I may be misunderstanding the spirit of the blog posts for our lit circle novels, but I’m using it as a place to document the discussion points I’ll be bringing up for our novel. If (when?) we teach these books down the road, we’ll have a place to refer back to and see what others had to say before we tackle teaching these texts on our own.
I signed up for the roles of discussion director and stylistic foregrounder.
Discussion Director: ask questions about the story to help the group have dynamic discussions.
How do you feel about the role the grandmother played in the story? The grandfather?
Do you feel the mother’s depiction in the novel was realistic? Why or why not?
The book capitalizes on the fact that Oscar’s relationship with his father was so dynamic and multifaceted. How do you feel the book would have changed if it had been his mother that had died instead? Do you think the view we receive of his relationship with his father is accurate?
What could Thomas Senior’s silence be a symptom of? In what ways do we feel that the silence was metaphorical?
What connections did you make with this story on a personal level? Specifically, did the book make you remember any games you created or stories you told yourself as a child? Alternatively, did Oscar’s quest to find the owner of the key make you think of any beliefs or determinations that you held as a child that you’ve since let go of?
Stylistic Foregrounder: locate passages that are stylistically elevated, or complex. In the context of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, I’ve also extended this role to facilitate discussion of some of the formatting choices made in the novel.
Passage titled “Why I’m not where you are 4/12/78”, starting on page 208.
Are there any thematic connections to the passages that have been circled in red pen? Besides the highlighting of errors in the text (who do you think is doing this highlighting?), do we feel that the phrases being drawn out illuminate the writer or the highlighter? Or both?
Passage titled “My feelings” starting on page 224
What effect is caused by the typographical choices made on this page? Does this serve to further or complicate our understanding of the text?
The repeated question: “Do you know what time it is?” in “Why I’m not where you are 5/21/63” starting on page 108
Why do we feel that this question is often offset from other text, isolated in the page, occasionally with at least a page between the question and other text in the narrative? Does this line up with our understanding of Thomas Senior’s silence or complicate it?
The passage from 292 to 302, in which the quest is resolved and Oscar speaks the truth about his father directly.
This passage does not have stylistic or typographical flourishes, which makes it stands out in the end of the book, as the book becomes very typographically diverse as it nears the end. Why do you feel the author made this choice? How does it make the content more or less effective?
I will follow your lead, Elyse, and also post about what I found for my two roles in our Lit Circle. I signed up for Critical Thinker and Timeline Developer. The role of the Critical Thinker is to develop questions for critical thinking based on Bloom’s Taxonomy. Therefore, I have come up with several questions for each of the levels that would be useful for both comprehension questions, class discussions, or for essay topics on the novel. Please note that I have made up the questions in accordance with Bloom’s NEW Taxonomy, which is Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating. The variety of questions would also help differentiation in the classroom because you could pose different questions to different students depending on their ability levels. I am also assuming that this novel would be taught in an English 10, 11, or 12 class (as we discussed on Monday in our Lit Circle).
Knowledge: What was significant about Oskar’s visit to the art supply store and what did he find out? How was Oskar’s mother involved in his quest?
Understanding: Who is the narrator in the two chapters called “Why I’m Not Where You Are” and how do you know? Why do you think that the narrator of these chapters won’t speak? Describe the rituals of the couple in these chapters and explain how they are significant to dealing with loss and grief. What is the significance of Hamlet to Oskar’s quest? What do the following pictures mean: the doorknobs, the falling man, the flip-book at the end of the novel?
Applying: Sketch Oscar’s route around New York with the use of a map. How can Oskar’s story inform your understanding of grief?
Analyzing: Compare and contrast the writing styles of Oskar, his grandmother, and his grandfather. How does Oskar compare to your pre-conceived notions of nine year-old boys? How does the depiction on 9/11 in the story compare to what was reported in the news?
Evaluating: Evaluate Oskar’s mother’s decision to spend time with Ron. Judge the effectiveness of the title and point out where it originates in the text. What is the effectiveness of the pictures in the novel? How did the use of words vs. space on a page impact your understanding of the text?
Creating: Oskar struggles with grief and loss in this novel. Write a letter to Oskar advising him on how to heal. If the mother was a “writer” in the story, what would she say? Write her contribution to the novel.
The role of the Timeline Developer is to carefully track how time progresses in the story. This novel is composed of fragmented narratives that gradually connect to one another. The novel begins with Oskar in the year 2001. His father has recently died in the World Trade Centre and he is recalling the messages that his father left on the answering machine before he died. In the next chapter, however, the novel jumps to 1963 with Oskar’s grandmother and grandfather meeting in a bakery. Here is my attempt to organize the chapters of the novel in chronological order…
1921: The Letter from prisoner in Turkish Labour Camp. It involves the chapter “My Feelings”.
