1. Warming up: Trying to discern what's becoming clearer and what's becoming cloudier
- Track some things you understand in a new way/you understand better from pages 174-207
- Track some things you feel confused about/would like to understand more clearly.
2. Strolling around in a gallery walk and silent clarification (or at least, empathy)
- What confusion can you clear up for other people?
- Which questions did you have, too?
HW:
1. Read pages 208-259 for Thursday in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close; spend 30 minutes this week with your journal.
If you miss a Fishbowl or Socratic, you must make it up. Read over the syllabus and blog comments, then add an extended comment to the class blog.
If you miss a Fishbowl or Socratic, you must make it up. Read over the syllabus and blog comments, then add an extended comment to the class blog.
2. We will continue our READING JOURNAL CONFERENCES in class tomorrow and next week. Click HERE for the rubric.
What was the purpose of Oskar playing the Hiroshima interview at the beginning of his chapter? (Pages 187 -Mid 189)
ReplyDeleteOskar hints that he is more interested in the explosion of Hiroshima than the actual event. I have concluded that since Oskar is young, he is less affected by outsiders in his life being in a tragedy. This is why he cares about his father's death in 9/11 but not as much about the Hiroshima victims. He tries to take the good out of any bad situation.
DeleteWhy does Thomas get the most expensive insurance for the house, but no health care?
ReplyDeleteI think that he didn't want to get health care because he was fine with dying and he didn't really want to live longer than he had to
DeleteI wonder, too why he values the items in the apartment so greatly. Why take pictures of every single doorknob? I think perhaps after Dresden, he fears losing everything--people, home, etc. He's doing his best to "insure" himself from losing everything again.
DeleteI agree with Henry. We've seen throughout the book that Thomas likes to live life to the fullest, so I think he is more concerned with living his remaining years well rather than living a longer boring life.
DeletePossibly because after surviving the Dresden bombing he might have thought that since he got through that he could get through anything.
DeleteMaybe he doesn't get the health insurance, but gets the house insurance because he has already lost the health in his life and annas life, so he feels its not important, but he thinks that the things he own, like the house will be there longer so he insures it
DeleteEven if he is trying to insure himself so he doesn't want to lose everything again nothing matters if he, and Oskars granma die
DeleteDoes Oskar's grandma not like having sex or does she not like that she is having sex with her sisters true love?
ReplyDeleteI think she feels like their sex is meaningless because they had it in the "nothing" places and she wants it to be in the "something" places.
DeleteI agree with Henry here. Also, whenever an author includes details about a character's sex life, it's typically symbolic of something else. Here, I think it's symbolic of the distance between them; the grandfather is having sex with a ghost, in a way, and the grandmother knows this. In the moments when they should be the closest, they're the farthest away.
DeleteOn page 175, the grandmother says, “We tried so hard. We were always trying to help each other.”
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the relationship between the grandmother and the grandfather was actually good like she says? Could this be her way of coping with the obviously bad relationship? (by telling herself that it was good) Does Oskar being a child have anything to do with what she told him?
I don't think that it was a bad relationship, I just don't think it was a normal relationship. It could've been a good relationship in her perspective, but a bad one in other people's perspective.
DeleteIn my opinion I don't think they had the closest relationship especially with all the rules they had. For example, the nothing places and on page 175 his grandma says, "There is nothing wrong with compromising. Even if you compromise almost everything." Sounds like they didn't agree on a lot.
DeleteJessica, I think given that we've been shown how unhappy the grandfather was with the rules in the house, we can assume it was a maybe not a bad relationship, but an unhealthy one. Another thing that leads me to say this is the fact that her husband was still in love with another woman. He was never truly in love with his wife. This is why he left her after coming back from the airport.
Deletewhy is the falling man picture so important in this story?
ReplyDeleteI think part of Oskar's quest is trying to figure out, exactly, his dad died. He wants to know what his last moments were like, what the manner of his death was, who he was with, etc. He wonders if his dad was one of the falling people.
