We started our literary circle by discussing our general feelings after finishing the novel. We all agreed that we were disappointed by the ending because we though that Oskar deserved more. I shared my thoughts of how I had been imaging an ending full of explanations and excitement, but much was left up to the reader to decipher. Surprisingly, we had less to talk about than usual today. This could have been because we did not have very many pages to read, but also could have been caused by what seemed to be a disappointing ending.
Another idea that we all agreed upon was the fact that there were some connections to Slaughterhouse-Five in this novel. The most obvious connection that we all made was that in both novels, the protagonist goes through a horrific event backwards. In Slaughterhouse-Five, Billy Pilgrim watches a war movie backwards, watching the bombs go back into the planes. In Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Oskar goes through the fateful day of September 11 backwards, going back to the night before when everyone was safe. We discussed how, in both instances, the ending result is peace and safety, which was Oskar's goal all along. I also made a connection between Oskar and his grandmother because they both went through their worst days backward to reach their peace. The other connection that we made between the two novels was the reference to Adam and Eve, and we decided that this also represented peace.
On the same note, we discussed connection that these two novels may have to the greater idea of a just war. Alex started this conversation by referring back to Oskar's session with the therapist who asks if anything good came from his father's death. We decided that Oskar's grandparents got back together because of Thomas Schell's death, but not much else seemed to come from it. Our ideas seemed to build, and we decided that the characters had to go through some sort of pain to finally achieve peace within. I then thought of the references in the novel to Stephen Hawkins and the fact that Oskar only received form letters from him. I proposed that these letters from Stephen Hawkins could represent Oskar's disappointment, and his response at the end could represent Oskar's healing process.
Our discussion was very productive, but we must still look into the idea of just war that is presented in this novel.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Thursday, January 7, 2010
When Everything Seems to Come Together
In the section that we had to read for yesterday's literature circle, everything seemed to come together for the first time. We had a lot to read, and even more to discuss in our literature circle. As usual, we worked very well together and stayed on task, but this time we almost needed more time because we had so much that we wanted to share with each other.
First, Tara shared the topics that she chose to write about in her response, one of which was a topic that we had previously explored. She brought up the idea once again that Oskar showed signs of someone who is autistic, which I had proposed a couple of weeks ago. I agreed with Tara about the fact that there were more signs in this section of the reading to suggest some type of autism in Oskar. Tara shared a quote in which Oskar said that most of his classmates had ADD, which could suggest that he goes to some type of special school or class, and she also pointed out that he does not know when to stop, which is another characteristic that is common among people with autism. I also added that the psychologist wanted to hospitalize Oskar, which may or may not have something to do with the traits previously discussed.
Allison brought up two interesting points in this literature circle. The first was that Oskar's mother saw his bruises, but never said anything about it. I hadn't noticed this when I was reading, but as I thought about is more, it became more peculiar. If she saw all of the bruises on his body that he did to himself, why wouldn't she do anything to help him? The second point that Allison brought up was that when Oskar's grandfather was observing Oskar in the apartment, he was watching him though a keyhole, which could be symbolic of the key that Oskar carries around. On the same note, we all thought it was somewhat cliche but still interesting that Oskar had a Band-Aid over his heart where the key rested because it is symbolic of the wounds that he has.
Our group spent a lot of time closely reading the letter on page 208 to page 216 that Oskar's grandfather wrote to his son, who is Oskar's father. Oskar's father went through the letter and circled the mistakes with his red pen. Alex thought it was strange that he would mark up the only letter that he ever received from his father, ruining it in a sense. We discussed the different words or phrases that were circled with the red pen, especially those that weren't just grammar mistakes. From some of the phrases that were circled, our group concluded that Oskar's father had a lot of animosity toward his father for leaving his mother, and that is why he circled things like "I love you, Your father". We also spent some time trying to decode the last message from Oskar's father to figure out his dying words. We determined that his father did say that he loved Oskar, but because his words were cut off, Oskar thought that he never said those words.