1945: The Dresden narratives. It involves the chapters “My Feelings,” “Why I’m Not Where You Are 5/21/63,” “Why I’m Not Where You Are 4/12/78”
1963: The writing of Oskar’s grandfather’s narrative (agreeing to marry Oskar’s grandmother, leaving his grandmother). It involves the two chapters titled “Why I’m Not Where You Are 5/21/63”
1978: The writing of Oskar’s grandfather’s narrative (describing his young adulthood and his relationship with Anna). It involves the chapter “Why I’m Not Where You Are 4/12/78”
Undefined time before 2001 (and after Oskar’s birth): The story of the sixth borough told by Oskar’s father.
2001: The attacks of September 11, Oskar’s grandfather’s narrative, Oskar’s grandmother’s narrative. It involves the chapter “Happiness, Happiness,” the third chapter titled “My Feelings,” “Why I’m Not Where You Are 9/11/03,” and parts of the chapters from 2001 to 2003 as Oskar repeatedly recalls the events of that day.
2001-2003: Oskar’s narrative (finding the lock, meeting the people of New York with the last name “Black”, searching with Mr. Black). It involves the following chapters: “What The?” “Googleplex,” “The Only Animal,” “Heavier Boots,” “Alive and Alone”
2003: Oskar finds William Black and discovers what the key opens, the grandmother’s letter to Oskar from the airport (explaining her childhood and her relationship with his grandfather), and the end of the novel where Oskar digs up his father’s grave. It involves the chapters titled “My Feelings” (the first two and the fourth), “A Simple Solution to an Impossible Problem,” and “Beautiful and True”
One of the main themes that I found interesting in the novel Extremely Close & Incredibly Loud, was the issue of existentialism. A passage on page 86, where Oskar and his father discuss how in altering a grain of sand in the Sahara, a single person can change something so vast. This opens up the idea of how one person can change the course of human history (Oskar’s words). His father is showing him that in order to have an effect the world ones actions do not have to be grandiose. Within this passage the issue of atheism is also brought up and it ties into the reoccurring discussion of reality and knowledge as seen through a scientific lens. Oskar continually deconstructs his ways of knowing to accept that there is reality and truth outside of what is comprehended by humans. We see this evidenced in a conversation he has with Abby Black. Oscar states in reference to elephants that “[t]hey’re making very, very, very, very deep calls, way deeper than what humans can hear. They’re talking to each other. Isn’t that awesome?” I liked this passage because it brought me back to the earlier passage where Oskar is discussing questions of existentialism with his father. It shows that his self awareness has gone beyond himself, and that he recognises the world works in ways beyond which science knows and can explain. There has to be an element of hope and suspended belief in order to get through the day to day reality of life and deal with its hardships. Knowing this it seems interesting to me that he is still asking these questions as other characters in the book have stopped asking. Characters like Ada Black state “I used to be idealistic…[t]here are questions I don’t ask anymore” and his father states “[w]e exist because we exist”. It is almost implied that we stop asking questions of place in the universe as we get older, because it is easier to live with faith than it is reality. For Oskar however reality and truth is still a major concern. I think he needs to ask these questions more so than older characters as he is still developing his sense of self. This topic could easily generate a lot of discussion within a high school classroom setting, as students could easily relate to the developing sense of identity present in Oskar. You could also discuss issues surrounding how we create reality and how truth and knowing are constructed. I would be interested in exploring the Sahara issue with students. I personally would not consider the action of moving a grain of sand equivalent to altering the course of humanity. You could open up a discussion of brute and social facts here. I keep going back to the philosophical question of if I tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it does it make a sound? The answer scientifically is no. To make a sound you need a receiver, if no receiver is present no sound was made. I would like to follow this train of thought with the Sahara questions and see where students go with it.
In spirit of our format for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close I’ll follow along and post my roles of Travel Tracker and Social Networker/Connector.
Travel Tracker, I tracker Oscar’s movement through New York throughout the entire book. I have created a map of his travels, but am unsure how to post in onto here at the moment, but I’ll try to get it up here sometime this week.
