At first, two characters of vastly different circumstances may appear to bear very few similarities. This is the case for Oskar’s grandmother in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and Cecilia of Yxta Maya Murray’s Locas. Oskar Schell’s grandmother grows up overseas in a rural area of Germany where kissing is scandalous and bomb threats are common. In contrast, Cecilia is raised across the ocean in Echo Park, California where the streets are unsafe and underage sex is commonplace. Upbringings set aside, their lives could not be more different. Oskar’s grandmother moves to New York to take care of her grandson Oskar, and exudes love and empathy. Cecilia grows up to get pregnant at fifteen, and joins her brother’s gang, the Lobos. In doing
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After losing her sister, Oskar’s grandmother finds a familiar face in Thomas Schell, the man Anna had been seeing behind the shed. Desperate to renew the love she was missing after her sister’s death, Grandma pursues a relationship with Thomas. After a sculpting session with Thomas the lovemaking ensues, and Oskar’s Grandmother asks a question with much poignancy, “ I wondered, why does anyone ever make love?” (84). The lack of love between Thomas and the Grandmother makes it nearly impossible to feel a deep connection, even after partaking in such an intimate act. Therefore, Oskar’s grandmother’s needs are left unfulfilled, and she is left confused, asking why two people would do such a thing. After an awkward sexual encounter Grandma says, “ We were looking for an acceptable compromise” (84). Although neither party enjoys the intimate acts, they both compromise by continuing to partake in sexual relations. The couple continues despite reservation because sex is Thomas’s way of reliving his love for Anna . Grandma continues to have sex with Thomas because it gives her a false sense of intimacy , a feeling that she has been deprived of since her sister’s death. Speaking of her inability to elicit romantic feelings, Grandma says, “We walked to the bakery together but separately. I did not need to know if he could love me. I needed to know if he could need me ”(84). Oskar’s grandmother acknowledges that their attempts at a romantic connection through sex are unavailing. She does not ask that Thomas love her, just that Thomas let her give his life
After losing her sister, Oskar’s grandmother finds a familiar face in Thomas Schell, the man Anna had been seeing behind the shed. Desperate to renew the love she was missing after her sister’s death, Grandma pursues a relationship with Thomas. After a sculpting session with Thomas the lovemaking ensues, and Oskar’s Grandmother asks a question with much poignancy, “ I wondered, why does anyone ever make love?” (84). The lack of love between Thomas and the Grandmother makes it nearly impossible to feel a deep connection, even after partaking in such an intimate act. Therefore, Oskar’s grandmother’s needs are left unfulfilled, and she is left confused, asking why two people would do such a thing. After an awkward sexual encounter Grandma says, “ We were looking for an acceptable compromise” (84). Although neither party enjoys the intimate acts, they both compromise by continuing to partake in sexual relations. The couple continues despite reservation because sex is Thomas’s way of reliving his love for Anna . Grandma continues to have sex with Thomas because it gives her a false sense of intimacy , a feeling that she has been deprived of since her sister’s death. Speaking of her inability to elicit romantic feelings, Grandma says, “We walked to the bakery together but separately. I did not need to know if he could love me. I needed to know if he could need me ”(84). Oskar’s grandmother acknowledges that their attempts at a romantic connection through sex are unavailing. She does not ask that Thomas love her, just that Thomas let her give his life