Delete"...Mr. Black explained that the person we were looking for had been a waitress at Windows on the World." I understand that the waitress was Agnes Black. I'm still a little confused though. Did Agnes actually die on 9/11 or was the Spanish lady just say that?
ReplyDeleteOn page 175, grandma writes "he took pictures of everything" why do thomas and oskar both take so many pictures of things? is there a symbolism behind the pictures?
ReplyDeleteMaybe its their way of holding on to a memory.
DeleteIt could help them remember things easier. Thomas couldn't talk so it could've been his way of telling stories, Oskar could use the pictures to help him in the same way because he remembers so many other things so he doesn't want to lose his memory of the good things he's experienced
DeleteWhy are Thomas and Oskar's grandmother so fixated on the something/nothing concept?
ReplyDeleteThis is a good question cause they are both such odd, rule based people. I am very confused with how they let imaginary boundaries ruin their relationship.
DeleteThe idea just started off as one nothing place so they could get away, but it escalated very quickly and eventually split the apartment into half being a nothing place, and half being the something place. So naturally this became a huge part of their lives at home.
DeleteI am not sure, but it seems like they have both kinda given up on trying to make their lives normal and they need to compensate for the not normal things that have happened in their lives. these nothing and somethings spaces are kind of an escape from the strange and sad realities of their lives.
DeleteI wrote , I am pregnant. I handed it to him. He read it.
ReplyDeleteHe took the pen and wrote, How could that have happened? I wrote, I made it happen? Page 177
How would it happen? Was she on birth control or was she so desperate that she went out and found another guy?
I just think that they had unprotected sex, or maybe she didn't take birth control. But I don't think that she cheated on Thomas because she would have talked about it in her letter.
Deleteon 178, he said, "But we had a rule." He is just so fixed on all of these rules and I wonder how mad he was even though he acted like it was ok.
DeleteThat's so hard to believe that she went out and made love with another man. I always thought she loved Thomas so much that she would never do something like that. But now that I think of it... It might be true
DeleteI feel like she was probably on birth control because she still loved him even though she doesn't express it much.
DeleteI dont think that oskar needs mental help, I just think that he is an extremely curious kid probably with a strong case of adhd because he can talk to people well and he can do everything by himself.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this. All of the quirky characteristics he has can easily be explained by an unusual personality and a common disorder like ADHD. It doesn't have to be something as complex as autism.
Delete"It's a shame that we have to live, but it's a tragedy that we get to live only one life?" Why does Thomas talk as if he doesn't want to live, but wants to live more than once?
ReplyDeleteMaybe he's wishing he could relive his life. Maybe there was something that he wish he could "do over"
DeleteI think he's wishing that he could live his life the way he wanted to from the start, like before the bombing happened and before he lost his speech.
DeleteI agree with Lauren. Maybe because there was so much tragedy in his life he wanted a new life that was full of happiness and not so much hurt.
DeleteWhy did the Grandma give the ghost $200? She should of just told the ghost, "Sorry, I don't have any candy."
ReplyDeleteI don't think she knew what she was supposed to give the ghost, but it is very weird that she gave him 200 dollars
DeleteI think that she got confused, and scared so she just gave her something to go away
DeleteWell she obviously she did not understand the concept of Halloween itself, so I think she was scared that there was a person dressed up as something scary asking her for things. She said on page 176, "I was paying her to go away. I closed the door and turned off the lights so no more children would ring our bell." I think she was terrified of the situation, not being revealed to the concept previously
DeleteDo you think that there is a connection between how Thomas left and never come back, and how the animals she released never come back?
ReplyDeleteI thought the animals she was talking about was more of a metaphor?
DeleteMaybe because the animals all represented Thomas. like they all got to know Thomas, so they did the same thing he did
DeleteI think the animals represent the memories of Thomas and she wanted to let all of those go at the door like Thomas did.
