"I change the sheets every morning to wash away my writing."
What does this mean?
Looking at each of the rules that Thomas and his wife have, I have to wonder how each of the rules came into existence. Take a look at each rule. What do you think happened that made that rule a rule?
What is the history of Dresden? Look that up and see how that might have affected the grandparents.
On his last night with his wife, when he covers her eyes and says "Something", followed by "We must be", what is Thomas trying to communicate?
Here's a good question: It's 1963. He is writing a letter to his unborn son. How does he know it will be a boy?
Why does Anna's father bury books? I mean, the book kind of tells us, but think about it more...why does Anna's father bury the books?
Did you notice the difference between the two pictures of the door knob? Why is that difference significant? What do you think it represents?
What a tragic story about the writing of her life story...what does that symbolize? There is the obvious, but I think there is more. What do you think?
Explain why Thomas is leaving-- from your perspective, not his.
What happens at the end of the chapter on those one-sentence pages? Explain to the best of your ability...what happened there?
Simon Goldberg is an actual historical figure...figure out what he's about, and you will better understand the exchange between him and Thomas.
Looking at each of the rules that Thomas and his wife have, I have to wonder how each of the rules came into existence. Take a look at each rule. What do you think happened that made that rule a rule?
What is the history of Dresden? Look that up and see how that might have affected the grandparents.
On his last night with his wife, when he covers her eyes and says "Something", followed by "We must be", what is Thomas trying to communicate?
Here's a good question: It's 1963. He is writing a letter to his unborn son. How does he know it will be a boy?
Why does Anna's father bury books? I mean, the book kind of tells us, but think about it more...why does Anna's father bury the books?
Did you notice the difference between the two pictures of the door knob? Why is that difference significant? What do you think it represents?
What a tragic story about the writing of her life story...what does that symbolize? There is the obvious, but I think there is more. What do you think?
Explain why Thomas is leaving-- from your perspective, not his.
What happens at the end of the chapter on those one-sentence pages? Explain to the best of your ability...what happened there?
Simon Goldberg is an actual historical figure...figure out what he's about, and you will better understand the exchange between him and Thomas.
50 comments:
At the end of that chapter during the one sentence pages, the Grandmother has found Thomas while he was trying to leave. Thomas writes "What are you doing here?" right after he asks for tickets back to his home in Germany. From what follows that, I assume that they try to persuade each other to go back to the apartment. In the end this morphs into them continuing their conversation in the apartment about catching a cold. The last line in this chapter "Your going to catch a colder." possibly mean that, if Thomas stays, his wife will be worse of than Thomas will be.
I believe that the reason that Thomas and his wife made these rules is because they both knew deep down they didn't really love each other. He just liked her because she reminded him of Anna and every time he looked at her he wanted to see Anna but it wasn't quite the same for him. They always made love in the nothing places so it would be like it never happened.
Dresden is a large city located in Germany and during World War Two was massively bombed by American and royal British air forces the bombs destroyed mainly the inner city of Dresden about 90 percent of it to be exact.The city had about 127 factories and was a major source of supplies for the Axis powers. The number of casualties is still up for debate today because the Nazis reported 200,000 deaths but many German historians traced back to the time and only calculated 18,000-25,000 deaths. After the war Russia was in charge on the city and was mainly controlled by the KGB.
I think when Thomas says, “Something. We must be,” he wants to be Something with his wife, because their life together was mostly Nothing. But he probably feels that it’s too late to be Something because he’s leaving.
Their life together was mostly Nothing. Their apartment was mostly made up of Nothing space and they said Nothing to each other. They tried to communicate but they just couldn’t, and they were together mostly because of circumstance. So I think that Thomas thought about their life and figured that they were mostly Nothing. He probably wanted to be Something but it was too late to make Something out of their life.
