What
caused his grandfather to lose his words? How do you think this affects him and
those around him?
"She
was the tree and also the river flowing away from the tree." What do you
make of this quote? What does this tell you?
Near
the end of the chapter, the last half paragraph, his grandfather's thoughts
become jumbled, almost manic in nature. These thoughts are followed by him
pointing to the word HELP. What does this tell us about the relationship
between the grandfather and grandmother?
What is
the significance of the picture in this chapter? How do you think it fits in?
69 comments:
I think what caused Oskar’s grandfather to lose his words was that his grandfather felt like he lost everything. He says that, “it was one of my first meals in America,” and you probably wouldn’t say that if you were from America. This makes me think that he’s a foreigner. I think that thinks affects him very negatively. He can’t speak and the only way he can communicate is by writing on paper. He’s effectively mute in a world where no one else is mute. I think, because of this, he gets very lonely. I also think that others may think of him as odd or weird, and they might not be sure how to interact with him.
I agree with Abbey. The fact that he is from Dresden, which was basically flattened during war, left him completely alone. The fact that his words left him just add to his sense of loneliness. He writes "help" to the grandmother because she is one of the only things that makes him feel not alone and that is how he wants her to help him. Since he struggles with communicating, I believe people will generally ignore him or even take advantage of him. I believe the grandmother will sometimes do this too. She always talks about how the marriage wasn't perfect, which i think signals the fact that she feels bad about how she treated the grandfather. The relationship between the grandmother and grandfather is strained, but they ultimately love and help each other.
This is in regards to the quote, "She was the tree and also the river..." In my opinion, Thomas is expressing an extreme feeling of connection here. It is so comforting to him to find someone that sympathizes with him and actually cares about him. She understands and shares his feelings of loss and loneliness. Thus, Thomas suddenly feels less helpless, and so does she. It is as though she supplies him with a bit of happiness, which then feeds back into her. Similarly, a tree provides leaves to its branches, and a river takes the fallen leaves away from them. Thomas and his new friend's shared empathy allows them to exchange feelings and lift their own spirits through the other person.
I agree with what Jacob said about the grandmother and grandfather's relationship. The grandfather saying "Help" to the grandmother shows that her loneliness connected with him. There was something about the grandmother that made the grandfather say yes to the marriage despite all the resistance. He knew that their marriage will be less of a marriage and more of a cure for their loneliness. The picture at the end of this chapter is of a door handle and the lock under it. The lock is not vertical which usually means that the door is unlocked. This symbolizes the grandfather and his acceptance to new things entering his locked-up life. The door is unlocked, meaning he is letting the grandmother into his life along with the help she has to offer.
His grandfather lost his words because he lost everything like Abbey said, but also because he primarily lost Anna. One of the first few words he lost was 'And' and his reasoning behind that was how close it was to Anna. Back in Dresden, Anna was his everything, and now that was gone. When his grandmother meets his grandfather, his grandfather attempts to 'sculpt' her into Anna- He wants Anna back, but settles for Oskar's grandmother. His grandfather's silence makes him distant, but also thoughtful. Eventually his thoughtfulness also makes him distant, making him leave his wife for Dresden.
The big reason that his grandfather lost his ability to speak was that the bombing of Dresden was a traumatic experience. Losing your family the love of your life who was also pregnant with your first child would be very upsetting and i could never imagine going through that emotional trauma. Also seeing all the burnt bodies and people crawling into a river to cool their burn causing the water to run red would have a permanent psychological on a person.
I agree with everybody above, the things he experienced in Dresden left him a mute. Now, I think he could have some form of PTSD, although not that of a soldier. His brain is actively shutting down his vocabulary because of it's past experiences, it wants to forget everything because he effectively lost everything.
I think the fact that he pointed to HELP on the paper shows that the Oskar's grandmother will be his wife and caretaker. She'll be his voice and his guiding hand, becuase he needs that in his life.
