A very graphic, first-hand description of the atomic bomb
attack on Japan. What is significant about Oskar's choice to share this with
the class? How is it connected?
How does the story of Buckminster fit in on a deeper level?
Why do you think Stan pulls his hand back from Mr. Black
when they are introduced?
There are some good sections that highlight the generation
gap between Mr. Black and Oskar. Which
ones did you notice, and how do they help build the characters or the story?
Why does Oskar insist on finding out if Agnes Black had any
kids? Is Mr. Black lying about the answer? If he is, why would he do that?
What do the letters from Gary Franklin and Jane Goodall tell
us about Oskar? What does this second response from Stephen Hawking tell us?
Oskar states that he sometimes thinks that the key opens
everything. What has it opened so far?
What do you learn about Oskar from his session with the
therapist? What do you learn about his mother from the choppy conversation that
Oskar eavesdrops on?
Why does he listen to his father's message when he gets home
from his therapy session?
The chapter is titled "Happiness, Happiness." Why?
62 comments:
The conversation between Oskar and his therapist tells us that Oskar feels like an outsider. He feels as though "his insides and outsides don't match up". Oskar feels all the emotions at the same time, which sets him apart from others. Not many children have to go through a tragic loss like he had. Dr. Fein thought that Oskar was experiencing all of these emotions because he was going through puberty. After Oskar dismisses this idea, you can tell he is hurt that Dr. Fein even thought of that as a possibility, because he proceeded to reminded him that his dad died the "most horrible death anyone could invent". When Oskar and Dr. Fein play the word association game, Oskar was problematic. He doesn't understand the purpose of the game, and he became self-conscious when Dr. Fein asked him what came to mind when he thought of happiness. Oskar feels many emotions, but happiness is the hardest to provoke. The only time Oskar feels happy is when he is searching for a lock for his dad's key.
From Oskar's session with the therapist, I learned that Oskar sets himself apart from the world. He claims his insides and outsides don't match up, this could mean that through the hard times he is going through he doesn't know how to feel. He sees his mother move on and make other friends, he hears about his grandmother talking to the renter, but when he feels he is moving on he feels worse. When the therapist says something about the feelings stemming from the start puberty, Oskar refuses to accept that idea by setting himself apart from people his age by restating the fact that his dad died a horrible death. Oskar never really connected with his peers which is why I think that he always asked famous scientists if he could be their assistants. Oskar always tried setting himself apart. The fact that Stephen Hawking sent another letter goes to show that Oskar sent a second letter to Stephen Hawking. This seems like another cry for help from Oskar. Oskar wants to be accepted. Oskar sends all these letters so that he can by accepted by a famous scientists and have someone he can connect with.
There is definite connection between 9/11 and the dropping of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima. They were both a huge destructive events in world history with a large body count. Oskar told this story to his class so they could understand what its like to have someone you know that is close to you die. When the lady in the story talked about the bomb the moment it went off, all she cared about was her daughter. All she tried to do was find her daughter. When the reporter asked the woman some questions about the event, all she talked about was when her daughter died. This showed the students of Oskar's class that when someone close to you dies everything else that would seem important just fades away...
I noticed the reaction that Stan had when he was introduced to Mr. Black and it made me wonder. I feel like Stan stereotyped Mr. Black as the "creepy old dude" because he hasn't left his apartment in 24 years, and I mean, I don't really blame him.
The second response from Stephen Hawking shows us that Hawking's mail is answered automatically with the same response and that Oskar is persistent.
From the initial time when Oskar asked Stan who lived in the room above his, Stan says that he believes it is haunted because he's never seen anyone come in or out. When Stan finally meets the man that has been living there, Mr. Black, I feel he's a bit embarrassed from what he said to Oskar, or perhaps he's shocked that someone actually did live there. It could even be that he was somewhat taken aback by his appearance.
From the beginning Oskar contemplates the amount of possibilities that the key could be linked to. He thinks that it could open anything and everything; but he is quick to learn quite the opposite. During most of his searching he finds that the key opens nothing, that is, until he is led to do some backtracking.
I think Stan pulls his hand away from Mr. Black when they are introduced because he thinks there is something wrong with Mr. Black since he stayed in his apartment for 24 years without leaving. Stan made the paranormal joke to Oskar when Oskar said that he was going to go up to Mr. Black's apartment. Stan judges Mr. Black before he even meets him because Mr. Black didn't leave his apartment in 24 years and the paranormal joke Stan made about probably bothered Stan.