I agree with Chris when he says that Tom and his wife probably made the rules because deep down they knew their love wasn't real. Tom was always expecting his wife to be like Ana because that is who she reminds him of, but he was always disappointed when he was reminded that she wasn't. There was no connection and that's where the rules came in. Tom basically admitted to their relationship and life together being nothing when he said "Something. We must be." He was basically saying that he wishes that his relationship with his wife could be something, but he knows that it never will/could be. It was too late not only because Tom was leaving, but also because they never had a connection or a real conversation together. All of their conversations were nothing, along with their apartment space and even where they made love. Tom was leaving and knew it was far too late to ever become a "something" with his wife.
I agree that Thomas and his wife are not in a husband/wife relationship that would be considered great, or ideal. They do not love each other the way you would expect a husband and a wife to love one another, but they still have concern for each other's well being. They don't see divorce as an option, so more or less, they simply exist together. I think that these "rules" aren't necessarily rules but courtesies. They create these unspoken rules to avoid getting on the other's nerves and trying to keep the peace. Thomas says, "I open doors for her but I never touch her back as she passes through.." He is following the social norm of a husband opening the door for his wife, but without all the "lovey dovey" extras. He also talks about how they sit on the same side of the table to eat and how they face the window, I think that they do that so that they do not have to look at each other. Instead, they see the life outside their apartment and that allows them to escape from the emptiness of their marriage.
I think the reason Thomas leaves is because he only has one life he can live and he wants change. He wants to find what he's been missing all these years, a fresh start. The difference between the doorknobs represents change. How their life was split between something and nothing and soon nothing at all. They knew their love wasn't like others marriage, they don't even face each other while eating. They exist together, but at the same time alone. The keep these unspoken rules so they don't break the barriers of their shells. This reminds me of the "Hedgehog's Dilemma" They may intend to love, but when they get close it only hurts them. To keep from hurting each other they must stay apart.
Dresden was a German city known for its architectual and artistic treasures. In 1945, during World War 2, Dresden was the target of many firebomb raids done by Allied forces. These firebombs left the city in ruins and was the most destructive bombing in the war. In the story Ana's father was a lover of literature. When he was done with a book, he tried to give it away so everyone would learn to love it as much as he had. And when he had finished a book, he would bury it. He did this because he loved and mourned books just as much as we love and mourn people. Besides what was stated in the book, I think that he buried books to save them and preserve them for generations to come. With what we know about Dresden's history in the war, we know that burying something would save it from destruction. So, I believe the author was foreshadowing this.
Earlier in the book we discover that Thomas loved Ana and sculpted Anna. Both of them know that they are not in love and never will be, but they share something that neither of them will share with anyone else. They both lost everything and need those spaces of "nothing" to continuously accept what happened so after they can come out and live. The rules keep them from leaving, but also keep them from getting too attached to each other. The blank pages symbolize that no matter how hard she tries, she'll never be anything more than nothing. At this point in the novel we don't even know her name. Her life became nothing when she lost everyone, her marriage is nothing, and even her dedication, which to me is the saddest part of all, is nothing more than a blank page.
I think that Thomas is leaving because they broke the first rule he established. No children. His only condition to marrying grandmother was that they would never have children. Maybe he was afraid of being a father, or losing another loved one, but he's writing all of these letters to an unborn son, so that rule was clearly broken.
Dresden's history is rough. During World War II, the German city was basically destroyed due to firebombing by the Allies in 1945. Oskar's grandparents were one of the many that were affected by this bombing. They probably lost many of their family members and were left in trauma, which explains the Thomas's loss of words due to the death of Anna. After finding out that the grandmother was pregnant, I believe Thomas left her because he was scared. He was scared that he wouldn't be able to raise their child the way the child deserved to be raised. He believed that his trauma had paralyzed him when it came to moving on in life. I believe that Thomas thought he didn't have the mental strength required to raise a child or to be a role model, all of which a father needs. For these reasons, he left his wife and their unborn child.