I also shared with the group that the French astronaut described on page 243 is probably the same man who is pictured on page 67, but I would like to know why this is included in the novel. Another one of my questions that arose from the discussion is whether or not Oskar's mother knew that his grandfather was staying in his grandmother's apartment.
First, Tara shared the topics that she chose to write about in her response, one of which was a topic that we had previously explored. She brought up the idea once again that Oskar showed signs of someone who is autistic, which I had proposed a couple of weeks ago. I agreed with Tara about the fact that there were more signs in this section of the reading to suggest some type of autism in Oskar. Tara shared a quote in which Oskar said that most of his classmates had ADD, which could suggest that he goes to some type of special school or class, and she also pointed out that he does not know when to stop, which is another characteristic that is common among people with autism. I also added that the psychologist wanted to hospitalize Oskar, which may or may not have something to do with the traits previously discussed.
Allison brought up two interesting points in this literature circle. The first was that Oskar's mother saw his bruises, but never said anything about it. I hadn't noticed this when I was reading, but as I thought about is more, it became more peculiar. If she saw all of the bruises on his body that he did to himself, why wouldn't she do anything to help him? The second point that Allison brought up was that when Oskar's grandfather was observing Oskar in the apartment, he was watching him though a keyhole, which could be symbolic of the key that Oskar carries around. On the same note, we all thought it was somewhat cliche but still interesting that Oskar had a Band-Aid over his heart where the key rested because it is symbolic of the wounds that he has.
Our group spent a lot of time closely reading the letter on page 208 to page 216 that Oskar's grandfather wrote to his son, who is Oskar's father. Oskar's father went through the letter and circled the mistakes with his red pen. Alex thought it was strange that he would mark up the only letter that he ever received from his father, ruining it in a sense. We discussed the different words or phrases that were circled with the red pen, especially those that weren't just grammar mistakes. From some of the phrases that were circled, our group concluded that Oskar's father had a lot of animosity toward his father for leaving his mother, and that is why he circled things like "I love you, Your father". We also spent some time trying to decode the last message from Oskar's father to figure out his dying words. We determined that his father did say that he loved Oskar, but because his words were cut off, Oskar thought that he never said those words.
I also shared with the group that the French astronaut described on page 243 is probably the same man who is pictured on page 67, but I would like to know why this is included in the novel. Another one of my questions that arose from the discussion is whether or not Oskar's mother knew that his grandfather was staying in his grandmother's apartment.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
So many questions...
In our literature circle, we discussed a lot of the questions that we had after reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. One of the main questions I had going into the discussion was the something and nothing spaces in the grandparents' house and what they symbolized. Alex had a very good idea relating to this, which I agreed with. She thought that the hallway may have been denoted a "something" place because it was a way to escape. Oskar's grandmother was certainly damaged by the fire that killed her family, and like Oskar, she may have been trying to think of ways that her family could have lived.
I brought up the phrase "Do you know what time it is," which was repeated throughout the chapter. Our group uncovered that it was used in between stories about the past and stories about the present, so it could possibly show that Oskar's grandparents were confused by time, meaning that time had no significance. I also thought that this may have had something to do with the damage that Oskar's grandfather suffered as a result of Anna's death. He may have been confused by the time because he wants to be back in the past, when he was happy with Anna.
We also wondered whether Oskar's grandmother was literally blind, or blind in a more figurative manner. Throughout the chapter, there seems to be some indication that she is physically blind, but I couldn't understand how she could have her vision in other parts of the novel. I brought up the idea once again that Oskar's grandmother has trouble communicating with people, and maybe that is what her blindness symbolizes. I related the way that she communicates with people to the way that someone speaks when they are involved in watching television and is having a simple conversation but is just not there mentally.
Our group worked well together, and we were all looking forward to the next literature circle, when we will have a lot of material to discuss.