DeleteI agree with Ms. Leclaire you have to learn how to cope with it but you should never let something/someone go that means so much to you. Say for example if you have a grandparent that has a mental illness they seem like they are gone. Because all the memories that you have are there but they aren't anymore.
ReplyDeleteOskar would always ask his father questions. On page 192, Oskar says, "I know a lot about birds and bees, but I don't know very much about the birds and the bees. Everything I do know I had to teach myself on the internet, because I don't have anyone to ask" (192).
ReplyDeleteDo you think that he learned about sex after his dad dies? Also, Do you think that this shows how he thinks he is alone and that he must find out everything on his own? He could very well ask people questions, but he doesn't think he has anyone.
Well since his fathers death he doesn't have anyone to talk to because the person you ask these kind of questions is your father, and Oskar feels like he no longer has that person
DeleteWhat is the author saying from the bottom of 203 to the top of 207? Does him making the text like that mean something?
ReplyDeleteI was wondering the same thing about these pages, maybe it has something to do with the fact that everything in oscars life is pretty confusing at this point and he is trying to find how things connect and when you read these pages you are also confused about how everything connects, just a thought.
DeleteHe also included the picture of the falling man which I was also confused about why he did that.
DeleteBecause Oskar is listening to his mother's conversation with Dr. Fein through a thick door with a stethoscope, he can't hear everything that's being said. The blank spaces represent the words and phrases he can't hear. However, part of the effect is that this also comes across as almost a poem. The fact that he's listening with a stethoscope makes me feel like we're actually listening to the "heart" of the matter, or the "heart" of the mother's feelings.
DeleteWhat do all the Blacks have in common? How are they important to Oskar's journey of finding the lock to the key?
ReplyDeleteThey all know him and his name before he ever tells them. So do the blacks call the next blacks on the list before he come so they know what to expect maybe?
DeleteI think they all kind of teach him something different, his dad probably wanted him to learn things that he couldn't teach him so he sent him on a quest to all these different people
DeleteI think they all have a different "piece of the puzzle" that Oskar needs to find the lock.
DeleteNo he tells them his name so they don't know who he is
DeleteAre the nothing/something spaces permanent? And if they were to change, what would warrant a big enough reason to break their rules?
ReplyDeleteIs there a big enough reason that people break their biggest rules?
Does Oskar have a lot of emotions held inside that he doesn't even express in the book? We all assumed he was a little kid so maybe the death of his father and the attacks didn't hit him as hard because maybe he didn't fully understand, but I think he lives with a lot more weight on his chest than we fully understand.
ReplyDeleteI think he probably does have a lot emotions because he wrote extremely depressed in the last section of the book he is holding in a lot of emotions because he doesn't want to show that he is hurting.
DeleteHe told the therapist that he's feeling everything, so I think that he is letting out all of his emotions that he feels
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DeleteOn page 194, Oskar says "It's an obvious target," when he is talking to Mr. Black about not wanting to take public transportation. What does Oskar believe he would be the target of?
ReplyDeleteI was also wondering that, maybe he means that its so in the open and so unpredictable (like the people who get on the bus) and there is no way of knowing what will happen so it could be an easy target for anything bad to happen?
DeleteThroughout the book, we have been shown that Oskar has become fearful of many things, particularly those related to the death of his father. His father died in a terrorist attack, and public transportation (such as a subway/light-rail) could be considered "an obvious target" for a terrorist attack. I think this section is an example of how searching for the key helps Oskar make progress in his emotional struggles. Oscar overcomes his fear and takes public transportation even though it makes him "panicky."
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DeleteOn page 200, Stephan Hawking is brought up again, I am confused why he is continuously brought up throughout the book ?
ReplyDeleteKorbin has a good theory. People knowing Oskar pops up a lot, like on page 150 when Ada Black calls him Oskar even though he never mentioned his name. It's a stretch, but it seems like something his dad would do. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteHave we gotten any more evidence to support the theory that Oskar has autism in these chapters?