Thomas left because he couldn’t live the life he wanted with his wife. From my perspective, it seemed that Thomas was many things: afraid, ashamed, unhappy, and disappointed. Thomas would say how much he loved his wife, but also how much he wasn’t in love with his wife. Every time he would sculpt her it would look more like Anna rather than her. When the two would make love, it would be in the nothing places and they would never look into each other’s eyes. Thomas settled for his true love’s sister and that is the main reason why their marriage could have never worked out. Thomas knew that his wife was pregnant and knew that he could never go through with being a father after his traumatic experience of losing Anna while she was pregnant. He was unhappy and afraid that he couldn’t live up to what his wife deserved and what he deserved. He was disappointed in his marriage, ashamed that he would leave his wife with his unborn child, and unhappy with the life he was currently living. Above all, I think Thomas left selfishly because he knew deep down that he couldn’t live the life that he was suppose to have with Anna with someone else.
Thomas loved Anna so much that he tried to recreate his love for her through Anna's sister. Although they never lived a true, full love story, Thomas and Grandmother made somewhat of a life together. Without Thomas speaking, they communicated through writing in a blank book.This made it extremely difficult to communicate to a person you share your life with.
I believe that the rule of not having any children was made because Thomas couldn't handle the responsibility of raising a child with the sister of his true love. This making their relationship harder to bare. All in all, Oskar's grandmother lived in the shadow of her sister, Anna.
As everyone has stated above, Thomas left because he probably didn't think he could handle having to take care of a kid and he broke his own rule. The interesting part of Thomas breaking his rule of not having kids is funny because he got Grandmother pregnant. To me, Thomas is a coward for walking away from Grandmother and not stepping up and take care of Grandmother and the baby. Even if Thomas didn't want to have the relationship with Grandmother anymore, the least he could do is help her and be a part of the child's life. Thomas probably had thoughts about how he truly loved Anna and wanted to be with her instead of her sister. Thomas also seemed like he would've been better off by himself in a close-knit community, where he could possibly live more. (By live more, I mean be able to do things and have friends/people to be with).
I agree with Abigail Cloum, the marriage may not be a fully functional relationship based on a scale that measures love and compassion, but they wish to look out and make sure life goes smoothly. They may stick together in fears of being alone in the crazy world we live in. I personally believe that maybe their religion frowns upon the idea of a divorce so they stick together in hopes of feeling accepted by their peers. Thomas created the rule of not having children because he can not handle the responsibilities of having one, if his marriage does go farther south then it already is (which would be hard) then he would not have to worry about a child having to go through life with improper support from both parents.
I agree with Abbey's comment. Most of their life together is nothing. It is hard for their relationship to work out given their unique situation. I think Thomas left because no matter how hard he wanted to make each other happy, he would never love grandmother as much as he loved Anna. I think they made the rule of never having kids, because he could not handle the pressure of caring for another person's life on top of his own hectic life. I also think that it would be too sad for him to have a child with the sister of his true love.
In my opinion, the two doorknobs in this chapter symbolize aspects of Thomas' relationship. The key's appearance in the second photograph leads me to think about the action of locking, which makes sense in this circumstance. At the beginning of his marriage with Oskar's grandmother, Thomas tries to be as open as he can be. It's a difficult feat for him, being so stuck in his past, but he does make an effort to make it work, be that through the rules that become excessive or how he tries to treat his wife as well as he can. Unfortunately, I think this attempt to settle only wears him more into wanting to leave. Ignoring the past only makes it hurt all the more when it resurfaces in his mind, especially without the proper closure he needs to move on. Thus, he "locks" himself back in on himself and runs for Dresden.
Alternatively, the doorknobs, given their placement in the chapter, also remind me a bit of his relationship with the two sisters. With Anna, things are very open and comfortable. With her sister, however, everything is locked away within the words they don't—and perhaps can't—say to each other.