Oskar wants to know if Agnes Black had any kids because she, too, died on 9/11 and therefore might have left behind grieving children like Oskar. Oskar feels isolated and distant from other people- his age or older. I think he imagines himself as being the only kid going through the pain of losing a parent. Agnes Black also died with the attack, maybe she even died with Thomas Schell, and if she had any children, it would mean to Oskar that he is not alone. Oskar wants (whether he know it or not) to have someone to relate to. Finding someone that's handling the situation as he is (dwelling on the loss, distant, etc.) and not like his mom (trying to move forward), would help him accept that he's not crazy for dealing with the loss like he is.
I don't think Mr. Black lied about Agnes not having children. Even though the pair have only known each other for a short time, I think that Oskar's and Mr.Black's relationship is strong enough to where Mr. Black could think that Oskar can handle the truth. I think the reason Oskar said, "But I wondered if he was lying to me, because even though I don't speak Spanish, I could hear that she said a lot more than just no." (pg. 196), is because Mr. Black might have left out all the details of the story Feliz told. Agnes Black's family might have suffered some tremendous tragedy that caused her not to have kids (i.e. infertility, miscarriage, etc.) which Oskar did not need to know, in Mr. Black's opinion. I think that Mr. Black is keeping something from Oskar, but I don't think his simple answer of "She didn't!" was a complete lie.
While at his therapy session we find out just how much Oskar is bothered by the fact he is forced to go to therapy in the first place. He says that he only willingly goes to the sessions because that means he gets a rise in his allowance, he also feels that he has the right to feel the way he does about losing someone so important, again making him dislike therapy even more. That being said it seems that going is useless because he doesn’t take it very seriously by allowing his mind to wonder and not saying what is really on his mind about what the therapist asks.
We also learn from this chapter that even though Oskar lashes out at his mother for certain things she still won’t give up on him. Due to the choppy dialog given by his mom to the therapist saying that she will not put Oskar in the hospital because of his emotional trauma shows that she doesn’t blame him for acting this way and believes that Oskar will start to come around after some time.
In the previous chapter, Oskar tries to make sense of his change in emotions by writing them down. To him, it doesn't make sense that his mother could be "happy" and laughing with Ron after his father's death when Oskar is still hurting so deeply. In this chapter, "Happiness, Happiness" is treated as a bizarre and foreign concept. The only thing that motivates Oskar is the answer to the puzzle of the key/"Black". Where everyone else, like his mother and therapist, want Oskar to start feeling happy (for his own wellbeing as well as others), Oskar just wants to find closure to this one little mystery. It's impossible for someone with such a black-and-white perspective of the world to believe that someone can just heal with a little time. Oskar explains to his therapist that he feels every emotion at once. I think that this is a really mature concept for Oskar to be describing. Happiness is this weird thing that we want to "find" by the time we're old and shriveled. Unfortunately for all of us, happiness isn't something that we wake up one day and possess for the rest of our lives. Happiness is fleeting. Happiness is temporary. Oskar realizes that his emotions are fluid. Oskar can't describe what comes to his mind when he thinks of happiness because it doesn't stick around long enough. Whenever something lightens his heavy boots, something else immediately weighs them back down
When Oskar has a session with his therapist we learn a lot about him. When the therapist asks about his father he becomes extremely angry. This shows us that Oskar is hostile and upset about his father's death. He is so angry that he is gone that he takes a completely negative attitude about it. This is understandable but he takes his anger out on those who are trying to help him. He can't get over the death of his father and move on and past that event no matter how hard he tries. I think he listens to his fathers message when he gets home because he simply misses his dad and needs to hear his voice for comfort. The therapy session got him wound up in many ways and very angry that listening to his dad speak is the one thing that can calm him down.
I think Stan pulls his hand away from Mr. Black out of shock. When Oskar introduced him I don’t think Stan had any idea that it was Mr. Black that had not left his apartment for 24 years. When Oskar told him it was it shocked him. I do not think it was anything to offend Mr. Black, I think he just got caught off guard with who is was that he was shaking hands with. I also think he was intrigued by who he had just met. He had never seen him in all of the years he lived there so meeting him for the first time with Oskar was very odd. I think anyone in Stan’s position would have the same reaction because they are just surprised that someone who has been a hermit for so long is now out and doing things with a young boy. Overall I believe Stan’s reaction was out of shock and surprise and not something that was supposed to be offensive.
It is obvious that Oskar shares the description of the attack on Japan with his class because he wants others to feel the pain he feels after losing his father in something very similar: 9/11. The death of his father has shaken him up so much that he doesn't understand that what he's showing to the class is not something people normally show to others. The story of Tomoyasu is similar to Oskar's story because Tomoyasu lost her daughter just like how Oskar lost his dad. The trauma caused by the two are alike. Oskar's choice in sharing this story just shows us his mental instability after losing his dad. One place in this chapter where we can see Mr. Black's and Oskar's generation gap is when Oskar asks Mr. Black if he's gay. Mr. Black replies by saying, "I suppose so", and this startles Oskar. The only meaning of gay Oskar knows is homophobic, and the only meaning of gay Mr. Black knows is happy or carefree. This incident, along with others, show us what perspective we are getting the story told from and reminds us that Oskar thinks just like any other nine-yaer-old would today.