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting (and disturbing) that the therapist wants him to be hospitalized/institutionalized. I'm glad the mother stood up for him.
DeleteIf the therapist is concerned about Oskar bruising himself then why isn't his mother? Maybe he doesn't need to be hospitalized but the Oskar's mom seems to ignore it to a certain degree
ReplyDeleteOn page 184, Oskar's grandmother says "it takes a life to learn how to live." Do you agree with this? Why/why not?
ReplyDeleteI think we could all tell that Oskar's grandma had not been revealed to the concept of Halloween. Why do you think she was so oblivious, when she works so hard reading magazines and newspapers trying to learn everything about being an American?
ReplyDeleteWhy is it that towards the end of the book the author starts repeating statements that he previously made. An example of this is on page 181, and 182 when the grandma is talking about her mothers necklace
ReplyDeleteIn response to the talk right now in the center, I feel as if the rules are making them feel safe because they are the type of people who are only happy when they are surrounded by rules. They feel like the rules help but the rules are making them not human. They are living in rules and they have no room to love each other, so the rules are effectively bringing them apart.
ReplyDeleteWhat’s the motif behind Oskars grandma saying why does anyone ever make love?
ReplyDeleteI liked how more people commented on the questions and we all tried to figure out the answer to it.
ReplyDeleteMs. Leclaire said she was confused about why the husband came back home only to leave again. My thoughts on this is that he felt some remorse for leaving his wife with a baby (this is why he came home from the airport). Then he realized he didn't have many more years of life and he doesn't want to spend them with someone he doesn't love.
ReplyDeleteWhy did A.R Black wait so long before he went out again? What happened the last time he left his apartment? Was Stan working at the building when A.R moved in? Had Stan ever seen A.R before page 194? "On our way our, I said, ' Stan, this is Mr.Black. Mr.Black, this is Stan.' Mr.Black stuck out his hand, and Stan shook it. I told Stan, "Mr.Black lives in 6A.' Stan took his hand back,..." (194) Why did Stan pull his hand away when Oskar told him that A.R Black lived in 6A? Why was that so strange to Stan? Was it because he thought that maybe he was seeing ghost (since he previously said that the apartment was haunted)? Or was it because he just didn’t trust Black because he had never seen him come out of the apartment? Why was Agnes in a wheelchair? Why was no one in the apartments bothered by Agnes and A.R screaming at each other? How come A.R didn’t just come up the stairs when he found out she only spoke Spanish? How did A.R learn how to speak Spanish? Did he learn it in school? Did he meet a Spanish speaking person and learned from them? Did he grow up in an English and Spanish environment? How would things have change if Agnes could speak English? What would've happened? How would've the story gone if A.G couldn't speak Spanish?
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think the falling man photo appears on page 205?
ReplyDeleteOskar wonders if his Dad might have jumped off the building.
DeleteI think it could've been placed there because they're talking about how Oskar needs help and the doctor thinks he needs to be hospitalized and all this brought on because of the events with his dad and Oskar thinks his dad might have jumped since he was high up in the world trade center.
DeleteWhy do you think Thomas wouldn't buy life insurance?
ReplyDeleteI feel like he focuses on his home (vs. his life) when he's trying to protect because he knows that you can't protect against losing people you love.
DeleteWhy does Oskar play the interview for his entire class?
ReplyDeleteHe might play it to almost make people realize that tragedies are happening everyday and one happened to him and he wants them to notice him and his problems and help him.
Delete@Ethan O on page 196 Oskar was talking about how the lady that lived in the apartment before the woman who couldn't speak English, worked at the restaurant that his dad was at that morning, then he was saying what if they walked up to the top of the building, held hands and jumped off together.
ReplyDeleteYes--he's trying to figure out exactly his dad died. He needs this for closure even though there's no way to know for sure. Perhaps he hopes his dad was one of the jumpers because at least he had a choice in how he died?
DeleteWhy do you think that after Thomas found out about the baby that he decided to leave all of the sudden?