Everybody who has previously commented is 100% right about the fact this his past in Dresden has left him a mute. As a child the way you learn to speak is molded by your surrondings, and when the place that molded you into who you are is destroyed, it can be tramtic. Something this devasting can leave you at a figurative "loss for words" but in the grandfather's case, it is literal. I think his lack of words has caused others to look at him like he is invisible, since they do not know what to say or how to interract with him. This sense of invisibility has lead to a constant feeling of loneliness. The relationship between the grandmother and grandfather is not necessarily built on actual love, but I think their relationship is more just a cure for loneliness.
I agree with everybody who has commented. His grandfather lost everything even his words when Dresden was bombed and the love of his life died. He cant stop thinking about Anna and it makes him more depressed. He has no friends and he just reads from his notebook that he wrote in that day. He thought he was alone when he came to New York and is confused when a stranger comes up to him and really understands him. She makes conversation with him and when he tells her that he cant talk, she can see that he was broken and she knew that she wanted to marry him to give him something in life. He doesn't know if marrying her will make life a little more tolerable or if its going to be a mistake. After looking back on his life, he is even more confused that's why he points to help on the page.
Oskar’s grandfather lost his voice because of a love that was lost. He lost her name “anna” then a few more words until he had nothing left. I don’t know if this is physically possible to lose your voice because of something like this but it seems like a terrible way to lose your voice. His grandfather lives his life like alone, using his blank books to communicate with the rest of the world. Without his voice it seems like he is just a walking shell. During the chapter I didn't see much emotion or interest in what he would do day to day, just live to live.
I agree with what everyone said about the grandfather pointing to the word HELP at the end of the chapter showed how the relationship was going to be. It was going to be something to sooth the pain of loneliness and give the each other someone they can rely on, to trust. Maybe with time they would grow to love one another at least in some way, but it was not the cause of their relationship. The significance of the door in this chapter is like Heli said, by the door being unlocked that means Oskar's grandfather is letting his grandmother in. His grandfather lets her in because he already regrets a lot of things that has happened in his life and he didn't want turning down her marriage proposal to be added to his list. Also he believed that was probably his last opportunity to find happiness.
I agree with what many have stated already, the experiences in Dresden and losing the love of Anna eventually took away all of his vocabulary. I think this makes his life extremely difficult because he can only write his words, he cannot express them with emotion or tone, they feel empty. It's almost as if everything lost meaning to him after losing Anna. With the way he sculpts his grandmother into Anna or at least tries to, he cannot forget Anna. When he is asked to be married and says HELP I think this says that his grandfather depends on her. He needs her to convey his feelings.
When Oskar's grandfather came to America to escape whatever it was he was running from when he left Dresden took a toll on him. When he lost his first love, Anna, he lost everything, including his words. He couldn't seem to pull himself away from the thoughts of what he experienced with losing Anna and his family from the effects of the war. But when he met his wife, which was Anna's sister, he seemed to come to life again. She made him feel things he hadn't in a long time, however, it couldn't completely erase his prior feelings.
The picture that is shown in this chapter, in my opinion, represents a new beginning. Opportunities are like doors. Some may be opened to a person while others are not, and, when one door closes- along with that opportunity- a different door may open up presenting a new opportunity. In Oskar's grandfather and grandmother's case, the opportunity that was opened to them is the option to start over with someone that can make them, or help make them, feel alive again.
Oskar's grandfather lost everything in Dresden. He left and now possibly suffers from PTSD. He slowly loses everything he has ever loved including Anna. Anna provided an outlet for all of the bad things he has previous experienced. But then he loses Anna as well. This was the final event that caused him to lose his words as well. I feel as Thomas settled for Anna's sister. He couldn't have Anna so he married her sister. Their relationship works because they are connected by Anna.
I agree that Oskar's grandfather experienced so much loss in Dresden that he lost his words. This stemmed especially from him losing Anna, the love of his life. This continued to affect him and all of his relationships with family and friends because it compromised not only his communication but also his value of life and people around him. I hope, though, that his life as a mute inspired others around him to be more grateful for the small things that they took for granted, like speech. The goal between Oskar's grandparents wasn't love, because they knew each other for a very short time before they were engaged. Their goal was to help each other feel better about the loneliness that they had succumbed to feeling in their lives. I think this goal was accomplished in the end, but neither of them were as happy as they could have been and they both knew that.