I think that Oskar chose to share the description of the atomic bomb on Japan to his class because of what happened to his dad. I think that for Oskar, listening to stories about bombings makes him feel closer to his dad. Oskar wants to know how his dad died. Did he jump out of the building? Did he die from the flames? Since Oskar has no way of knowing, his only solution is to keep imagining how his dad passed away. In some ways, listening to the horrific description on the attack of Japan gives him closure. The tape helps him to believe that maybe that’s how his dad died. Oskar just can’t wrap his brain around not knowing something. He spends most of his time seeking out answers and interesting facts in his magazines and now that his dad is gone, he’s putting all that effort towards the questions he has about his dad(some of which don't have answers, and he can't except that.
One of the sections that highlights the generation gap between Oskar and Mr. Black was when Oskar asked Mr. Black if he was gay because he held Oskar's hand while they were walking. He responded with, "I suppose so" since the only defintion of "gay" Mr. Black really knew was to be happy or spirited. Another time this occurred was when Oskar asked Mr. Black what the clotheslines were after seeing them for most likely the first time in his life. The difference in their generations and their experiences in their lives is what makes them so compatible. If Oskar had to have someone to go on his journey with, nobody his age or his mother's age would work. From Oskar's encounter with the therapist, it made me realize that he believes therapy will not help him, and he thinks strongly of that. He thinks he can handle his father's death on his own, because he is the only one that understands it. From his mother's choppy conversation, it's easy to string out that she doesn't know how to deal with her son's feelings, but she denies the therapist's suggestion of hospitalizing Oskar. Oskar most likely listened to his father's message because he probably felt pain by talking about his father's death earlier, and by listening to the message, it could help him to cope with it.
I noticed a very distinct connection among the letters from Gary Franklin, Jane Goodall, and Stephen Hawking. The first letter, from Franklin, was actually introduced to us during Oskar's meeting with Abby Black (I have to admit, I don't know why it's being brought up again, except maybe to remind us of its existence so we aren't confused later in the chapter); it is a response to Oskar's request to assist Dr. Kaley with her elephant research in the Congo. It basically lets Oskar down easy, justifying why Oskar is being denied the privilege and attempting to make up for it by offering him the possibility of helping her with a future project. There is one catch to this offer, however; Oskar must provide a resume, including two letters of recommendation, to Dr. Kaley. This is where the other two letters come in. Obviously, since Oskar is only nine years old, he has not yet had the opportunity to perform research with anyone. No former co-worker can provide recommendation for Oskar, so Oskar goes instead to two people he admires: Jane Goodall and Stephen Hawking, whose responses are provided later in the chapter. Goodall's letter is very much like Franklin's in that it lets Oskar down easy; Goodall politely tells Oskar that she cannot write a recommendation letter for him because she knows virtually nothing about him. Hawking's letter is no less depressing, as it is another one of his form letters. In other words, Hawking has not even read Oskar's letter yet, and I'm sure that Oskar feels at least a bit hurt by this. These three letters give readers hope and happiness by showing Oskar's intense interest in something, but they destroy those good feelings at the same time, as they reveal that Oskar's plan has failed and his dream may not be realized. They represent yet another disappointment in Oskar's life.
The story of Buckminster fits on deeper level because of a cats ability to survive falls. Oskar had discovered that cats are able to turn themselves into "little parachutes" allowing them to survive falls of great height. This particular fact interests Oskar because he most likely wishes that his father had that ability so that he could've survived a fall from the 20th floor. That connects on a deeper level because since the start of the novel Oskar has been inventing ways his father could've survived the 9/11 attack.
Oskar insisted on finding out if Agnes Black had any kids because he wanted to know if his father and her would have talked about their kids on the roof of one of the towers. i think he lying about his answer he gave Oskar. this is because i feel like he wanted to put Oskar's mind at ease as much as he can because he cares about Oskar.
