me realize that Oskar must feel really lonely without his dad.

            I admire Oskar. If I was a nine year old, I wouldn't have a clue to how to react. He's so strong and ambitious for a nine year old. He's so smart to the point that you can't baby him or he'll know that you're babying him. The way Jonathan Safran Foer has created Oskar makes him relatable to people of all ages. Whether you're old or young, everyone goes through tough times especially when you lose someone that means the world to you. This coming of age novel has been complex to understand at times, but I enjoyed reading it so much. It may be unrealistic at times, but all in all, this was a wonderful coming of age book.