I brought up the phrase "Do you know what time it is," which was repeated throughout the chapter. Our group uncovered that it was used in between stories about the past and stories about the present, so it could possibly show that Oskar's grandparents were confused by time, meaning that time had no significance. I also thought that this may have had something to do with the damage that Oskar's grandfather suffered as a result of Anna's death. He may have been confused by the time because he wants to be back in the past, when he was happy with Anna.
We also wondered whether Oskar's grandmother was literally blind, or blind in a more figurative manner. Throughout the chapter, there seems to be some indication that she is physically blind, but I couldn't understand how she could have her vision in other parts of the novel. I brought up the idea once again that Oskar's grandmother has trouble communicating with people, and maybe that is what her blindness symbolizes. I related the way that she communicates with people to the way that someone speaks when they are involved in watching television and is having a simple conversation but is just not there mentally.
Our group worked well together, and we were all looking forward to the next literature circle, when we will have a lot of material to discuss.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
A Scribe's Viewpoint
Today, I was the scribe in our literary circle. The main focus of our discussion today was the importance of some of the symbols that we tracked in the novel. We discussed the use of birds as imagery, and Allison had an interesting idea that birds stood for happiness and love, which she backed up with a quote on page 78. Alex also brought up her thoughts about the use of birds, as well as her questions about the symbolism of the color white. Our group decided that we would read more closely for our next literature circle in order to discuss these symbols further.
We also tried to uncover the significance of certain events in the chapter, especially Oskar's meeting with Abby Black and the significance of the letters. At the beginning of our discussion, some of the members of my group were confused about the letters and who was writing them, but we managed to come to the conclusion that the writer of the letters was Oskar's grandmother. We also discussed the fact that something seems to be wrong with Oskar's grandmother. I brought up the fact that she seems a bit strange, especially because of the fact that she has an imaginary friend and Oskar claims that he doesn't know anything about her even though they are best friends.
Tara's opinion about Oskar changed from our last discussion. She no longer believes that he is naive, and we all agreed that he is extremely gifted. We also think that some of Oskar's characteristics remind us of someone who has a form of autism, which we plan to look at in the upcoming chapters. We also plan to track the symbols, including birds, tambourines, white clothing, and letters.
Overall, our discussion was very productive, and we continued throughout the period without stalling because we always had another question to ask once we finished discussing one topic.
We also tried to uncover the significance of certain events in the chapter, especially Oskar's meeting with Abby Black and the significance of the letters. At the beginning of our discussion, some of the members of my group were confused about the letters and who was writing them, but we managed to come to the conclusion that the writer of the letters was Oskar's grandmother. We also discussed the fact that something seems to be wrong with Oskar's grandmother. I brought up the fact that she seems a bit strange, especially because of the fact that she has an imaginary friend and Oskar claims that he doesn't know anything about her even though they are best friends.
Tara's opinion about Oskar changed from our last discussion. She no longer believes that he is naive, and we all agreed that he is extremely gifted. We also think that some of Oskar's characteristics remind us of someone who has a form of autism, which we plan to look at in the upcoming chapters. We also plan to track the symbols, including birds, tambourines, white clothing, and letters.
Overall, our discussion was very productive, and we continued throughout the period without stalling because we always had another question to ask once we finished discussing one topic.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
What's with the pictures? And the bruises?
During our discussion, I suggested that we look closely at the pictures on pages 53 to 67. Our group thought that the pictures were used to illustrate important moments in Oskar's life and to explain the way that he thinks. I think that the most important pictures are on pages 59 and 62, which illustrate the September 11th attacks. Allison helped me to realize that it was a picture of a person jumping out of the World Trade Center and falling to their death. This picture helped our group to understand and discuss the extreme damage that Oskar had endured from his father's death. We also discussed how Oskar determines his level of happiness or sadness by how heavy his boots are, which we thought was interesting. In relation to his father's death, I brought up the fact that Oskar seems to refer to all events in his life in relation to "the worst day", which is September 11th.
