I believe this quote has much impact on the understanding of Oskar as a character. His ability to think in such analytical and frank terms and put aside his emotions puts Oskar ahead of many adults in a lot of ways. Oskar does not have the clouded and childish "everything is wonderful" view of the world that most kids his age have because it has been stripped from him. The abruptness and confusion of his dad's death forced Oskar to prematurely face the reality of everyone's eventual mortality. Though morbid and depressing, this quote makes a very interesting and true connection; in reality we are all going to die, it is just a matter of when that varies from person to person.
This quote also speaks to the fact that Oskar feels hopeless in his search for understanding of his father's death and he is paralleling his desperation in this situation to the overall desperation that everyone faces due to the fact that they are "trapped" in a life that must end sooner or later. No one knows how fast their smoke is rising but everyone can be sure that it is, in fact, rising. Oskar faces a reality that most adults have difficulty accepting and from this, Oskar's intelligence and shocking maturity shine through his words. While most kids are playing with their toys and giving themselves "cootie shots" , Oskar is on a quest for his own identity and recognizes that life is finite. The death of his father clearly instilled in Oskar a sense of the perpetual passage of time: time stops for no-one and, unfortunately, we have no idea how much time we have.
I think this quote represents Oskar's awareness of the fact that, just as his father only had so much time on this earth, so does Oskar and he does not want to waste it. By befriending almost everyone he meets and searching for meaning in everything, Oskar seems to be trying to make the most out of his life. He seems to want to help those who are clearly not making the most of life because he understands that everyone only has a limited amount of time. Oskar wants to understand human emotion, as is obvious through his constant attention to the feelings of others. He is much deeper and more intuitive than any child his age, or adult for that matter, that I know of. His ability to recognize and face the facts regardless of how insightful or painful they may be really made me both admire and feel close to Oskar as I read Foer's novel. Facing one's own mortality seems to be such a taboo thing in our society and I believe the fact that Oskar so readily addresses the topic puts him heads above others in his level of thinking and comprehension.
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6 comments:
Hi! I really enjoyed your response, and it is very well-written. I agree that Oskar is well ahead of his years, and certainly this quote represents the mortality of the human race.
While Oskar searched for meaning in everything, I started thinking to myself, "okay, just leave it alone." I feel that he allowed his desperate search for answers to consume him. Not everything in life has an answer, which is a fact that allows us to question things in the first place. You and I talked in class today about how we didn't know what the items Osker found in Central Park meant. Well, maybe that was Oskar's father's way of saying not everything in life has an answer and we have to enjoy the journey over the destination. Oskar's joy in fiddling with the metal detecto was worth much more than what he found. This also pertains to the disappointment of the lock that the key opens; Oskar's search for answers was infinitly more valuable than the acutal answer.
I really liked how you said “facing one’s own mortality seems to be such a taboo thing in our society” because it is so true. Even in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close facing and talking about mortality was frowned upon. (ie. The Bombing of Dresden and 9/11. Even though these were tragic events the concept behind the refusal to talk about death is apparent.) Unfortunately, no matter how much we want to avoid it, we are all going to die. The sooner we can accept our ultimate fate, the sooner we will be able to appreciate our lives and make the most of the time we do have. The seconds of our lives are continually blowing away like smoke, we need to embrace all the time we have, because we never know when it is going to end.
To Elle:
Yes I definitely agree that Oskar's search for answers is much more important than the answers he finds. It pertains to that common quote, "life's about the journey not about the destination". I like that take on the Central Park thing too. Oskar's dad probably recognized Oskar's need to find meaning in everything and realized that Oskar would not ever find true content if he continued on this way because in life there are simply many more questions than answers.
I think through the Central Park quest Oskar's dad was trying to assist Oskar in understanding that sometimes life really is more fun if you just sit back and enjoy the ride. Oskar seems to enjoy the mind-games that his father cooks up not because he wins some prize at the end, but because he proved himself through the test. I think Oskar's dad hopes Oskar will realize that this is where the joy is in life, the race much more than the finish.
To Blogger #1:
Yeah I think facing one's mortality is a major issue in our society. There are so many cultures where discussing death is natural, it's like discussing a birthday, but here it is a very touchy subject. I think Foer was possibly trying to convey that point by making no direct reference to the bombing or 9/11 as well. To me personally I think mentioning these events in such a sheepish way makes their memory even harder to deal with. By obviously emphasizing the sadness and horror, you feel more emotional about the situation. In my opinion, by making things so taboo it actually makes them worse. Maybe it's just in my mind but I guess it's kind of like when things don't hurt as bad until you see the blood.
I think if the topic of death were more approachable in society, people almost wouldn't feel as horrible when someone they love dies. Like in some cultures people will look more on the good and celebrate that person's life rather than mourning and allowing the sadness to thrive. Of course the sadness is still there but they can look at the death in a more optimistic way and relinquish some of their grief.
You mentioned really good points in your blog! You wrote a lot about Oskar understanding the inevitability of death, which is definitely portrayed in the quote. I don't know if you noticed the line after it, but it says "you can see the most beautiful things from the observation deck of the Empire State Building", and goes right along elaborating on that. It's such an upbeat change of subject that is just affirmation that he truly does realize the idea of mortality and isn't just trying to make himself believe it. Even though our lives are like skyscrapers and we're all destined to die, you can still see beautiful things from them.
Yeah I agree completely with that. Actually I didn't notice that next line but it really does tie in perfectly. I think it represents how Oskar is maturing because he is able to both understand that life is finite and still recognize and appreciate the beauty around him. Oskar truly realizes that most people take life for granted but life is unpredictable and if you don't enjoy it while you're living it then you'll never really feel fulfilled.
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