I believe the quote "She was the tree and also the river flowing away from the tree." shows how important Oskar's grandmother was in his grandfather's life. His grandfather sees his grandmother as one of the most important and beautiful people in his life. His grandmother stood out to his grandfather like no other person did and he felt a special connection towards her. However, given his grandfather's circumstances his grandmother was also "the river flowing away from the tree" in the sense that she was someone he could never be truly close with. Oskar's grandfather was torn by the thought that the love of his life was right in front of him, yet he could not fully express his feelings and therefore felt her constantly slipping or "flowing" away.
All the tragedy that Oskar's grandfather experienced in his life ultimately resulted in him going selectively mute. (All these experiences have already been mentioned by many people above). He felt that he had lost everything, so he "lost"(gave up) his ability to speak, therefore choosing to write everything down on paper. What I found odd, is that he only writes one sentence on each page, and never more than that one sentence. At the end of the chapter he writes the word "Help", I think that this is his way of saying that he knows they are both incredibly lonely people that are lost in the world and that they should help each other get through life. He figures they can be each other's "saving grace". He agrees to marry just for companionship, so that they have at least one other person on this planet.
I agree with everyone above. I believe the grandfather lost his words because he lost his life. He lost not only his home, but everyone he shared it with as well. All connections that meant anything to him had vanished, so perhaps he believed there was no reason to talk when his words could not be answered by friends. Or maybe he was afraid of awakening the past and never moving on which is why he forgot Anna's name first. Regardless of the reason, I don't believe it had any positive affect on his life or the people around him. Surrounded by his own mind, the grandfather finds it impossible to forget about the memories that plague him. The people around him also find it impossible to understand him, or they don't care enough to try. The only one who truly understands him is the grandmother. But even then it is questionable whether her connection is enough to help him overcome the silence that now surrounds him.
I agree with everyone about the grandfather. I think that he lost his words because he lost everything important to him. He lost Anna and he moved to a new country losing his home and country he grew up in. He no longer knew how to ask for help or explain what he is feeling so he found it easier to not speak and use as few words as possible. This also isolated him from most other people, which left him with only his thoughts eating away at his sanity. When his thoughts begin to get jumbled its because he needs help but he doesn't know how to ask for help except for point at a written 4 letter word. No one around him can help him with no way of fully understand him so he is once again at a loss. I think it has a negative affect on him and the people around him because he can't have a real relationship with anyone around him, and the people around him can't communicate with him or help him.
I agree with everyone that he lost his voice due to the things he experienced in Dresden. He used Anna to cope with it but when he loses her too, he shuts down. He lost everything he had and words are all he has left. Soon, his voice leaves him too. I think he feels lost and unsure of himself since his whole life falls apart and becoming mute is how his body responds. This affects him because he is stuck with his thoughts forever and conveying them to someone else becomes a challenge. Other people have to make an extreme effort just to have a normal conversation with him. When he meets his wife, it for once isn't something that separates him from people; it draws her to him. She sees herself in him and their mutual suffering brings them together.
Also, the picture of doorknob and lock heavily represents the tone of the chapter. Oskar's grandfather is essentially locked inside of his own mind with no way to properly express his feelings. His true emotions and words are shut behind a door that he cannot open. The first picture shows the door without a key in it , representing his grandfather's optimism for his relationship with his wife. However, the second image has a key in it which shows that he has decided to lock up his emotions and "never write another word again".
I agree with Steven Waganfeald, grandfather must have some sort of PTSD from his experiences at Dredsen. Loosing Anna was the last straw, he went mute and won't come out. Since he is mute he has trouble reaching out towards people to help comfort him. This opens a door into the deep desolate world know as depression. Just like Irene Nachtrab said luckily people that suffer together stay together.
I agree with everybody above. I think that a main reason he became mute was because of the events that took place in Dresden. He probably had PTSD after the traumatic experiences he was faced with. The loses in his life kept piling up, and it was too much for him to handle. As soon as he loses Anna, it resulted in him losing his words. He was forced to communicate with people by writing down what he wanted to say, and I think people didn't take him seriously enough, and took advantage of him. This made him feel helpless and lonely.