I agree with Josie on Thomas leaving because of the rule broken. I believe he left because the rule on no children. Their relationship and marriage wasn't based on love. It was based on them needing someone. They both knew that Thomas loved Anna and him losing her affected him even then. So them having a child, him having a child with someone he truly didn't love he had to leave. I believe he didn't think he could love the child as much. I also agree with Shannon on the door knobs being a symbolization of the marriage they had. The beginning they set up rules and they knew that they were in it and it was open. Just like how the first door knob had a key hole symbolizing it was and could be unlocked. The second on the other hand, had a lock. Their relationship wasn't a mutual love. The door was locked because Oskars grandmother fell in love and his grandfather knew he wasn't. It affected their relationship so he had to leave.
I think that Thomas is leaving because he feels like he deserves to be alone. He knows he will always love Anna and only Anna. As much as he wants to loves her sister, the circumstances of when and how they got together were wrong. He was kind of pressured into the relationship. He was caught at a weak state of mind, leaving him unable to think things through before getting into this mess. Thomas is leaving because he thinks that he needs to go figure himself out.
I think the rules between Thomas and his wife came into existence to hide the things they were afraid to face. One of the rules stated they never talked about the past. Clearly, this is to protect them from remembering the grief brought on from Anna’s death. They don’t listen to sad music because they don’t want to admit how sad they really are. They never watch television shows about sick children, another reference to Anna. Each and every one of the rules they created are made so they can continue pretending everything about their life isn’t really all that bad. They just keep trying to ignore everything by following the rules, but by following the rules, they are burying things that should actually be worked out. They are making life just that much more complicated.
I agree that I think Thomas and his wife make those rules because deep down they know that they don't truly love each other. This makes them uncomfortable with each other and with trying to pretend to be in love. His wife knows that she is not what he wants, Anna. This probably makes it hard for her to be okay living with this man who she can't be comfortable with. Thomas is already and quiet and shy type of person and knowing that it is not actually Anna he can't bring himself to be open with his wife. This makes the marriage awkward and more of an arraignment. They make "nothing" spaces where they act as if they cannot see the person in that space. They can't stand to see each other change so they make the rules of these spaces they can go to be alone and secretive. As their marriage lasts they become more and more distant.
I don't think that Thomas was running away to "a new life." He was running away from the one he had built, and back toward one that had barely exsisted. He couldn't face the fact that the marriage and family that he was building in America would always be different from the one he wanted. As a sculptor, an artist, he wanted to create something new for himself after his whole life had cumbled. The unfortunate thing about that was that in his American world, he gave up on sculpting Anna aand settled for someone he didn't even know. This symbolizes him giving up. Marrying her was an act of defeat. In his decision to leave, Thomas also decided to give up once again. Thomas gave up on a wife that married him just because he was something familiar. He gave up on trying to change her, limit her, and limit himself. He needed comfort that she couldn't give him. She didn't seem to want to know him on a personal level at all, and eventually just wanted to create a Nothing space to get away from him. Pro life tip: maybe don't marry someone who couldn't care less if you talk or not. He didn't want to be rooted in an unfulfilling life anymore.
I think that they created rules in their relationship to make as much as a perfect relationship they could, without love. It was the rules though, that created more tension in their marriage. All of their "nothing places" eventually drew them further apart. They became more distant even when they were together in their home. He used the rules to create a relationship like the one he had with Anna, but it wasn't the same. The grandfather was sad that his marriage was horrible, and the grandmother was sad that he didn't love her. The marriage did nothing but bring stress, and disappointment to both of them, no matter how hard they wanted it to work.
Anna’s father buries books because he sees them as people, after they are read they have lived a full life, and if there isn’t someone out there willing to live the life of the book like he did then he thinks the only other option is to bury it like a real human.
I agree with Melanie, that Thomas's marriage was an act of defeat. It was so clear that he was still in love with Anna, and that marrying anyone besides her was the definition of "settling" in a relationship. He was leaving because he was lost, and knew he made a mistake in marrying someone more broken than he was. His biggest mistake wasn't leaving his marriage, it was leaving his unborn child. Yes, he broke a rule, but some rules are meant to be broken in life. In this case, Thomas couldn't fathom the idea of having a child in this stage of his life, so he left. This is where the novel confused me, because at the time he wanted to be "something" rather than "nothing," he ran away when he finally had the chance to have a child, which would definitely make them something together. Just because he doesn't love the woman he's with, doesn't mean he can't love the child they had.
