Oskar Schell In The Book 'Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close'

Experiences in the human condition can impact any human being in different ways. Oskar Schell in Jonathan Safran Foer’s book “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” was impacted by the human condition, and the way that he dealt with certain situations were able to give the readers an indirect hint about how Oskar’s character was shaped, and how it played a part on the rest of the story. Oskar decided to deal with his emotion in a way that a normal nine year old wouldn’t, showing his maturity at a young age. “I smash it (papier-mache skull) against Jimmy Snyder’s head, and I smash it again. He falls to the ground because he’s unconscious, and I can’t believe how strong I actually am” (Foer 146). Oskar was unhappy in the way that he was having …show more content…
Also, Oskar’s dad impacts Oskar greatly due to the great influence he had on Oskar. “As for the bracelet Mom wore to the funeral, what I did was I converted Dad’s last voice message into Morse code, and I used sky blue beads for silence, maroon beads for the breaks between letters, violet beads for the break between words, and long and short pieces of string between the beads for long and short beeps, which are actually called blips I think” (Foer 35). This can be interpreted many different ways, this piece of evidence is very controversial because it reveals traits about Oskar that could be argued back and forth. Some believe that Oskar is autistic hence why he’s thinking differently than a normal person such as converting the message into Morse code. Others believe that Oskar is just really smart for his age, and problems more logistically. As Oskar thinks differently than most children his age, he most likely gets noticed more due to his unique …show more content…
“And then a thought came into my brain that wasn’t like the other thoughts. It was closer to me, and louder. I didn’t know where it came from, or what it meant, or if I loved it or hated it. It opened like a fist, or a flower. What about digging up Dad’s empty coffin?” (Foer 259). Oskar is definitely a very controversial character due to the fact that his actions are not of the normal nine year old boy. When Oskar wants something, he will do anything and everything in his power in order to fulfil that want. If Oskar would have made a different choice, the readers wouldn’t know how persistent and adventurous Oskar really is. Since this action was unpredicted a reader, it reveals that Oskar’s character is evolving because he is gaining confidence to do something that he would have never had the confidence to do in the first place. In the end, Oskar’s decisions help shape the character, and the story as a