Oskar wanted to find out if there were other people in the same situation that he is in. Someone they loved died and ever since that aweful day a part of them died too. I think that Mr. Black was lying because he didn't want to go searching for her kids to talk to them or maybe he didn't Oskar to lose focus on finding what the key opens. The letters tell me us that Oskar wants to research or help the scientists in some way. I honestly don't know what Stephen hawking letter is suppose to tell us, maybe that he has an automated letter that he sends out because he gets to many letters.I think that the key opened a new world to Oskar. It got him to spend one day out of the week exploring different places and meeting different places. The key got him out of his comfort zone for a day. I learned that Oskar is so cocooned in his safe zone that he can't fully explain what he's feeling.for example when Dr. Fein asked him the stupid question about his dad, Oskar wanted to lash out and say no but he didnt. He keeps everything he truly feels bottled up inside until one day he is just going to explode full on emotions. I think that he wanted to here his dad's voice but instead it made him think of more unanswered questions about his father.
Oskar is right when he says that the key has opened many things for him. The appearance of the key brought to him a new adventure. It opened the door to happiness in feeling that his father had left one last puzzle for him to solve, and all during his trip Thomas was a reoccurring memory. He was constantly a driving force for Oskar, and this pushed him out of his comfort zone. In a way, the key was another embodiment for Thomas, and if Oskar didn't find the lock, he would let his father down, and that key would be a constant reminder. The key enabled Oskar to make new friends, tackle obstacles, and enjoy new experiences. It also enabled him to overcome some of his fears, like being afraid of tall buildings (the Empire State Building) and public transportation (the subway). However, in many ways the key has also led to disappointment and sadness. Every time Oskar confronted a Black that didn't know anything about the key, he grew a little sadder. He was happy that the key had led him to a new friend, but also disappointed that he wasn't much closer to finding the lock than when he started. Overall, I believe that the key did open everything for Oskar, but not everything it opened was necessarily good.
There are several incidents which highlight the generation gap between Oskar and old Mr. Black. One of which is when Oskar asks Mr. Black if he's gay. Oskar knows the word gay as a sexuality, while Mr. Black knows the word gay as an expression of happiness. Neither one is wrong, they simply have different interpretations and know different definitions. Another example is right after Oskar gives Mr. Black the compass necklace. Oskar states that they will be going to the Bronx, and Mr. Black asks whether they will be taking the IRT train. Naturally, Oskar is confused because to him there is no IRT train. The IRT train was established in 1902, but discontinued in 1940. This time gap not only shows the generational gap between Mr. Black and Oskar, but it also shows how out of touch Mr. Black is with everything around him. This gap isn't a bad thing though. Despite its enormity, it helps to bring Oskar and Mr. Black closer together. They both learn from each other things that they wouldn't know about otherwise, and I think this is part of what makes it so heartbreaking when Mr. Black doesn't want to travel with Oskar anymore. They learned so much not only about each other, but also about the times that they weren't there for or didn't understand.
The key, so far, has opened nothing physically. No lock has turned with it, but what has are friendships and opportunity. The key has given Oskar the courage to leave the house and go all around New York to find who the key belonged to. It has given him the friendship of Mr. Black who agrees to help Oskar with his search. So yes when you think about it in a different way the key does open everything.
Oskar probably shared the atomic bomb description to his class because it was similar to what happened to his dad. I can't tell if hearing stories similar to 9/11 make him feel closer with his dad, more upset, or just more curious. I think that it would probably make me more upset, but also more curious. Oskar is like this in the way that he wonders how his dad died. He has no way of actually knowing how, whether it was from something collapsing or from being swallowed by the flames... He could even be the man in the picture jumping from the building. Oskar has no actual way of knowing, so he imagines lots of different ways that he could have died. I think that listening to the bombing in Japan gives him more of a secure feeling because it can give him more of an idea what his dad went through. Oskar always wants to learn more and always wants answers and this is one of his ways of coping while getting those answers.
From Oskar's session with the therapist I learned that he is kind of all over the place. He doesn't understand his feelings and that overwhelms him. He doesn't know what to make of all these feelings and he doesn't know how to feel them. He hurts himself but I believe he does that to let out feelings. He doesn't have a healthy way of expressing how he feels about his dad's death and the pain of hearing those messages but keeping that all inside. From his mother's session, or what I could gather from it. She sees more than Oskar thinks. She knows what he does and where he goes but she doesn't say anything. Oskar thinks that his mom doesn't care but she also doesn't know what to do with all these feelings inside of her. She only wants to do what makes Oskar happy. So she leaves him alone.
Oskar insists on finding out if Agnes Black had any kids because he's trying to find someone like him. Agnes Black died the same way that Oskar's dad died;therefore, if Agnes had any kids then they would be dealing with her death just like Oskar is dealing with his father's death. I feel like Oskar feels very alone right now. He can't talk to his mother about it because when he tries to talk to her they end up arguing. There is no one at school for Oskar to talk to and his grandma is too worried about him for Oskar to talk to her. Basically, Oskar is just trying to find someone he can relate to and if Agnes had children they might be able to help Oskar.In addition, I do think that Mr. Black may have lied about Agnes not having kids. I think he lied to protect Oskar. I think Mr. Black can see that Oskar is hurting right now and Mr. Black doesn't want Oskar to try and hunt down Agnes's children when it could just lead to further disappointment.