Dresden was, save the Holocaust and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the most controversial thing about World War II. Dresden is a German city that is really known for it's cultural and artistic influence. This city was blown to bits during the Bombing of Dresden in 1945. Dresden really had no war resources and was not a key point in the war so many believe it was unethical to blow up. That more than likely effected his grandparents greatly. Just imagine something so beautiful being leveled, looking like a ghost. It would be like D.C. being destroyed. Imagine the White House, Capitol Hill, and all the war memorials just no longer existing. Dresden would have been horrendous to experience.It inspired Kurt Vonnegut to write Slaughterhouse-Five, which is one of the greatest war/anti-war books ever written.
Thomas left because he knew he could not handle a kid. They said in the beginning that there would be no children. They broke that first rule and I think it terrified him with the responsibility. He also knew that the love they had for each other was not strong and at most times was probably just put out because they knew that they were the only ones to help each other. They weren't really in love. Thomas always loved Anna. I think Thomas's wife knew it all along too and while it is bad for Thomas to leave her, she probably saw it coming. They were uncomfortable together and probably shouldn't have tried to force their relationship. I agree with Melanie, don't marry someone who could care less if you don't speak. It simply won't work.
I found the story about the grandma's pages of her life really sad. The big thing symbolized is that even though it seems like she's done so much in life she hasn't really done anything, at least nothing that has changed the world or even really changed a small amount of people's lives. The thing I found truly terrible was that this attempt of making another thing to better her life has again turned out to be nothing. Again she has wasted her time just to have another disappointment in life that in the long run means nothing. Plus it's a self inflicted obstacle that made her life nothing, she couldn't read it, but put all her faith in Thomas and that he would provide her with what she needed,just to have it be another disappointment that she is oblivious to and doesn't know she needs to fix.
During World War 2 Dresden was bombed. This explains many things that happened to his grandparents. His grandfather slowly lost his words after this because he not only lost his words but lost the love of his life. His very first word he lost was "Anna" who died in this massacre. Also it explains why his grandmother also has problems. She can not have a candle lit in the same room as her because of her fear of fire. She doesn't want to relive what happened so many years earlier.
At the end of this chapter I was heart broken. When his grandpa left his grandma, I'm not going to lie, I cried. The way they talked to each other like they will see each other later, was so sad and so powerful. This got me to think about how Oscars Grandma talked about him leaving so much. Oscar went to great lengths to express that all she talks about is him leaving. When he left she felt empty. That is also why she has to have tenants to fill the gap that his grandpa left, this is also one of reasons that she has bad dreams. she feels so alone and the fact that Dresden was bombed makes her feel unsafe where ever she goes.
The rules set up by Thomas and his wife are intriguing and honestly just really weird. Their whole relationship, although appearing to be stable enough before Thomas leaves, seems like it's built almost like a spider web where each rule is one of the fragile threads holding it up. It's almost as if each rule was something that came up from a specific situation and then became something that was impossible to break. Of these rules, the one that seems the most strange to me was the nothing vs. something rules. It almost seemed like they needed an escape from their lives for some reason or another. This was probably an early warning of Thomas's departure.
The rules that exist between Thomas and his wife exist because of uncomfortable moments that occurred between the two of them by doing what they did. An uncomfortable moment may have been created by Thomas watching his wife cook or by her watching him write. I believe that the reason Thomas knows that his child will be a boy is because his child has already been born. That would explain why he knows the gender of his child and him breaking the rule made of no children could be a possible explanation for him leaving. I believe the story of her writing of her life symbolizes the love between Thomas and his wife. They are simply trying to make something out of nothing. There is nothing between Thomas and his wife yet they are trying to create something. Thomas's wife does not know that nothing is there however, yet Thomas tries to please her by acting like there is something there. This may also be another reason that Thomas left his wife.