Oskar’s travel through New York and the people (the Blacks) he meets along the way or important details about the place are in parenthesis:
Manhattan-Upper West Side (Oskar’s home)
School (5 blocks from home)
Home (finds the key)
Art Store on 93rd Street (pen colors p. 45)
Home
Grandma’s Apartment (across the street from Oskar’s)
Amsterdam Ave-Columbus Ave-Central Park-5th Ave-Madison Ave-Park Ave-Lexington Ave-3rd Ave-2nd Ave-59th Street Bridge-(now in Queens)-Long Island City-Woodside-Elmhurst-Jackson Heights (meets Aaron Black)
#1 Bedford Street (Abby Black)
Grandma’s Apartment
Coney Island (Abe Black p. 147)
Manhattan-overlooking Central Park (Ada Black p. 151)
6th Floor of Oskar’s Building (Mr. A.R. Black)
School (Hiroshima Atomic Bomb story p. 189)
The Bronx (with Mr. Black via the IRT Train to meet Agnes Black)
meets: Albert Black, Alice Black in unknown locations
Lower East Side-Central Park South (Allen Black, the doorman)
Dr. Fein’s office
Home (The Sixth Borough Story)
Grandma’s Apartment (finds the letters p. 235/meets The Renter)
Staten Island (Georgia Black)
meets: Iris Black, Jeremy Black, Kyle Black, Lori Black, and Mark Black in unknown locations
Coffee Shop on 19th Street (Nancy Black)
86th Floor of the Empire State Building (Ruth Black p. 243)
Home
Graveyard
Far Rockaway
Boerum Hill
Long Island City
Dumbo
Spanish Harlem
Meatpacking District
Flatbush
Tudor City
Little Italy
Bedford-Stuyvesant
Inwood
Red Hook
Sugar Hill
Hamilton Heights (Peter Black)
#1 Bedford Street (back to meet Abby Black)
57th Street Office Building (William Black-looking for the key)
Home
Social Networker was interesting in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close because it was directly related to Travel Tracker. The reason for the travel throughout the novel is Oskar meeting the Blacks: Travel and Social Network in the novel are woven into one. Oskar meets 18 Blacks in 8 months.
As for my idea of using the Travel Tracker in lit circles, I don’t believe the value is nearly as great as the effort it can take (especially in a novel like this, driven by travel). While is it valuable for students to know where Oskar is going and recognize his distance covered, I believe that students can make better use of their time critically analyzing the novel in different ways (ex. theme, character, etc). Having a map of where Oskar went in his 8 months, I believe is useful to give students as a visual representation of the novel, but having them create it themselves in terms of this novel, I don’t believe would be the best use of their time. It would be interesting to pair an aspect of Travel Tracker with Timeline Developer, like Chelsea’s post above, to create a ‘map’ to help students navigate through time and space of the novel.
The role of social networks and relationships in this novel was extremely significant and a role that spoke powerfully to the theme of the novel. Tracking relationships between the characters in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close drew out the theme of loneliness. Of course, as a reader of the text, you cannot miss the sense of loneliness and Safran-Foer’s message about the effects of 9/11 on families, but isolating and analyzing the relationships of the characters was eye opening and heart wrenching. The characters are all lost, and have difficulty connecting to one another. Oskar, a 9-year-old boy, is disconnected from his family and grasps onto strangers for companionship. Oskar’s travel is a search for answers and connection-two things his broken family cannot provide him.
Some questions to potentially ask students in relation to travel in the novel (instead of tracking every move):
What is the reason for travel as a theme in the novel?
How does Safran-Foer use travel to make the reader empathize with Oskar?
How does Oskar’s travels make you feel? (He is 9 years old in New York City-although his mother knows where he is going, he still moves around a lot on his own.)
As the Passage Finder, I will begin my blog post with a passage from page 106, where Oskar is certain he hears someone in his grandmother’s apartment. We find out later, there is a person in the Grandmother’s apartment – Oskar’s grandfather who has returned unexpectedly from Europe. At that moment however, Oskar is led to believe that the noise in the apartment comes from his imagination. “I was in the place that I couldn’t come back from.” This nothing place that Oskar finds himself in refers to his childish run-away imagination. In other words, Oskar gets lost in his own imagination. Oskar’s narrative at this moment ends with a letter response from Stephen Hawkins. Hawkins can be associated with theories on black holes, essentially a phenomenon where reality and time cease to exist – which provokes questions about existentialism. Oskar’s infatuation with Stephen Hawkins relates to not only Oskar’s pronounced atheist beliefs and preferences for science over faith, but also the authors recognition of an unexplained world outside human reality, a world accessed through imagination. The novel simply explores a human condition outside the realm of rational thought and reason – the human unconscious and eventually thoughts on existentialism. I do not wish to continue the discussion about existential theory (from Chowey), but to write about how the unexplained unconscious behavior of characters takes some precedence in this novel, reflected in the characters inability to understand their own thoughts and motivations. When the grandfather and Anna commonly exchange the words, “You don’t always have to understand yourself,” this shows their frequent inability to explain their actions between one another. Their actions are brought on by an unconscious desire and attraction for one another, not for a reason that they can rationally explain to one another. This type of behavior eventually pushes the grandfather to leave his pregnant wife forever. As a father-to-be, he can no longer fathom the possibility of tragically losing someone close to him, so he paradoxically abandons his pregnant wife in order to avoid the risk of being close to anyone who may die. For all intensive purposes, these mysterious behaviors pertain to a form of social science: the study of psychology. However, the point to take from this is that sometimes certain actions and occurrences stretch the boundaries of our scientific understanding and accurate interpretation. The text delves into this mysterious realm of the unconscious, allowing for a wide range of understandings to be extracted from the text.