From the mom’s session with the therapist, we can see how much the mom cares for Oskar. The mom is trying to help Oskar, but she doesn't know what is best for him. She is concerned with Oskar’s safety and doesn't want to lose him too. Due to this conflict, the option of hospitalizing Oskar comes up; however, this could also hurt Oskar. From her session, you can tell that Oskar’s mom is in a really tough situation. She's lost her husband and is now barely hanging onto her son. It is extremely sad and I'm not sure what I would do in that situation
After his trip to the therapist, we see that Oskar is very different and he puts himself in a category of his own. He feels upset with others for moving on with life. He is upset that his mother is moving past his father's death and he is also sad when he tries to move forward as well. The therapist says it might just be puberty and trauma. Oskar is also searching from attention. He gets attention from all the Black's that he meets and from the random scientists and celebrities that he mails. He just needs someone to understand him. I feel sorry for him, he feels alone.
Oskar's choice to share the graphic, disturbing account of the atomic bomb attack shows how different he is from the other kids. I doubt anyone else in the class is as mature as Oskar is and is really able to grasp how barbaric the atomic bombing, and all war, is. Obviously, this first-hand account relates to Oskar's life because he, like Tomoyasu, lost a family member to an act of violent warfare. The account adds depth to the story by illustrating the horror of war- the image of the Tomoyasu's daughter was painfully clear in my head.
Oskar chooses to share this description of the Hiroshima atom bomb to the class in order to indirectly show and express his pain to the class that he experienced with the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Although Oskar was not there to see the Twin Towers go up in flames, he wants to feel like he was out in the carnage like Tomoyasu when she finds her daughter completely burned and holds her in her arms for nine hours until she died. Oskar wants to feel the pain so that he feels closer to his dad. He tries to evoke the same emotions from his classmates despite the fact that most of them are too immature and can not put the terror of it into perspective.
I think that the significance of Oskar telling the class about the bombing in Japan was expressing his feelings on a deeper level. This attack was similar to 9/11 and it had an impact on Oskar. I believe the story of the woman reminded Oskar of his father in some ways. It showed that a loss so devastating, can impact someone on such a high scale. I think Oskar told the class this story to show that he was greatly impacted from the standpoint of his situation with his father.
I think Oskar listens to his father's messages after his therapy session because he doesn't want to allow himself to feel better. Oskar feels guilty for his father's death, but his therapist keeps insisting to him that it is in no way his fault. I think that Oskar feels like if he forgets the pain he feels from his father's death then he is also forgetting his father, so listening to the messages reminds him of that guilt and fear.
Oskar shares the description of the atomic bomb attack on Japan because of the connection he feels it has with his father's death. The story begins with a father and daughter who start a normal day together and go about their daily lives when all of a sudden their lives are literally blown to pieces. They had no idea it was coming, no warning. Oscar feels the connection to this story because of the similarities it has with "The Worst Day." When Oskar's father left for work that day, little did any of them know it would be the last time they saw each other.
Oskar tells his therapist "his insides and outsides don't match up." As others have commented, he feels like an outsider, separated from the rest of the world. As him and his therapist play "the word game," Oskar figured out how to play and plays along, saying words that first come to mind. But, when they came to happiness, Oskar could not think of anything, All he could do was repeat the word. To me, this shows that Oskar doesn't have anything in his life anymore that is a source of happiness. I thought about it by playing the game with myself. Saying the word happiness, then I think of soemthing that makes me happy, That's what anybody would do. Since Oskar can't reply with anything but repeating the word, it is apparent that he doesn't have anything that he relates to happiness.
I think it is very obvious why Oskar chose that recording to present to the class. It is his way of expressing the issues that he has had to face with his father's death. In his expression he is basically ignored by the class which is obvious from the fact that the one question that was asked which was "Why are you so weird?" Now for someone who so rarely expresses his emotions such as Oskar, to have someone so obviously ignore it must be incredibly frustrating.
There is a huge connection between the atomic bomb being dropped and 9/11. Both had devastating results that left countries shattered. People lost their lives and people lost those who were in their lives. The father looking all over for his daughter and holding her until death affected me very deeply because not only did it make me think of all the lives that were taken away by this event, but how Oskar relates to this. He lost the person he love most in his life and held onto him until the very last message.