The bombings of Dresden during World War II were so dramatic for the people that were involved. Oskar's grandfather lost the love of his life during the massacre, and in turn he ended up losing his way of words. His grandmother also has problems because she is constantly scared, and like Tony said, can't even have a candle lit in the same room as her for fear that a fire will erupt. The events of WWII have greatly affected their everyday lives.
The one-sentence pages at the end of the chapter are Thomas leaving and Oskar"s grandmother trying to stop him that is why the sentences change from "I want to buy ticket" to "What are you doing here, go home." What all happened was Thomas left to go get a ticket of some sort to Dresden while there his wife shows up to try and stop him . He tells her to go back otherwise she'll catch a cold. she tells him she already has a cold causing him to write "You'll catch a colder."
I agree with many people when they say that Thomas left because he couldn't make a life that he wanted and because Anna wasn't with him. Thomas would say that he loved his wife but he always tended to sculpt his wife into Anna. The more he sculpted her the more she became Anna. Thomas settled for runner-up love instead of true love and that is why their marriage seemed to fall apart. The would do things like a couple but nothing was ever sensual. Thomas knew that his wife was pregnant but he couldn't handle it, taking care of a baby and with the added stress of knowing that Anna was pregnant when she was killed in the tragic event. He was afrId that he wouldn't be able to meet her expectations of fatherhood and all in all he just wasn't happy with the whole situation. Thomas was very selfish and stupid for leaving her and his unborn child. I believe that he left because he finally figured out that he couldn't live the life he warned with her, and He believed a life with Anna would do of been much better.
On his last night with his wife, when he covers her eyes and says "Something", followed by "We must be", Thomas is trying to communicate that they can't exist as 'Nothing' anymore. He's trying to tell his wife that they have to live as something, become something, do something with their lives, because their whole lives together, they didn't live as anything; they were just empty shells that were just 'living'. Thomas seemed to realize that they needed to be something after he read his wife's life story. It seems that after reading it, he seemed to know nothing about her, or didn't understand much about her. Thomas started asking questions about why she never asked for help or why she held so tight to railings. He realized that he had failed his wife when he saw that she didn't write about the things that he would've written about if it was him and Anna. I think that Thomas was hoping to read a book about something he would've found with Anna, because as we read about his time with Anna, he seems so happy. When he's with his wife, he says it's okay that they need a place in the house where you feel like you don't exist, until you're living in a place where you don't feel like anything and you're almost afraid of something. That is the reason why he left.
On the one-sentenced pages, I thought this was an inner battle going on inside of Thomas's mind. I think that this a conversation he is having with his wife and what she said and what he thought she'd say - inside his head. I think Thomas might've felt guilty because he left her. He felt guilty that he failed in loving her the way he loved Anna, he felt guilty that he failed in making it into her life story. "I want to buy a ticket to Dresden", was one of the sentences on one of the pages, just describing something that Thomas wanted to do. "What are you doing here?" was the other sentence and seemed to be his guilty mind speaking asking why he was there when he should go home and be in bed where his wife is and is trying to sleep, his wife that said she couldn't sleep without him. "Let me take you home", I believe is something he thought that his wife or mother would be saying and after a while of Thomas refuting, his wife or mother are saying that he's crazy and he's going to catch a cold. Thomas would then refute that statement by saying that the person is going to catch a colder. Also, on a side note before these one-sentenced pages, there was another page that just simply asked where to get tickets. This shows that Thomas was looking to get tickets for Dresden for a while. He realized that he was thinking of leaving when his wife asked if her life and feelings were the same thing. By the question on the next page about where to get tickets, we can conclude that the answer to his wife's question was negative.