I agree with what Steven Waganfield said about the grandfather having some sort of PTSD. His past experiences left him traumatized and the way he coped with it all was slowly losing his ability to speak. He locked himself up in his mind and decided to only communicate with writing his words. Which made others around him confused and not many people stuck around to know him, which made him more lonely. Which sort of brought Oscars grandparents together. I also agree with what Hannah Waters said about the relationship between Oscars grandparents wasn't love it was to help each other. They both at each others time was lonely and need ed someone. How his grand mother would let Oscars grandfather sculpt and be there even when he wasn't sculpting her was a sign she just needed someone in her life. She just wanted someones attention to actually be on her.
I agree with everyone about his grandfather losing his words due to his experience's he faced in Dresden and the death of the love of his life, Anna. He loved Anna, and when his love was taken away from him, this created a feeling of aloneness and confusion with being lost. When he moved not only did his grandfather lose his love, but also he lost his home causing him to become isolated from speaking and communicating with those around him, creating the PTSD. His thoughts became all he mentally knew which I think affected those people he came to know and still affects his wife in some way. I think the lack of communication and the past, always lingering, affects those around him who cannot quite understand the thoughts he has. While at the same time, I think his grandfather needs his grandmother to convey the feeling of still having that small connection back to Anna In a way, which is why he pointed to the word, HELP before being married. As if, the proposal was his last way of not feeling lost, but being able to eventually love her to overcome the lost love of Anna.
The grandfather's grief is what caused him to lose his words. I agree with what everyone is saying about him having some form of PTSD, he had been through the ringer. As if that wasn't all stress enough, losing Anna is what caused his full breakdown in the end. She was the lifeline that he was so desperately clinging on to, and when he lost her, he lost his mind. He lost her name first, and as he stopped having that small piece of her, he stopped acting like himself, taking away more and more words as some sort of twisted punishment of grief for losing her. This obviously makes life more difficult for him, always having to flip back and forth between the pages in his book, whereas he could just say all of the words that fill his pages. It also affects those around him, making him harder to understand. Also, it elongates a conversation that otherwise could have been finished within a matter of seconds. Not saying that those long conversations are necessarily a bad thing, just sometimes unnecessary.
"She was the tree and also the river floating away from the tree." To me, this seems to be one of the highest compliments that you could ever receive. Or ever give anyone, for that matter. I interpret the "tree" as someone who is grounded and sure of themselves, a sturdy foundation that cannot be shaken. Yet they are also the "river floating away from the tree," a free spirit, someone who goes off on adventures while exploring the world. The grandmother seemed to be the perfect combination of the two, at least in the eyes of the grandfather. His wonder over her was left up to the elements and nature to describe, for there were no real words.
In this chapter, there is an illustration of a key being turned in a door. Symbolically, locks and keys can be associated with partnership and fidelity. For example, in France there is the Lover's Bridge on the Seine River that lovers put locks on the bridge and throw the keys in the water, symbolizing their eternal devotion and love for one another. This could also mean an opening of a new door for Oskar's grandfather when he met Oskar's grandmother. Either way, it symbolizes the blossoming relationship and love interest between the two when Oskar's grandmother dramatically proposes to him at the end of the chapter.
Oskar's grandfather lost his ability to speak after the death of his true love, Anna, who is the sister of Oskar's grandmother. "She was the tree and also the river flowing away from the tree" tells the reader that Anna meant everything to him. The sense of loss and loneliness just caused him to shut down. In the end of the chapter, I think Oskar's grandfather's thoughts become jumbled and maniac in nature because because he struggles with not wanting to move on but also not wanting to be lonely. The grandfather and grandmother connect in the sense that they both feel alone, allowing the grandfather to feel comfortable enough to ask for help.
I agree that Oskar’s grandfather lost his words because of how alone he felt. When someone is lonely, they get to the point where they keep everything bottled up inside. Oskar’s grandfather felt extremely alone and began keeping his feelings to himself. He lost the ability to speak. He had so many things he wanted to say, but something was holding him back. I think his heart and mind were being tugged in so many directions that he couldn’t handle it and therefore, his body reacted by shutting down his ability to speak. Like Isabelle said, when the grandfather lost Anna, he felt as if he lost everything. He couldn’t bring himself to move on. When he lost her, he lost a part of himself. Grief grabbed him and ripped away the things he loved. The grandfather loved asking Anna all sorts of questions; communication was one of the strongest assets of his relationship with Anna. So, it makes sense that when he lost Anna, he lost the ability to communicate as well.