ReplyDeleteBecause we know rules where so big in their relationship, And the first rule they set up was to have no children so after he found out that she was pregnant he panicked and fled
DeleteI think that he believed that he could not be a good father.
DeleteOn page 175 the Grandma says, "There is nothing wrong with compromising. Even if you compromise almost everything." Do you guys think it's possible to be happy if everything you do in life has to have a rule or be compromised?
ReplyDeleteNo, I don't think you can be happy all the time if all you are doing is compromising. Sometimes you have to do things your way once in awhile to make you happy.
DeleteI agree with Andie I do not think it is possible to be happy all of the time, life is a game with ups and downs. I think that the Grandma's influence on Oskar will/has play(ed) a big part throughout the book. She provides Oskar with a lot of life lessons
Deleteon page 207 While Oskar is listening through the door to his mom and doctor Fein, Why does the doctor talk about sending oskar to a hospital?
ReplyDeleteoskar has some weird behavior throughout the last few chapters and she might be worried that something might happen to him or he might do something
DeleteOn page 177 the Grandmother says "I am pregnant" to the grandfather and then he almost leaves the next day. Is it possible that this is why the Grandfather left?
ReplyDeleteMost likely because he always said he never wanted kids so much that he made it a rule to never have them. Also, he didn't take out any life insurance on them so adding another person to their lives is just going to add to the list of people to deal with and ignore.
DeleteI think that he could've left because of her pregnancy and also because he couldn't handle the responsibility of a child and didn't want to have to change a bunch of rules that they live by already.
DeleteYes! I got the sense from these recent chapters that the central part of the grandfather's pain may be the unborn child he lost, not Anna. I think the possibility of losing another child was too much for him to bear.
DeleteI think she was telling Dr. Fein that he should not be hospitalized.
ReplyDeleteI think that she's saying she wants to hospitalize Oskar because she found the bruises he gives himself and also because she realizes that she cannot fix everything and she cares too much about him to watch him suffer alone
ReplyDeleteOskar gave himself another bruise on page 207 when questioning why his dad didn't say goodbye or I love you.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you feel he continues to do this? Is that just how he copes with things? Does he feel a little guilty?
I think him bruising himself is him punishing himself if he doesn't feel good. I feel as if the bruising symbolizes his feelings such as he describes his sadness with "heavy boots".
DeleteI think it's just how he copes with everything because he is so young and is not very good with talking through things as we can tell when he talks to Dr. Fien and tries to do the word association game.
DeleteOn page 203, as Oskar is telling Dr. Fein how he will "bury his feelings," he says, "If I have to bleed, I'll bruise." I think Oskar uses bruising as a way to show the pain and guilt he feels without screaming, crying, or discussing it with his family. Many people in the book hurt themselves by hiding their emotions.
DeleteI think that Oskar believes that his dad dying is his fault just like how someone would feel if a close family member or friend would feel if someone they knew committed suicide. (just an example). After someone dies it is a lot easier to see the bad in things after it already happens, thats what I think that Oskar is feeling right now in the book
DeleteAfter Oskar gave his presentation on the bombing in Hiroshima, he called on Jimmy Snyder who asked "Why are you so weird?". Why do you think that Jimmy is so mean to Oskar and why do you think some of the kids were offended from the presentation?
ReplyDeleteI think the other kids have a really hard time relating with Oskar because Oskar doesn't necessarily have a normal mindset for a nine year old because he's very intelligent and their only way of replying to what Oskar has to say is to outcast him
DeleteThe interview was pretty intense and graphic so I think that is why some of the kids in the class were offended and reacted the way they did. I think Jimmy Snyder is so mean to Oskar because he may have lost someone in the attacks as well and is not good at handling it.
DeleteI don't think many people in Oskar's class can relate to him, because he is dealing with the death of his father, and more mature situations.
DeleteJimmy to me represents the insensitive person who expects people to "just get over things." He bullies Oskar for being too emotional/honest. I think Foer is trying to get us to question the way we treat people who are grieving.