Oskar's session with his therapist tells you a lot about him. He believes that he feels everything, the he feels too much, Oskar even reveals to his therapist that he crys a lot. Oskar has difficulty going to school and spending the night at a friends apartment. He feels like an outsider, he doesn't think anyone else feels as terrible as he does. Oskar says, "But it really is worse for me", I think when he says this is shows how alone he feels as he's trying to deal with his fathers death. Oskar's mom's therapy session seems to revel her concerns for Oskar and how he is doing. The therapist mentions hospitalizing him, it is obvious his mom is totally against the idea.
The highlight of Oskar's conversation with his therapist is that he feels so different from everybody around him. These feelings of being different stem from not being able to connect with the people in his day to day life. That is why he reaches out to these scientists. He is trying to find somebody that he can relate to. Oskar's second letter to Stephan Hawkings is just another cry for help. He is looking for somebody to rescue him from his loneliness.
That atomic bomb attack freaked me out. What I thought was weird was that Oskar was so calm with it. Oskar makes it seem like it's completely normal, and that shows that he has some serious emotional issues. It's connected because he wants others to feel his pain. Oskar doesn't have a filter which explains the Buckminster incident. He's very sheltered, like how his mom filters everything that he watches, that's not necessarily good because he doesn't know how the outside world works which is why everyone thinks that he is weird. The letters he sends to celebrities is complicated because I think he's just looking for some kind of personal response so that a famous person actually read his letter and felt he was important enough to respond to which makes Oskar or really anyone feel good.
Oskar chose the attack on Japan because it was a mother describing her loss of her child. Oskar lost someone too and it was just as unexpected as the mothers loss. With the other describing the situation it was real and emotional there was no hidden things it was flat out how she felt. She blamed war and with MR. Black talking about others and war I feel like that somehow connects to how Oskar's feeling about war. He also didn't show emotion when he showed the thing about the attack. It shows that his emotions are confusing and he has a problem with them. The Buckminster incident was connected because everyone laughed at what he said, but didn't really understand. He thought it was normal and okay just like the thing he showed in class he felt was normal and interesting.
Oskar wanted to find if if Agnes black had any kids because he wants to relate with someone. Agnes black died the same way that Oskar's dad died and by finding the kids (if there are any) he can have someone to talk to. He can't really talk to his mother through the whole emotional train wreck because he doesn't feel like she understands. She seems to have moved on already and Oskar doesn't like that, therefore the reason they seem to have arguments. No one at his school seems to understand his feelings, nor does his grandmother. In the scheme of things Oskar is feeling like he can't express his feelings to anyone without them not understanding. I believe that Mr. Black lied about Agnes having kids because he is afraid that Oskar may get caught up in it like the keys. He would try so hard to locate the kids in a quirky way and in the end he might not get the results he was looking for, and I think Mr. Black knows that.
Oskar’s choice to share the graphic story of the atomic bomb attack on Japan is very relatable to the incident of 9/11. He can’t get them off of his mind because both were without warning and both killed innocent people. The most apparent generation gap highlights between Mr. Black and Oskar are when a third party that they are talking to mentions something like the great depression. Oskar asks what these historic things are and Mr. Black replies with, “I’ll tell you later.” To me, the chapter is given the title it is because he is being sarcastic about his happiness or trying to trick himself, and is still upset about the therapist, his father, the key and many other things.
I do think Mr. Black is hiding something from Oskar, whether it be that Agnes had no kids, or she did and they died with her in the tragedy, I think he is keeping it from Oskar for a good reason. At this point Oskar’s despair is difficult to hide, especially to people who know exactly what he’s going through, which is why Mr. Black did the right thing in preventing Oskar from trying to find Agnes’s children. He knew that if Oskar searched for them the way he did the other Blacks, he would only end up disappointed.
In my opinion, the reason why Oskar wants to find out if Agnes Black had children is because he wants there to be someone his age he can relate with in regards to losing a loved one in 9/11. Oskar’s state of mind is very fragile right now and he is reaching out to any branch he can grasp. He has no one to talk to but himself; his father is gone, the kids at school won't understand, and his mother is too busy repressing the loss of her husband to do anything but argue every time the subject is brought up.
Oskar’s therapy session was an important indicator of his mental status as far as trauma goes. Although Oskar separates himself from the world in terms of his thinking process, it is revealed that he does not enjoy being so different from the average child. He is extremely intelligent for his age, and it causes him to feel like an outsider. He feels ostracized not only because of his advanced way of thinking, but because of the things he’s been through; predominantly the loss of his father. He is confused about what he feels, and he has had no one to explain his thoughts to up until this point. I think part of him wants to move on and part of him wants to dwell on the loss of his best friend, and what he needs to do is find a healthy balance between the two. When he mentions that “his insides and outsides don’t match up”, he means two things; the first being that he wears a metaphorical mask around other people to hide his grief, and the second being that he does not know whether to linger around the memory of his father or move on to a brighter horizon.
