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What parallels do you see between the reactions she has when the grandfather is thinking of leaving and those she has when she is leaving her father to die?
What is the significance of her dream that is interspersed here?
Why didn't she say anything to him before about him seeing Oskar?
Why does he bury the letters?
What message is this chapter (which is a letter to Oskar) trying to get through to Oskar?
26 comments:
By Oskar’s grandmother stating that quote, she reveals that she is angry with herself for letting Thomas back into her life so easily; their master plan of not getting attached did not work out so well. She wished that she would be able to forget about him and go on with her life, but he always had a way of creeping back.
I think that the dream signifies that nothing is what it seems. Once you think you know the complexity of something completely, the world has a way of bopping you in the head and making you feel like an idiot.
Thomas buried the letters because the person that he wrote them to is now dead, so he wanted to place them where he now resides. Also, I think that it has double meaning because he was also “burying the idea” and gave up on his family and life.
Why does he bury the letters? I believe it is his last attempt to let his son know that he cared. He knows he wasn't the father he should have been. He knows he missed out on his son's life. He buried the letters in his son's coffin. I believe he regrets everything and he wants nothing more than to just let his son know how he felt.
It reveals that she knows hes leaving again. And yet she still let him go.
Her dream was very interesting because everything was in reverse. Everything was backwards and continuing to go backwards. It started from where she was and ended with darkness just like how the world actually started.
He burys the letters in his son's grave. The letters that were supposed to be for his son. I think he burys them so the letters are theoretically and physically with his son. Now his son will actually be able to read the letters.
Oskar's Grandmother realized that Thomas was going to leave again. She cared for him, but realized that not only does Thomas want to leave, but also that she is lonely. She might have loved Thomas but she loved not being lonely more. They were both getting something out of the relationship in a way, but not what you would expect from a normal relationship. They were together to not be lonely, in Grandma's case, and because she reminded him of Anna, in Thomas' case.
She doesn't say anything to him about meeting Oskar because she knows it's for the better. She also has seen how much it has effected both Oskar and Thomas. Thomas buries the letters as a last stitch effort to say he cared for his son. I think it's also a way for Oskar to get over the idea of an empty casket. It also makes it seem like there's no longer just an empty casket there's a person there, but in the end it's just stories of the other half of his life. Oskar's grandma says to take the suitcases with him because it's a way to show that she doesn't rely on him anymore. She's learned to go through life by herself and how to be strong for other people, it's a difficult life that she now accepts.
I would really have to agree with Katelyn about the letter's statement. However I would not agree fully to his grandmother's thought process.
Of course she is angry that she let his grandfather back so easily. But I think she did it more for the pity she feels towards him. He's alone and unable to speak, and lost in ways that can't really be explained because of the past event's and I really think there bond formed from the connection because they went through the same traumatic events. And she's always going to feel that connection.
When Oskar's grandmother says this, it just reveals more about their relationship. She believes he is leaving again and she is not going to put up a fight to stop him. This time she just wants to make sure he takes all of his stuff with him. He will not make a fool out of her. Even if she still doesn't want him to leave. She's never been sure if she has actually ever loved him but she liked the company.
Grandma's dream is just really something to think about. Instead of starting from the beginning her dream started from present time and went backwards. Tears went into our her father's eyes instead of spilling out, paints were separated instead of mixed, Eve put the apple onto the tree instead of taking it off and eating it. This is not how life works though. Things happen and life moves forward. This is how Oskar wonders what life would be like at the end of the book though. He thinks, what if instead of people jumping from the twin towers, they were floating up back into the building, and the smoke went back inside the building, and the fire stopped, and the plan reversed out of the building, and Oskar's father left the building and came home and started to tell him a story backwards. That would mean he was home, alive, and everything was right again and happy, and safe. But we can't go backwards in life. Maybe her dream and how Oskar thinks this at the end, are connected.
Oskar's grandpa buries the letters because he could never express how he felt when Thomas was alive. He spent all those years writing letter after letter even though he was too ashamed to ever send them. He wanted Thomas to know that he loved him, and by buying his love in the empty coffin, he gave Thomas every ounce of love that he didn't have in life. By giving him the letters, the grandpa could finally be at peace with his sons death. That was the final act that allowed both him and Oskar to begin to get over Thomas's death.
Oskar's grandfather, Thomas, buries the letters because he wanted them to be with the person who wrote them. That person is now buried, as are the letters. It was a sign of love and respect.
The quote that Oskar's grandma says shows us that she knows that he'll be leaving and she has no choice but to watch him go.
She doesn't say anything about him seeing Oskar because although she doesn't feel it it is fair because he hadn't been there to raise him, she knows it is for the better. Oskar needs to develop a relationship with a male figure in his life. Every kid needs the balance of both male and female figures. Also, Oskar developing a positive relationship before he figures out that he is his grandfather is important in Oskar accepting him into his life.
He buries the letters because he feels awful that he didn't get to express his feelings to his son before he died. He feels that by burying the letters it will show that he really did care. This is the closest he could get to actually expressing his feelings towards his son.
He buries the letters as a way to get close to him - to show that he cared for his son. I think that it's symbolic because by burying his letters he is burying his love for his son. The letters tell me that he never stopped caring because he took the time to write them even though he never gave them to him. When Oskar's grandma says that she knows he is going to leave her again, and by stating that it shows that she is ready to see him leave even though she may not want him to. It also shows that his grandma is ok with facing the harsh world by herself and that she doesn't really need him.
He buries the letters as a sign of respect. It was a way of showing him that he cared and they meant more than he thought. It truly shows how little things mean a lot more than what you may think. This goes to show how he was always there.
Oskar's grandmother statements reveal that she knew he was leaving. She knew it and she understood why he had to leave. She was allowing him to leave so both of them would be happy, she didn't really put up a fight for him.