DeleteOn page 180, it says " You cannot protect yourself form the sadness without protecting yourself from happiness" do you think that this could relate to why Thomas left because since he was so upset that in order to keep himself healthy and happy the only way out was to leave?
ReplyDeleteGreat connection! I think to protect himself from sadness, he has walled himself from the possibility of happiness. Very sad.
DeleteI think it's not fair that oskar and everyone else expects oskars mom to always be ok. I think it is okay for her to want to seek help for her son, because is at a bad stage in life he just chooses not to talk about it.
ReplyDeleteWhy does Oskar's grandma say “You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness.” (pg. 180)
ReplyDeleteI think she says this because you cannot choose your emotions and so if you let yourself feel one emotion, the rest will follow.
DeleteShe says this because life has its ups and downs but if you try to shield yourself from one side, you are depleting your emotions and therefore restricting most of your emotions and tend to have less sympathy and feelings towards things
DeleteIf you open yourself up to happiness you also open yourself up to the idea that you can get hurt and something might not go as planned especially with love. So if you are so afraid of getting hurt and you are constantly avoiding situations then you might not get the experience of happiness either because your so focused on avoiding sadness
DeleteOn page 194, Oskar and Mr. Black head out to find the lock. Oskar says he won't take public transportation, and then quickly changes his mind and takes the IRT. Why do you think he changed his mind? Does this show him growing and moving on from 9/11?
ReplyDeleteMr. Black faced his fear and went out into the world so that he could help Oskar. I feel like Oskar felt that he had to face his fears just like Mr. Black did.
DeleteWhy do you think the chapter was titled, Happiness, Happiness?
ReplyDeleteInteresting...also the woman who now lives in Agnes' apartment is named "Feliz," which is Spanish for "happy."
DeleteThe two things related to happiness that stood out most to me in this chapter were that Oskar could not think of a word to associate with "Happiness" in Dr. Fein's game, and that at the end of the chapter Oskar said "... I was that much closer to the lock, which was happiness" (207). I think Oskar is finding some happiness through his search for the lock and the people he meets along the way.
DeleteWhat is the significance of Oskar doing a school project on The bombing of Heroshima and how can we relate this back to his life or the story?
ReplyDeleteYou're about to get a chapter on what it was like to be Dresden during the bombing, too. I think these scenes help capture the horror 9/11 and show how this pattern of destroying innocent civilians has repeated too many times throughout history.
Deletedoes anybody else think that someone close to oskar is dropping hints and stuff to help him along?
ReplyDeleteDo you think that every person the Oskar meets is hiding more than they are saying? and who do you think they are?
ReplyDeleteI agree it might be because they might know Oskar's grandpa and are aware of the situation that Oskar is currently is in
DeleteOn page 185, The grandma says "That night we held each other in bed. He kissed me all over. I believed him. I was not stupid. I was his wife" That quote really got me thinking that he was going to stay and be the father,but then when I kept reading I was totally shocked that he decided to leave, I really didn't think it was fair for Thomas to mess with her feelings like that and then just leave.
ReplyDeleteDo you guys think that Mr. Black helping Oskar with his journey is helping him cope with his dad at all? He kind of acts like a father figure in Oskars life.
ReplyDeleteI think Oskar likes having a partner in his journey and especially him being a man because Oskar is really struggling and looking for a father figure in his life or even just an older man who he could look up to
DeleteYes! I think he might be taking on the role of "mentor" in Oskar's quest. It doesn't seem like Oskar's mom, doctor, or teacher are serving as mentors to him (although perhaps the grandmother kind of is). I think Mr. Black is also a good example of a person who lost someone he loved, suffered in the abyss for a long time, and emerged from it. Oskar helped him learn to communicate and to be a part of the world again; hopefully, Mr. Black can do the same for Oskar.
