On September 11th, 2001, 8:45 a.m. eastern time, thousands of families lives were changed forever. Terrorist attacks occurred in the U.S. at the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon building in Virginia, and in a hijacked passenger jet in Pennsylvania. Bringing almost 3,000 deaths, it was the largest loss of American life due to a foreign attack. Jonathan Safran’s captivating novel, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, documents this time through nine-year-old Oskar Schell’s struggle to deal with his father’s death. Unable to fully deal with the loss of his father, Oskar sets out on a journey to find some connection with him. After finding a mysterious key in his father's closet, Oskar is convinced that he left a message for
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He is no longer a sweet, innocent child, he has matured and grown as a whole. In order to achieve his goal of finding the lock that fits, Osker needed to gain access into an apartment building; he lies, stating, “Actually I’m diabetic and I need sugar asap” (91). Oskar lies at this point because he is insecure about himself and he feels that he cannot get by on the truth alone. Almost every situation in which Oskar lies, it is at a time that he is feeling distressed or nervous. It is hard for him to express his feelings emotionally to other people. So to hide these feelings, Oskar lies masking his true desperation. He takes advantage of the fact that people will take pity him to achieve his goal. Oskar understands that it is hard for him to connect with people on an emotional level. He uses this understanding to help further his goals demonstrating how he has matured as a whole. He takes into account his own weaknesses and turns them into an advantage to fulfill his quest. Oskar realizes how he can use other people's emotions to his advantage; with this in mind, he is able to get what he wants illustrating his growth since the start of the novel. This manipulation of emotions demonstrates how Oskar has significantly developed since the start of …show more content…
Through his thoughts and actions, the reader understands how lies are not always a bad action. It is important to recognize how lies are sometimes told to better the situation. In Oskar’s case, it was to cope with his father’s death and fulfill his goals of finding the lock that fits. Overall, Safran demonstrates the good and bad side of lies and deceit. He explores the idea that telling a lie for a good reason may not always be
He is no longer a sweet, innocent child, he has matured and grown as a whole. In order to achieve his goal of finding the lock that fits, Osker needed to gain access into an apartment building; he lies, stating, “Actually I’m diabetic and I need sugar asap” (91). Oskar lies at this point because he is insecure about himself and he feels that he cannot get by on the truth alone. Almost every situation in which Oskar lies, it is at a time that he is feeling distressed or nervous. It is hard for him to express his feelings emotionally to other people. So to hide these feelings, Oskar lies masking his true desperation. He takes advantage of the fact that people will take pity him to achieve his goal. Oskar understands that it is hard for him to connect with people on an emotional level. He uses this understanding to help further his goals demonstrating how he has matured as a whole. He takes into account his own weaknesses and turns them into an advantage to fulfill his quest. Oskar realizes how he can use other people's emotions to his advantage; with this in mind, he is able to get what he wants illustrating his growth since the start of the novel. This manipulation of emotions demonstrates how Oskar has significantly developed since the start of …show more content…
Through his thoughts and actions, the reader understands how lies are not always a bad action. It is important to recognize how lies are sometimes told to better the situation. In Oskar’s case, it was to cope with his father’s death and fulfill his goals of finding the lock that fits. Overall, Safran demonstrates the good and bad side of lies and deceit. He explores the idea that telling a lie for a good reason may not always be