Extremely loud and incredibly close - Essay Example

Moreover, by providing the unique flavor of characters that he does, Foer is able to engage the reader with the understanding that Oskar, and by extension his search, are menat as a means by which the character can seek to provide a degree of differentiation from the characters that, although kind and considerate, oppressively dominate the story with feelings of sadness, remorse, and regret. Naturally, the first character which this brief analysis will consider is that of Oskar, the main character.

The author presents him to the reader as immediately as the novel begins as a young man with a highly curious nature. Naturally, as a result of this curiosity, the development and the quest which Oskar will ultimately undertake comes as no monumental surprise to the reader. As a function of this quest, Oskar ultimately seeks to find the owner of the mysterious key that he finds inside a vase within his father’s closet. As a function of satisfying his curiosity, the young boy goes to what many would consider inexplicable extremes to find the key’s rightful owner and untangle the web of mystery surrounding its existence (Mullins 300).

The journey that Oskar undertakes is therefore filled with confused emotion, frustrations and curiosity. Accordingly, Oskar asks a litany of questions as soon as further confusion arises in his mind. The imagery Foer portrays in Oskar’s section of the novel also indicates his tone of curiosity. Says Oskar, “In the middle of all the glass was a little envelope, about the size of a wireless internet car. What the? I opened it up, and inside there was a key. What the?” (Foer 37). Finding a hidden key in the vase sparked a great many questions in Oskar’s mind.

In Oskar’s section of the novel, the audience can also see that readers can view the thoughts in his mind; however, these are naturally not spoken. An example of this type of insight into the thoughts of Oskar can be seen in the following quote: “I was going to ask if she was humping her friend, and if she said yes, I would run away, and if she had said no, I would have asked if they heavy-petted each other, which I know about.” (Foer 35) Similarly, a lot of strong thoughts and emotions are shown in Oskar’s section of the novel; all of these have the effect of acquainting the reader in a more intimate way with the character that has so much curiosity, so many hidden complexes, and so many voiced thoughts that help to shed a greater light on the character in question.

Similarly, the second character that this analysis will seek to understand and analyze is that of the grandfather. Although never given a formal first and last name, the grandfather is an equally mysterious character who undoubtedly struggles with some of the same emotions as does Oskar. Due to their contrasting similarity, Foer uses the character of the grandfather to draw useful meaning and a level of inference into the thoughts, actions, and beliefs that Oskar espouses. Due to the fact that the grandfather has difficulty expressing his thoughts through his voice, a type of halting, confused, and uncertain tone pervades the way in which the grandfather interacts with Oskar and tells him key information regarding his rather traumatic and painful past (Uytterschout et al 217).

Says Oskar of the way that his grandfather struggled with his recollection of love and loss during the end of the Second World War: “