DeleteI feel like the blacks knowing Oskars name and teaching him life lessons, like aiden says, seems like something his dad would do. Like before he died when he would send Oskar on those scavenger hunts. It may be a stretch though considering his dad did not know he was going to die
ReplyDelete"Oskar isn't other children, even like being around kids his own age" pg. 206 I think that this gives us more of an understanding on knowing that Oskar is smarter and not like the other kids, hes more intelligent and I think since his mother knows this that this is maybe why she lets him roam more freely.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that stephen Hawking letters are fake? like that it isnt really Stephen writing them
ReplyDeleteI think they're real, but they're likely generated from one of Stephen Hawking's secretaries. I think part of Oskar's obsession with writing to Stephen Hawking relates to A Brief History of Time's chapters on time travel and other principles of physics that offer Oskar a connection to his dad.
DeletePersonally I don't think that people are hiding more than they are saying, I think that the people are just shocked that a 9 year old to be walking around the city asking questions that connect to his dead father, and don't want to say something or talk to him about it like an adult because it will hurt him emotionally, maybe? I think that is why they are not saying much and why it sounds to Oskar that they are all hiding something.
ReplyDeleteI think that Oskar keeps writing to Stephen Hawking because he can kind of relate to him and he looks up to him. I think he is searching for guidance from him becuase his dad is gone
ReplyDeleteOn page 185, the grandmother said, "I waited for him to come home. Hours passed. And minutes." In the text it said that they were dependent on each other so what do you think would happen if they split up?
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Deigo's thought that Oskar's dad might have talked to all the Blacks because Oskar is taking up huge amounts of time to meet the very small amount of all of the Blacks that he has met, how would his dad have had time to set up this grand scheme and ask all these random people to teach his son something and why would he even do that if he didn't know he was going to die, why not just teach your kid something face to face, it would save the immense effort it takes to meet all these people and ask them to do you a favor when half of them would probably tell you to do it yourself. It makes a lot more sense to think that Oskar is just forgetful in conversation or some other explaination rather than Thomas meeting hundreds of New Yorkers for his difficult kid
ReplyDeleteI think that the Stephen Hawking letters are fake, I think they are like a written voicemail that gets sent to people who writes letters to him, because he doesn't have time to reply to a lot of them.
ReplyDeleteOn page 202, Oskar associates the word "Emergency" with "Dad." Dr. Fein asks, "'Is your father the cause of the emergency, or the solution to it?'" and Oskar answers, "'Both.'" How does Oskar's father represent both the cause and the solution to the emergency?
ReplyDeleteAmazing question! The class left before seeing it, but I will bring this up with them tomorrow.
DeletePages 174-207 have a lot going on, there are a lot of new themes and topics introduced. I think that near the beginning of the reading (pg. 187) Oskar played the interview from Hiroshima because, in a way, looking at other events similar to 9/11 calmed Oskar down and gave him reasoning towards what happened to his father. After the interview played, Oskar went on a long rant about all of the science behind the bombing, I think that knowing the science behind the attack gave him peace about it, like in the beginning of the book Oskar stated that he likes to know why and how everything happens. if he knows why Hiroshima happened, and all of the science behind it, it will help him reason with 9/11. Also, the interview gave Oskar something to relate to, because Tomoyasu in the interview also lost someone in the attack.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Gwynne’s question about why Thomas and Oskar both take pictures of everything, I think that taking pictures helps both of them reason with and understand what is going on with their lives. It is a different way of sharing emotions, while lots of people journal to get their feelings out, I think Thomas and Oskar would rather take pictures that represent how they’re feeling or whats going on in that moment.
In response to Grant’s question regarding any more evidence that has come up showing that Oskar has autism, I would say no. The therapist wants him to be institutionalized, mainly because of the bruises, and I think some could see this as signs of autism, but I think self harm is more a sign of anxiety or depression, with which Oskar may have. But I feel like the evidence of him being Autistic is lessening as the book goes on.
One question that I had, is which Black has been most important to Oskar, and which Black has been most essential to Oskar’s quest?