I think his inability to speak really impacted the grandmother’s life. Her relationship with her husband was complicated with a lack of communication, yet she still loved him. It probably got frustrating when she couldn’t hear his voice. If you never actually speak with someone, you become very secluded and private. Having a relationship without great communication is not ideal.
Like what was already said, I think the grandfather lost his words due to his traumatic experiences. Everything he had went through finally put such a burden on his mind that he cracked and could no longer speak. He missed Anna so much that his depression took over his ability to form words. He felt as if everything he ever knew, or loved was already gone, so what was the point in trying to communicate? His sadness just completely shut down the person he once was. As for the quote I think he was trying to say that she is much more than just simple. She is a tree, strong and full of life. Shes is a river, pure and free. Shes so much more than just any form of average. The picture to me is not just a shut door, but it also looks like a locked door. It represents how they keep their past and their emotions locked up, hidden from each other.
The significance of the picture in this chapter is the door of a new beginning. It is so close and so tangible that you can put your hand out and open it. The key is ready to unlock the door it is only a matter of reaching out and seeing what is on the other side. Although his grandpa lost everything , and when you lose everything it is so hard to take the chance and open the door. He can not open the door alone. Oskar's grandpa needed his grandma to open the door of their new beginnings. This is why the grandpa says "help" he needs help to open the door and start their new life.
Everything that reminds him of her, and anything related to her. It starts with him not being able to say her name “Anna,” this slowly progresses to not being able to say “and” it got worse where he could say words that reminded him of her. This progressed beyond just Anna, now he couldn’t say words that reminded him of other traumatic events in his life.
His grandfather started losing his words after he came to America. He used to be very talkative, and speak nonstop, but then he slowly started to lose his words. As this regression continued, he would say a few odd words, write them in the air, and then was ultimately forced to write “yes” and “no” on either of his hands, and keep a notebook used to write his silent words. Most of the time, when the pages ran out, he would recycle phrases from earlier in the day to answer someone, even if it wasn’t an intelligible response. These responses made the people around him feel awkward, which is described with the marriage proposal he received; she cried when he wrote that he doesn’t speak. In addition to this, the picture in this chapter represents his mouth, and that it is locked shut, despite the endless thoughts floating in his head.
I completely agree with what Gabe Elarton stated above about the significance of the picture in this chapter. It's amazing how something so small could be so symbolic. In my opinion the door is such a small symbol, but to Oskar's grandfather, it means so much more. It means that no matter how small, what's rig in front of the person is what is most important. I also agree that his grandmother is the reason his grandfather survived. Without her, his grandfather was lost and alone. That why he wrote"Help.", because his grandmother what what helped him.
The quote, "She was the tree, and also the river flowing away from the tree," refers to how the narrator's grandmother is, to the narrator's grandfather, Anna and also not Anna. Anna was the girl he was in love with when he was younger, and the narrator's grandmother is Anna's younger sister. She is the tree because she is his only connection to the girl who was the love of his life, but she is also the river flowing away from the tree, because she is not Anna, she is herself, the younger sister, a completely different person who played a minor part in the the grandfather's memories, and she is all he has.
Oskar's grandfather lost his words because he lost everything else important to him. He lost Anna and with her went his ability to speak. This obviously would become a problem for most people. He then met and married Anna's sister and even though their relationship was tough, they kept at it and made it work and helped each other through things. He always loved Anna though. He tried to make a sculpture of his wife but ultimately it turned into Anna. He could never let go of her memory.
The picture in this chapter is of a door lock with a key in it. This is related to the chapter because the chapter is about the grandfather losing his ability to speak; therefore, this picture reminds me of when people “lock their lips and throw away the key.” This relates to the chapter because the grandfather is slowly turning the key to lock his lips which makes him lose his ability to speak. However, the picture still has a key in the lock. This makes me believe that the grandfather has a chance to unlock his lips and maybe that will happen by him marrying the grandmother.