I believe Oskar shared the description of the attack on Japan because it is in some ways similar to what happened to his father. He is obsessed with his father's death and incorporates it into every aspect of his life. I agree with Roma that he is constantly seeking closure. He needs to know exactly how his father died that day. It is obvious that Oskar has a hard time accepting things that he will never know the answer to.
Oskar told the class the very graphic story of Japan and the bombings to show everyone how it can affect you. Oskar wants to feel the pain like that of the women and her child so he can be with his dad. The pain he wants to feel will make him feel as if he is with his dad in some way. The loss and the fear the world experienced with 9/11 relates to him and his father which is why he is telling the story, so they know how Oskar feels. As Oskar describes the story, he tells everyone how no one knew what was happening just like his father. When Oskar saw his father for the last time he never knew that he would never see him again, which i agree with those who stated it above.
What I learned from Oskar's therapy session was that he doesn't respect the therapist much. Oskar tells the reader how much he hates going to the therapist and how much he doesn't want to be there. Oskar also doesn't like how the therapist asks almost rhetorical questions about how he feels about his fathers death. What I learned about his mother was that she cares for him deeply, she cares enough to send him to a therapist to help him talk out his problems, and she cares enough to say that her child should not be put in a hospital for help.
I agree that in many ways the Atomic bombing in Japan signified the 9/11 attack. The interview that Oskar brought to his class also signified Oskar and his dad's death. Oskar brought this story to class to relate the pain he felt for the death of his father. Oskar wanted his classmates to understand that sometimes the people that you love can be snatched away from you in a heartbeat. The pain that he feels is something that no one can feel without experiencing it, so this was an easy way to express his feelings through others.
Oskar shared the graphic description of Hiroshima because it was like 9/11. Both caused a large body count, but the important connection to Oskar was the loss of a loved family member. Oskar isn't one that likes to talk about his true feelings and troubles straightforward. His mindset is still on 9/11, so he indirectly wanted to share the feelings of the loss of his father through someone else's loss. Hiroshima was a good comparison.
Oskar tries to show the class a first-hand account of the dropping of the atomic bomb from the eye's of Tomoyasu. He shows the pain and the struggle, of a man who loses his daughter in the depths of war and can't find her until the very end, where she then dies in his arms. As the class be-little's Oskar for being the way he is. As look deeper into what he reads to the class though you seem to find this side of Oskar that has been represented in the entire book. Oskar is depressed and angry, he loses his father to the heat of war, and he struggles to find him throughout his life, the only memory of him is left in a cardboard box, with an answering machine in it. He sits there with it replaying it, trying to find deeper meaning of what his father is trying to say, but all his father could call out is " hello" just like Tomoyasu's daughter when she just cries out "mother." Oskar hurts and he tries to show it to the class (his peers) by reading the accounts of another person who went through similar trauma.
Oskar insists on finding out if Agnes Black had kids because he wants to find the truth of his father's key. It is very hard for Oskar to take no for an answer because that is not good enough for him. He wants closure for himself and his father. If Mr. Black did lie about Agnes not having any kids is to save him from himself. He doesn't want to see Oskar reach for something that he cannot grasp. The key has opened up new relationships and new adventures like overcoming his fear of heights and transportation.
Oskar's therapy session was a major indication of his current emotional status and the accessory emotions and acts that came about after his father passed away. I think what's interesting is the fact that he receives an allowance for going to therapy- to me, this means that he doesn't want to let go of his past or get better because he doesn't want to forget his father. Oskar notes that his "insides and outsides don't match up", how much he cries, and how he feel alienated from everyone at school. Oskar can't get along with most kids his age because he's intellectually advanced, which is why I think that he writes to people like Stephan Hawking. He seeks partnership or affection from those he feels are like-minded. He is in dire need of understanding. He's confused with not only his father's death, but with himself.
I believe that Oskar chose to share the story of the Atomic Bombing because of its stark similarity to the 9/11 attacks. But most importantly, the story he told highlighted someone who lost a family member, and spent time looking for her, while in the end losing her. This is one similarity that Oskar and Tomoyasu share, and why I think that Oskar chose to share the story of the Hiroshima Atom Bomb.
Oskar spends 8 months searching for the lock that he hopes will be opened by the key that he found in his fathers closet. What he himself doesn't really realize is that the search has opened him up more than anything else. At the beginning of the novel Oskar has many phobias and is scared to do most things. Through his search for the lock he has overcome many of his fears like riding public transit, and opened up a whole new world of possibilities with what he can do now. This search has also allowed him to find some closure of his fathers death, allowing Oskar to open his life to the future.
