Why is the interview with the father of the missing girl so
important to this story?
There's a shift in the conversation...she starts off the
story by referring to Oskar as "you"...then she shifts and says
"I wanted to turn to face him, but I couldn't. I moved my hand to touch
his hand." Assuming that this is not an oversight, why would she switch
how she's telling the story (from telling him the story to telling us the
story)?
Why is the sound that Oskar makes at the cemetery so
important to his grandmother?
Why is Oskar's grandfather apologizing...or what is he
apologizing for?
19 comments:
I think Oskar's grandfather is apologizing for all of the things he can no longer do due to his past. he feels as though he cannot truly shoe how he feels towards Oskar's grandmother, and he he feels sorry that she will never fully understand. He wants to express his feelings with words and be able to explain to Oskar's grandmother that he wants to stay, but mentally he is unable to. He is sorry that their future child will grow up without him and possibly never even see him in their lifetime. Oskar's grandfather also wishes he could tell his child everything he is thinking, from how he feels about his wife to what brought him to his current position. He feels sorry for those around him because he only feels that he is a burden to them due to his handicap and inability to express his feelings.
I think that the sound Oskar makes at the cemetery is important to his grandmother because she has gone her whole life suffering without crying out like Oskar had. It was the expression she had wanted to let out but just couldn’t. When Oskar let out that noise, it sparked his grandmother’s painful memories. She wanted to be able to release her pain. I think in a way Oskar’s grandmother was proud of him for being able to express himself, but she was also jealous because he did it so easily and she never could. She just knew that Oskar was stronger than she would ever be.
I agree with Roma. Oskar's grandmother wishes desperately that she could suffer vocally, but instead she has trapped all of her painful experiences inside her. She wishes that she could just scream or cry out, but instead she is being "selfish" as she calls herself. When Oskar "let out the noise of a wounded animal." (pg. 232), his grandmother was attempting to live through him, or more specifically, that noise. "I thought it would feel different. But even then I was me." (pg. 232) is the perfect example of Oskar's grandmother's feelings toward herself. Her tone during this passage is hate-filled; she wishes that she could have felt differently, but she thinks that her reaction was disgraceful toward her only son. Oskar personifies all the love and adoration his grandmother kept inside her, which is why his suffering is so important to her.
I agree with Adam, but I also think that he's apologizing for all the things she couldn't do because of him. He will never be a father to their kid because he wasn't there to be with his wife and help through it all. He took away the only real time she had to meet another man that would have been better for her, even though he needed her. He also ruined love for her, because what they had was definitely not a healthy, loving relationship it was something that they used to cope with their pasts. I think he's truly sorry for leaving her, but he felt there was no other way, he still wanted to do everything that he had when he was a boy, but the death of Anna ruined that for him and he wanted to give it another try, not realizing that he destroyed his wife in his wake. His I'm sorry is the most he can offer at the time when he comes back.
Oskar's grandfather is apologizing for not being there and for being there. He knows what it's like to lose a child (he lost Anna and her unborn child in the Dresden bombing), and that's why he never wanted kids. He is sorry he isn't there to comfort her. On the flip side, he is sorry that he got involved with her, because if they hadn't married, he wouldn't have been able to cause so much hurt to her by leaving her, and then there also wouldn't have been a kid in the first place.
I agree with the previous comments when speaking in terms of Oskar's grandmother. She has gone her whole life feeling stuck and selfish. She has never lashed out or shown very harsh or strong emotions. She has always wanted to just let it all out, so when Oskar made that noise it just struck her. She felt all emotions rushing around in her head. I feel as though she feels the need to suffer and keep her emotions bottled up inside because that is what she thinks is right for her situation.
I think the interview with the missing girl's father is important because it shows how quickly people's priorities can change. Before the 9/11 attacks the country's sole focus was to find this girl, but she became old news after everyone else had someone to look for. It also shows how public opinion can change- she didn't appear in the news again after the attacks and most people either forgot about her or didn't care if she was found anymore because they had their own problems to worry about.
For the most part, I completely agree with a lot of the earlier comments. Oskar’s grandma has gone her entire feeling like a burden, even though she is very selfless. She has spent a lot of time throughout her life hiding her emotions, and when Oskar made the obnoxious noise it pushed her so far that her emotions just poured out. I think that she feels right because she feels the need to feel hurt.