It seems that the first rules started BEFORE they got married and they tried to perfect the relationship before it really got started. One of the first rules that they made when they got married was that they never talk about the past. I think that Thomas might've been the one to make this rule because later on we see that he wanted the same love that he found with Anna, but didn't find it. He didn't want to dwell in the past because maybe he didn't want to repeat it, when in reality, that's exactly what he tried to do. Another rule that seemed important was that they were to never listen to sad music because that songs are as sad as the listener. I think that tells us that the couple is clearly not happy, so in their attempt to 'be happy' is to not listen to sad music or to not listen to music in general, and maybe this is because they don't want to feel anything together. They simply just want to have a healthy husband and wife relationship without the emotional value added to it, which doesn't seem to be possible. All the rules that they make seem to connect to the first one, and that was never to talk about the past. Something happened in the past, together or apart, that they don't want to relive, so they make these rules so that they don't have to relive them.
Oskar say's "I change the sheets every morning to wash away my writing," to show that he tries to move away from his past memories, but in all reality he is actually getting sucked in by them. He has conversation's to other people by showing them his notebook with single thought ideas in them like "help" or " ha. ha. ha." to express all the feelings he has to a world where he thinks no one would understand his situation. So when he says he changes his sheets he changes the ideas and thoughts of what he said that previous day with new fresh sheets that he would hope would get rid of yesterdays writing and replace it with something new. Sadly he gets sucked back up by his emotions though every single day because he can't get over the fact that his father is not there with him anymore. So he tries to change the sheets to forget the bad days and tries new sheets to bring happiness into his life, but it seems like he can't because negativity is just with him in his life.
I agree with those above that describe Oskar’s grandfather and grandmother as not having the best of relationships. Both like each other as people, but mentally they love something or someone in this case from the past, but still worry about each other in some way. The rules that the couple creates I believe are put in place so that neither person becomes bored and comes to the realization that marriage is filled with emptiness. Dresden was a city located in Germany near the Czech border, centered near bombings. The city was known for architectural pieces and referred to as the Jewel Box before the German reunification and I think that the bombings affected the grandparents because both new what loss was.
After reading other comments, I really don't believe that Thomas is a selfish person. His relationship with his wife was lame and they both lived in a false reality. He clearly stated before that he didn't even want to be married in the first place and Oskar's grandma kept asking. I'm pretty sure that she knew from the start that he was going to leave her for her sister. The grandma was more in love with the idea of Thomas and didn't actually "see" what kind of man he was. Heck, Thomas didn't really "see" his wife either. He also just liked the idea of her because she was Anna's sister, and he felt he could replace Anna with his wife. To give evidence of this, is the empty life story. Yeah, that's pretty sad in general but to answer the prompt, it symbolizes that they don't know anything about each other. That his wife pushed him to love her and Thomas just went along with it. How the book was empty and Thomas made believed that something was there, just like their empty marriage.
Dresden is a city that allied forces (Brittan and the United States) dropped almost 4000 tons of bombs and burning chemicals on in 1945. This could have, and probably did effect the grandparents by giving them no choice but to flee and run from the mess that once was their home. There is no way that the author of the letter could’ve known that his unborn baby would be a son, and had to have just had a hunch and be assuming. I think he is leaving because he needs to see more with his life and it is just mediocre to him….in the one sentence pages he is attempting to fly away late at night.
I think that Thomas is leaving for a couple reasons. First, I think he didn't think that he was ready to handle a baby or a family. I also think that he may have left because he was afraid to love again after Dresden, where pretty much everything he loved was destroyed. Or, he may have been afraid of the commitment that a family would have required.
Answering another question to the prompt, I don't think that Thomas really knows that his child will be a boy. He does know that he is having a child because his wife was pregnant when he left. I'd assume that he just really felt in his mind that his child would be a boy. For example, when my nephew was born, before they found out the gender, everyone believed that he would be a boy, and he obviously was. Maybe the baby just sends out vibes, and Thomas received those vibes. Maybe they just had an ultrasound done? Those were invented in 1956. The point is that Thomas did have a boy so it was a good 50/50 prediction.