The events of 9-11 and the sublimity of such a massively destructive incident no doubt tested the human grasp of reality. The surreal nature of such an atrocity challenged the national conscience and to this day very little closure can be gained from the tragedy. The nine year old Oskar effectively embodies not only the initial sense of shock, but the impending feeling of loss that leads to both his strange behavior and his further pondering of existentiality: thoughts on the afterlife and our place in the universe. Oskar often objects that he does not believe in the afterlife or ghosts, but as a result of his personal loss, he becomes overwhelmed by the notion of death and this leads him to demonstrate unusual behavior in his own quest for closure. During Oskar’s search for a lock that fits his mysterious key, which is basically a way for him to cope with missing his father, he comes across the former war correspondent Aaron Black.
Aaron Black is another character who exhibits unexplainable psychological behavior as a result of personal grief. The correspondent takes the place of Oskar’s absent grandfather, as an elderly companion and pseudo-father figure to young Oskar. Aaron Black’s skeleton appearance, highlighted by the picture of a skeleton hand, perhaps alludes to the legendary Yorick skull that Hamlet recites his most memorable lines to. This novel is filled with Hamlet references throughout and several themes that are common in Hamlet seem to be associated with Aaron Black in this novel. Among the many themes in Hamlet, there is the reoccurring motif of the ears, of which Aaron Black is lacking in some ways, since he is deaf and does not choose to turn on his hearing aids. The idea behind the ears motif is that words we hear are slippery and misleading. Interesting how Aaron summarizes his own distinguished career as a war correspondent, by noting just one word next to every major leader or famous figure he has interviewed. He believes that everyone can be summed-up by only one word: war, money or sex. The idea here that despite the rhetoric of these world leaders to sway opinions and despite the convoluted nature of war issues, it all comes down to one written word. Aaron is so mistrusting of words by this point in his life, he chooses not to hear them anymore, but forgets the beauty of simple sounds, like flocks of birds. Aaron cannot comprehend his own quirky actions either. In the passage on page 161, Aaron speaks about his habit of putting nails into his marriage bed:
See these! I try to be a perceptive person who follows the scientific method and is observant, but I hadn’t noticed before that the whole bed was completely covered with nails. I’ve hammered one into the bed every morning since she died!
Aaron’s mentioning of the scientific method distinguishes him as someone who is aware, with a keen ability to observe and reasonably conclude, a skill that is left over from his career. He admits that his strange habit of reconstructing his marriage bed each morning strays from any logical behavior. His morning ritual seems to slip past his self observation. He unconsciously puts a nail into the bed each morning, the bed that he once laid in next to his wife. This is likely a fear of the symbolic marriage bed collapsing, which alludes to the fall of the twin towers. His custom is another example of an unexplainable behavior described in the narrative that has potential for a wide range of interpretations by readers.
A way for young readers to access this book would be through passage analysis. A class of young readers could generate their own ideas from Foer’s very abstract form of writing, even though they may not be able to fully access the underlying meanings and completely understand the material. The confusion for students will come from Foer’s first person narratives, which are essentially characters trying to figure themselves out and work through the complexity of their own psychology. Students will likely not make the in-depth connections necessary to understand the psychology behind a character’s actions. The letters from the grandfather to the unborn son for instance, requires knowledge of psycho-analysis to truly make sense of the grandfather’s motives. I do not however, believe that teachers should avoid studying this book with their younger students, simply because the narrative becomes very dense. These passages will give a teacher the opportunity to develop questions that bridge some understanding between the student and the text. A question posed could be asking about a time when the student wanted to avoid someone close to them. Why did they want to avoid that person, even though they were a close friend or family member? This should enable the student to empathize with the grandfather character’s mental crisis and either chose to forgive him for his abandonment or doom him, which puts them in the grandmother’s predicament. This will also allow the students to further explore a series of interpretations and as mentioned, practice a valuable life skill of seeking to understand others, no matter how difficult that may be.