For the most part, I completely agree with a lot of the earlier comments. Oskar’s grandma has gone her entire feeling like a burden, even though she is very selfless. She has spent a lot of time throughout her life hiding her emotions, and when Oskar made the obnoxious noise it pushed her so far that her emotions just poured out. I think that she feels right because she feels the need to feel hurt.
As usual by the time the comments have gone this far they've nailed what the idea is about. Grandma is hiding all of her feelings cause she feels she's had to hide them her whole life whenever tragedy comes about. What she can't stand on top of the pain of losing her only child, is the pain that comes from seeing her only grandchild lose his father. When she hears the noise that Oskar makes she says it was the noise she had been waiting 40 years to hear. She needed someone who wasn't afraid of exposing their pain.
The interview with the father of the missing girl is so important to the story because it reminds you of just how devastating the attacks of 9/11 were. The news reporter was talking about the possibility of the man's missing daughter of being dead, and the once important story is quickly overshadowed by the new terrifying news in New York. This man's interview was meant to spread the awareness of his missing child, but it was quickly forgotten, just like everything else going on in the country on that day was instantly dropped to watch the awful sight on the television news. Oskar's grandfather was apologizing in the extremely choppy letter to his grandmother because it was the only way he could reach out to her. Their son who he had never known had died, and it was his fault for never knowing him, and it was his fault for not being there for the mother of his child when she needed someone most. The words "I'm sorry" were the only thing he could bring himself to say.
The interview of the father of the missing girl is important because as she watches it, she has a feeling she will be able to sympathize, and if Thomas is dead, she will know the pain of losing a child as well. The noise that Oskar made at the ceremony, a noise of pain, rings in her ears because she has never heard anything else from him like it. Oskar’s grandfather is apologizing for never being there for the boy, his child, Oskar's father.
I would just like to start out by saying this chapter is completely and utterly heartbreaking. The format that Foer styled it in is so short and to the point in single lines almost to resemble every thought that came rushing to mind. The interview is the first piece of heartbreaking news, with the answer to the question "It would take a body" (for him to give up hope on finding his daughter). That goes to show the lengths that a parent will go in order to reassure safety in their children.
Another interesting piece in this chapter is when Oskar was asked if their were any messages on the phone... and he said no.... BUT THERE WAS. There had been messages earlier in the novel (only Oskar listened/knew about them & then hid the phone away).
Oskar's sound at the funeral is his way of mourning over an empty coffin that is getting buried and the life that he had with his father whom is now gone.
Oskar's grandfather at the beginning of the novel did not want children, so it is surprising for him to apologize. Even so, I believe he is apologizing for leaving, for the death of his son, and for never wanting one in the first place. I think it is a terrible time to reach back into their lives though.
Oskar when visiting the cemetery lets out a peculiar sound of sadness that his grandmother picks up on. Oskar and his grandmother are so alike because they both have never been able to show their true emotions and feelings. They have both kept them in for so long that they tend to just cope with them and swallow down the pain that they keep trapped inside of them. But when Oskar lets out his whimper, it makes them both feel a bit better that they live with the same emotional pain. It truly was the thing that Oskar's grandmother was hoping to hear for 40 years cause it help relieve some of the tension.
The sound that Oskar makes is important to his grandmother because it is a sound that she can't seem to make. She is feeling grief but in a more angry sense than sad. She feels horrible that she can't bring herself to break into tears for the death of her only son, so it brings ease to her mind that Oskar can cry for her. Oskar's grandfather has a lot to apologize for. From not being there when she needed him most to not being their for even his son.
I agree with a lot of the earlier comments and yes, Oskar’s grandmother feels as if she is some kind of burden or trouble. She hides and shelters her emotions through all the pain and suffering she has had to endure. Oskar basically makes the noise that she had tried to make for so long but simply couldn't. She has made herself numb to pain in a sense. They are both so very close and can relate to each other's pain, the only difference is how they show that they are in pain.
Oskar's grandfather is generally sorry for getting involved with another woman. One part is that he feels bad that he wasn't around for her when she needed him because he didn't want kids. But then he's sorry for ever being involved with her at all because without getting together he wouldn't have been able to cause her any pain
I agree with Megan on the importance of the interview. she makes a great point on how everyone cared for this girl until their own problems arose. I like her views on how people change so fast like when people just stopped caring about the lost girl
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