I can think of two reasons that Oskar would want to hunt down any children that Agnes Black had. One reason would be a hope that his father knew Agnes Black, and that her children would be aware of information that would lead Oskar to the end of his mission. Another reason would be that her children would be able to actually understand what he has felt through the loss of his father. He may feel that if he finds them, he can finally talk to someone who understands him and his predicament. Mr. Black is most likely lying when he assures Oskar that she didn't have kids because Mr. Black grew to truly care about Oskar throughout their time together. He wanted to see Oskar move on from this traumatizing event sooner rather than later, and he hoped that keeping the existence of these Blacks from Oskar would help him to move on sooner.
In Oskar's therapy session, you learn a lot about him. Oskar believes his insides and outsides don't match up.Oskar sets himself apart from others, he sets himself apart from his peers because his dad died in a terribly way. Oskar sends letters to scientists like Stephen Hawking due to his lack of social skills with people his own age, he has trouble speaking with people his age due to his intelligence and the things he has had to experience in his life at such a young age.
When Oskar listens to his mother and therapist talk, it shows how much Oskar's mother really does see, and how much she cares and worries for him. She just wants him to be happy. On the car ride home Oskar says the song "Hey Jude" is playing and he says he wants to make the sad song better, but didn't know how to. I think in a deeper context he was talking about himself, in a way. because Oskar is sad but doesn't know how to release his emotion in a positive way. Oskar's mother seems to be one of the only people to actually understand what Oskar is going through.
There is a very strong connection between the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and the attack that happened on 9/11. They were both events that were tragedies in their countries history, affecting millions of lives for decades after. I believe Oskar chose the story more for the personal similarities he shares with the woman. The woman his describing the loss of her daughter, an event that seems can only truly be understood through experience. Oskar has had that experience with his father. Although he did not witness his father die he did listen to his father's last words. This is something Oskar finds very intimate and so I think he chose that recording due to the similarities between him and the woman. They have both gone through horrific experiences that they can only truly mourn.
I agree with Matt, Emily, and many others that the Bombing and the 9/11 attack are very much connected. For Oskar he had to show the feelings and problems that he was going through. The only way was through a real life scenario that he related to the most. He really related to the Japanese man whose daughter died and he could not do anything about it. Oskar knew his dad died as soon as he go that Fifth message that got cut off in the end, and Oskar could not do anything. Therefore Oskar needed something or someone that had been through what her went through.
Basically the key hasn’t opened anything. Although it hasn’t opened anything, or showed many clues, Oskar has created many relationships with people. The key motivates Oskar to go around New York to find out why his father had the key, and what the key went to. So the key in a way, opens up new opportunities but hasn’t opened what Oskar yearns for.
I see Oskar's grandmother releasing all of the pets from the apartment as a test. She wanted to see if any of them would come back, to see if they cared for her. This seems to be a metaphor for her husband, Oskar's grandfather. He left her, not planning to return. The animals and the grandfather both felt trapped inside their own homes, and they couldn't wait to get out. I feel bad for Oskar's grandmother. She tried so hard to make things work between her and the grandfather. In the end, he would never love her like he loved Anna, and it was too much for him to handle.
I have to agree with Matthew brown with how he says there is a clear connection between the atomic bomb and 9/11. one other thing that he left out though as they were both attacks on a nation but that's besides the point. It's clear that he symbolizes the lady who was worried about her daughter as he was worried about his father during 9/11
Oskar first didn't want to go to his appointment. He went to make his mom happy. We learn throughout it that he is feeling a lot of emotions. He feels that it's normal when your father dies. But he doesn't want to feel all the emotions he is feeling because he is feeling to much. He reveals to us that he cries all the time and its hard to go to school, but even harder to leave his mom. He might be hurt from his father death but he loves his mom and when he can't be away from her, it's because he cares about her safety. He mentions that his outsides doesn't match his insides, that he's broken on the in but trying to put a front on the out. At the end he said he has to bury his feelings. He cant let anyone see him cry or know what he is feeling.
when Stan met Mr. Black you could tell that he had stereotyped him. Stan saw Mr. Black as a weird guy because he hadn't left his apartment in 24 years. It kind of reminds of To kill a mockingbird when jem and scout stereotype boo radley without knowing him
The chapter is titled "Happiness, Happiness" because it coincides with his therapist. That throughout it he is trying to find the happiness but can't. But like I have said in my last comment with the appointment, his says he is feeling to much. That when they played this game during the appointment he had to say the first word that came to mind to the word the therapist said. But when it came to the word happiness, there was nothing. To say that it was titles this way because he doesn't even know a way to explain it. He said he experience happiness but if you can't even think of something that goes with it, your not. So when saying the happiness, happiness its like questioning what the true meaning of it.
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