Also, my previous point can be proven by the grandfather pointing out HELP. I agree with Branden that the grandfather can’t speak because of his loss of Anna. Therefore, to get his ability to speak back the grandmother needs to help him move on from Anna.
I think Oskar's grandfather's loss of his words is a symptom for both his PTSD and his loss of Anna. The loss of Anna has a more obvious correlation to the loss of his words as this is directly portrayed in the text. He says that the first word that he lost was her name. It then goes on to say he lost the word "and" because it was too close to her name. Both of these pieces of evidence directly support the theory that the loss of Anna caused his loss of words. That isn't to say that that PTSD isn't a perfectly viable explanation to why he lost his words. The destruction of Dresden is another pivotal event in his life and could also lead to the loss of his words.
I believe that the quote "She was the tree and also the river flowing away from the tree", was a huge compliment. I think that by describing grandmother as the tree he is saying how important she is to him. He is saying that she is a grounded person, but that she also helps ground him. He could also be saying that she is the strong person, keeping them together though the hard times. I interpret her being the river flowing away from the tree as grandmother also being adventurous. While she had dreams, and an imagination, she could always be a strong, reliable person. I think grandfather used this quote to describe how these two different characteristics complimented each other.
What Oscar's grandpa had experienced, with the lost of the love of his life, Anna, had made mute. After this loss, she was the first word he lost. Then eventually progressed to the point where he had to write yes and no on his palms. He also had to write all of the phrases he said into books. After a bit he ran out of books and had to reuse phases that didn't seem to fit. This has made everyone around him feel weird when talking to him. My grandpa has a hard time speaking because he had a stroke and it is always weird talking to some one who cant talk back.
Oskar's grandfather Survived the war in Dresden, and while doing so watched his father, mother, siblings, and the girl he loved get their lives taken. It makes complete and utter sense to why he would become silent. In a state of mind like that, what could he have possibly said? Just even being put in the shoes of losing my grandmother,I was devastated, therefore I can't even imagine losing EVERYONE I loved. And honestly what words would even help sooth his aching heart if he had spoken to people of his tragedy? If he had said.. "I have nobody, I watched everyone I've ever loved die, and I made it out alive" how would you answer? "I am so sorry for your loss.." There is really no win-win situation, except for when he meets Oskar's grandmother.
The reason for Oskar's grandpa losing his words was all the loneliness he suffered. When he became lonely, he had trouble talking about his thoughts and problems. A lonely, depressed person tends to keep everything bottled up inside and this is why he eventually stopped talking. Anna meant everything to him. His communication with Anna was the greatest asset to their relationship and she was a huge part of who he was. So when he lost her, he lost not only her, but a part of himself too. When he lost Anna he felt like he lost everything. He questioned himself with what to do, why do it, whats the point? He saw no reason for anything anymore and eventually he completely shut down and became isolated from everything and everyone.
Towards the end when his grandfather begins to get desperate, I think this really shows his dependence on Oskar's grandmother. This, only being for some time, of course. It is obvious that his grandpa lost his words from a tragedy from WWII, but it is even more obvious how he became such a lonely and destroyed person. Without talking, he slowly pushed away any loved ones he had remaining. The people around him had nothing that they could do to help, and then without communication, things fell apart and he became more distanced.
"She was the tree and also the river flowing away from the tree." My interpretation of this quote from Oskar's grandpa is that Anna was his stepping stone. She was the tree that held them together and kept him sane. This shows that Anna is the stronger of the two in the relationship because she is able to help their relationship through both the good times and the bad times. What he meant by her being the river flowing away from the tree is that she also helps him grow and expand his personality and abilities while keeping him in a strong, grounded setting. Anna provides the life and excitement in their relationship and without her he would be nothing, as shown after her death.
I think that the events of what happened before Oskar's grandfather came to America are what started his loss of words. When Dresden was bombed during the war, he lost everything close to him, leading to his elective muteness. With nothing left for him in Dresden, he left for America, but America would be very lonely to a person who doesn’t have anyone. What’s the point in talking when no one knows your pain, or understands what you’ve been through? I agree with what Adam said about Oskar’s grandparents relationship. The tree symbolizes how much he needed her, how she rooted him to life, yet she was never something that could be loved, at least not by his grandfather. This chapter gives us the first insight into Oskar’s lineage. It gives us some ideas about why his grandmother acts the way she does toward Oskar, and possibly why Oskar acts the way he does.