I also brought up the mixed signals given off by Oskar's mother throughout our first reading. At one point Oskar says that he knows that his mother wished he was dead, but he also claims that she is his reason for living. She gets Oskar fingerprinted and gets him a cell phone, but at the same time, she lets him wander the city of New York. As soon as we started discussing this, I noticed that Oskar's mother and father were rarely mentioned together, which seemed odd. The other members of my group agreed, and Tara throught that this may indicate that one or both of them was having an affair. She thought that maybe that was the reason why Oskar's father was in the World Trade Center on Spetember 11th, or that "Black" was the name of the person Oskar's father was seeing.
I agreed with most of what the other members of my group thought, but I disagreed with the opinion that Oskar was naive. I think that he is actually the opposite of naive because he is very mature and seems to have a much greater intelligence than most other boys his age. On the same note, I thought he was a little too mature for his age, if that was possible. He knows too much about his father's death (like being burned on ninety percent of his skin), which I think contributes to his mental instability.
Some of the questions that were brought up in our discussion included the reason why his father was in the World Trade Center on September 11th instead of at the family jewelery business and why Oskar bruises himself when he gets upset.
I also brought up the mixed signals given off by Oskar's mother throughout our first reading. At one point Oskar says that he knows that his mother wished he was dead, but he also claims that she is his reason for living. She gets Oskar fingerprinted and gets him a cell phone, but at the same time, she lets him wander the city of New York. As soon as we started discussing this, I noticed that Oskar's mother and father were rarely mentioned together, which seemed odd. The other members of my group agreed, and Tara throught that this may indicate that one or both of them was having an affair. She thought that maybe that was the reason why Oskar's father was in the World Trade Center on Spetember 11th, or that "Black" was the name of the person Oskar's father was seeing.
I agreed with most of what the other members of my group thought, but I disagreed with the opinion that Oskar was naive. I think that he is actually the opposite of naive because he is very mature and seems to have a much greater intelligence than most other boys his age. On the same note, I thought he was a little too mature for his age, if that was possible. He knows too much about his father's death (like being burned on ninety percent of his skin), which I think contributes to his mental instability.
Some of the questions that were brought up in our discussion included the reason why his father was in the World Trade Center on September 11th instead of at the family jewelery business and why Oskar bruises himself when he gets upset.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Seriously...What the...?
I was not in class for most of the group discussion, but when I was involved in the discussion, it was very productive. The members of my group were especially helpful in sharing their thoughts with me and helping me to catch up.
While reading the excerpt from the first chapter, titled "What The?", I immediately noticed the pattern in the writing. Most of the sentences were simple, while some were run-on sentences. This lead us to believe that the narrator was writing the novel from the perspective of a child. Some of the content was also immature, especially when the narrator wrote about farting. Another theme that I recognized was the possible symbolism of the objects that the narrator mentioned. The narrator talked about teakettles, little microphones, birdseed shirts, and jujitsu. While all of these things may have seemed somewhat random at first, our group concluded that the objects all relate to the narrator protecting himself and his loved ones. I am curious to see how these symbols play out in the novel. I am also interested in the significance of the narrator's use of French periodically throughout the excerpt.
While reading the excerpt from the first chapter, titled "What The?", I immediately noticed the pattern in the writing. Most of the sentences were simple, while some were run-on sentences. This lead us to believe that the narrator was writing the novel from the perspective of a child. Some of the content was also immature, especially when the narrator wrote about farting. Another theme that I recognized was the possible symbolism of the objects that the narrator mentioned. The narrator talked about teakettles, little microphones, birdseed shirts, and jujitsu. While all of these things may have seemed somewhat random at first, our group concluded that the objects all relate to the narrator protecting himself and his loved ones. I am curious to see how these symbols play out in the novel. I am also interested in the significance of the narrator's use of French periodically throughout the excerpt.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)