I beleive that Oskar changes his sheets everyday to get rid of any bed vibes. He's a complex minded person, so his thoughts are all over the place, and I beleive that this helps him to cope with that. Through this novel, Oskar shows us that he can be very symbolic with his thoughts and actions. This one in particular sticks out to me, and I beleived that it's aimed towards the bad thoughts that he has when he sleeps.
The narrator says that "I change the sheets every morning to wash away my writing" because it helps him to try and forget his past. Writing, as for many authors, it helps ease the pain they have felt over their lifetime. As for washing away his writing, the narrator is trying to ease his pain and then forget everything as fast as possible. Yet, the narrator has to sleep on those sheets every night so there will always be that slight stain or that stale smell that will never leave him that he will have to live with the rest of his life.
It is very tragic when the grandmother writes her life story. She poured in so many hours over a typewriter, yet she has nothing to show for it. I think this could symbolize a multitude of things. Firstly, perhaps it's showing that she had no life story. Even though she had lived, her life was nothing notable and so did not need to be put on paper. Contrasting to this conclusion though, maybe it meant that her life could not be described in words. Her experiences are unwritable and cannot be expressed properly on paper. Another theory could be based on how the grandpa reacts to the life story. His blatant lying and encouragement over nothing could also be a parallel of their relationship. They both pretend everything is okay, but deep down they see the irreparable flaws. Still they trudge on with each other, turning a blind-eye to the nothingness that never be something like they needed. Lastly, I think her blank life story could mean that her story has yet to begin. Maybe her real adventure starts with Oskar.
Thomas loved Anna more than anything and he tried reinvent his love for her. Even though Thomas and Grandmother made a kind of life together, they never lived a complete love story. Thier communication level was low since Thomas only used a spiral notebook and a pen for communication. The rule of not having children was probably made because not only did Thomas have low communication skills, but he probably couldn’t raise a child with the sister of his true love.
I agree with Noah about what's happening during all of those one-sentence pages, but I'm going to expand on it a bit. The first sentence - "I want to buy a ticket to Dresden," - shows that Thomas is getting ready to leave his wife and return to his hometown. However, his wife shows up, prompting him to ask her reason for being there. She has learned of his intent to leave her and replies that she wants to stay with him. He insists that she should go home and sleep. When she persistently refuses to leave, he tells her that the night air will make her ill. She retorts that she is already ill, and he says that she will simply be all the more unhealthy if she stays out.
I want to elaborate on the sentences that pertain to the wife's sickness. Obviously, they deal with her physical well-being. However, it is my opinion that they also indicate her emotional state. When Thomas tells her that she is going to catch a cold, part of him is actually saying, "It won't do you any good to stay in this unwholesome relationship." She answers by saying she is already sick; this implies that knowing Thomas wants to leave her is taking a great toll on her. Finally, Thomas says, "You're going to catch a colder." In other words, he firmly believes that continuing the marriage will cause her more suffering than breaking it off. They cling to each other out of need rather than love, and this has led to a void in their relationship. Thomas recognizes this void and wants them both to escape from it, but his wife cannot shake her need for him. No matter what, she is going to be unhappy; they are now simply arguing over which situation will inflict the lesser pain.
I think the rules came about as a way to keep their life stable, reliable. They all agreed on things preemptively so they don't have to interact with each other as much. this helps with Grandpa Schell's muteness and the general awkwardness. I agree that they don't quite mutually love each other but I don't think it's as clear cut as that. I Think they both want to love each other, be happy, and make the other happy in return but it's just not working. That's why so many of the rules are courtesies. They're trying to make each others lives as pleasant as possible.All the strain these rules put on them has horrible effects however, and the not-quite-marriage starts to break down. Grandpa Schell can't seem to take the strain of it all and gets the idea to leave her. Maybe he thought if he could go back to Dresden it would give him some closure and help with his issues. The paper conversation is him going off to buy his plane ticket when Grandma Schell interrupts him, worried about her health he tells her to go home.
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