Oskar's grandfather buries the letter so in a way he finally gave them to his son. He put them in his sons grave so they finally got to him. It showed he did care about his son.
Oskar's grandfather buries the letters because he never got the chance to give them to Oskar's father. He not only buried the letters out of respect but also for sentimental reasons. His son was dead and he wanted him to "have" the letters; this shows the true love from a father to a son that never even met.
Oskar's grandfather chooses to bury the letters with his son because he is the person that the letters were intended for. He feels that it is only right that the love that could have been in those letters follows his son to the grave as it would have if he had known him better.
The signifigance of her dream is that her subconcious reverses reality. It is meant to explain how life does seem to go backwards. One is born and brought into the light of the world then one grows up then one disinagrates and shrinks into an elder and are eventually placed beneath the ground in death where one may rest in the dark once more just as one did in the beginning of life. The grandmother talks of simple things going backwards, but in reality she is subliminally recognizing the fact that her life is reversing itself. She allows her father to be left to die: she allows her husband to leave, her sister(Ana) kissed her like she was Thomas: her husband (Thomas) kisses her like she's Ana,the Dresden bombs kill her family: 9-11 kills her son- Her early life is a reflection of her later life and to her it is as if her life is being set in reverse. Thus, the dream is symbolic of the grandmother's life.
The grandfather buries the letters in order to bury his son. The letters were his only link to his son and seeing as his son is dead the link should be buried with his son for proper closure. The burying of the letters is also a sentimental event. The grandfather leaving an important piece of himself in the empty casket to fill the casket spiritually and to let his son know his true feelings. Overall, the burial of letters was the grandfather's way of burying his son and finding closure.
The dream signifies how nothing goes as planned and how easily things can change. It forced Oskar's grandmother to look back on her entire life and see all that has happened and that although sometimes she may have had control, most of the time the universe was in control of her destiny.
Oskar’s grandmother finally came to the conclusion that Thomas was going to leave her again. Although she cared about him, she knew she couldn’t do anything to stop him. She was lonely whenever he was around. And even though she might not appreciate the fact that he is leaving her again, but at least now she won’t have to worry about being lonely all the time. I feel that the only reason Thomas came back was because he missed Anna so much and the only person that reminded him of her was the grandmother.
I think what’s revealed about Oskar’s grandmother is that she says one thing to mask another. She knows the reality of her and Thomas’ relationship, and so she says one thing so maybe she’ll believe it, when she really knows that something else entirely is going to happen. At that point, it’s hard to tell if she still really wants him around or not. She tells him to get one of every magazine while thinking he’s just going to leave her again. I suppose she accepts that nothing is ever able to last between them, which, in my opinion, seems like a very difficult thing to accept, especially if she still maybe loves him.
Everything about her dream is happening backwards, and “people apologized for things that were about to happen” (311). Knowing that he wants to leave again is like the past happening all over again, like waiting for something predictable and still being hit hard by what you knew was already coming because no amount of preparation or words can keep it from happening. Her dream implies significance because their relationship is backwards, it’s all back to where it ended. It’s as if nothing good, nothing bad, or just nothing at all happened between them.
I think Oskar's grandfather's burial of the letters he wrote his son brings about a sense of closure for him. He was never able to tell his son how he felt when he was alive other than the letters, and now they would be with him, in his supposed resting place. I think it gave Oskar's grandfather peace of mind knowing that he was finally able to give his thoughts to his son.
Oskar’s grandmother’s message to Oskar by writing him this letter is that it is necessary to share what you want to say as soon as possible. It is one of the main themes of the book. The people in the book, whether it be Oskar’s grandfather or someone else, keep their stories and secrets to themselves. But by keeping these things to themselves, they may miss an opportunity to share what they want to say one day. Oskar’s grandfather lost his chance to share his letters with his son when he died. After Thomas Schell’s death, Oskar and his other family members start to uncover things about Thomas that he may have wanted to share one day. Oskar’s grandmother wanted to tell her sister she loved her. Everyone waited too late to share all these things.
Oskar's grandfather buries the letters with his son as a way of giving them to his son. The letters were intended for the son. He felt that all the love that he put into those letters should still be given to his son and follow him to the grave.
The grandfather writes all of the letters to his son, even though he hasn't met him. I feel that this shows a deep connection between the grandfather and his son. The grandfather loved and cared about his son very much. He tells about all his conflicted thoughts in his letters, although he left he still had a place in his heart that wanted him to stay and take care of his son. The ultimate loss of giving up his son gives the grandfather a lot of guilt. I think that the grandfather may have been hoping to fill the void he felt when Anna and their child died with the son and grandson he wanted to meet. He buries the letters to give him peace-of-mind and lift the weight off his shoulders. Some of the guilt has been replaced with a feeling of hope that maybe the letters will reach his son in some way.
Oskar's grandmother told his grandfather to take a suitcase for all the magazines. She reveals that she secretly wanted him to take his things in it one day. That shows the reader that she wanted him to leave her. She realized he was staring at the planes everyday wanting to leave and she supported it but just never could bring herself to say it to him.
When Oskar’s grandmother says that she wants his grandfather to take his suitcase with him, it shows that she somehow knows that Oskar’s grandfather is planning on leaving again. She wants him to have his stuff when he leaves to save him the trouble of starting over again.
Oskar’s grandfather is letting go of the hope that the letters will ever get to his son when he buries them by his grave. It is his way of saying goodbye to Oskar’s father, Anna, and his unborn son.
The message of the chapter is that it is always necessary to tell people how much you appreciate their presence. Oskar’s grandmother regrets that she never told her sister how much she meant to her when she was alive. She realizes now that the future is never guaranteed and she does not want Oskar to have the regrets that she has.
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