I believe that Oskar's grandfather losing his voice was a sign of his own loneliness and despair. He relied on Oskar's Grandmother to be there for him to talk to and be his rock. I agree with what Adam said about the tree symbolizing how she rooted him to life. Also, it was very traumatizing being in Dresden in during the bombings. Once you lose so much that is close to you, you begin to keep everything inside and to yourself. He completely shut down and stopped talking, and just isolated himself from everyone.
The significance of the picture is that it is an unlocked door and it shows that Oskar's grandfather is opening up to Oskar's grandmother and letting her in. Or it could be a picture of a locked door and I could be making bad calls. Regardless of whether or not it is locked or unlocked it fits in by showing the grandfather's feelings.
I agree with Abbey that the reason Oskar’s grandfather lost his words was because he lost everything. By losing the words the author is symbolizing the lost that the grandfather has experienced. The grandfather lost his words because of something tragic that happed to a woman named Anna who was his first love and is not Oskar's Grandmother. He first lost the word “Anna” then lost “and” which suggests that the cause of his loss of words is because of Anna. Any word that reminds him of Anna he loses which becomes every word. In some way every word he know reminds him of Anna directly or indirectly. This loss of words would affect everyone around him because now he had to communicate in a different way. He used a book full of phrases and empty pages where he could write to respond to someone. The loss of words affected the people around him because they had to learn how to communicate with someone who has lost words and be patient and understanding to him.
Oskar's grandfather can no longer communicate regularly because he has lost so much. He has gone through such traumatic experiences. He is in a never ending state of shock. He has lost his home after the bombing of Dresden. He has lost Anna, Anna was everything to him. He had nothing left for him in Dresden and that is why he has come to America. The picture at the end of the chapter is of great significance. The open lock signifies the opening and acceptance of Oskar's grandmother into the grandfather's life. Oskar's grandfather is hoping to benefit from the help that Oskar's grandmother can give.
Thomas Schell Sr. lost his words from the traumatic experiences he has had. His home city of Dresden was bombed and his love Anna was killed. He was alone and was starting over again in America. I believe Thomas Schell Sr. is afraid to get too attached to people and things. He's afraid of what may happen to them like his love Anna. That's why his wife didn't want him to know their grandson so they both don't have to worry about being attached to each other. His wife is the tee and the river. While she will always stay with him no matter what, they are drifting away from each other as time goes on. He still loves her but not the same as the way it used to be.
Oskar's grandfather lost his words because he became lonely, and I believe his loss for words showed even more how lonely he was. His home, Dresden, was completely flattened and gone from bombing and he lost everything, his home, his love( Anna). This is why he came to America, for a new start. He writes "help" to the grandmother because she might be his ticket out of loneliness and she might help him through it. I believe his silence causes people to judge him and even ignore him, which adds to his loneliness. People around him probably don't want to take the time waiting for him to write down a reply so they just move along with life and leave him alone.
In my opinion, Oskar’s grandfather lost his words due to loneliness. He became so lonely and just could not express himself through words anymore. When people become lonely they begin to just keep things bottled up and lose social skills. I think also all his traumatic experiences played a role in him losing his words. Losing Anna made him suffer greatly because she was such an important person in his life. The loneliness took control of his life and caused his loss. He had so many questions and thoughts but he just could not get them out. I feel like he really had the urge to say words but he just could not find the right words in him. Overall I believe he was lonely and that caused him to lose his words.
The quote "She was the tree and also the river flowing away from the tree," shows that as the tree the narrator's grandmother was secluded and worked by herself. As the river his grandmother was constantly moving and never seemed to stop. Always trying to help out others, by giving the nutrients to live. This tells us that the narrator's grandmother is an ever changing person. She can be an independent worker or she can work in a larger picture and do many small jobs. The narrator's grandfather at the end of this chapter uses the word help a lot. Help would be the one word to describe the narrator’s grandparent’s relationship. The grandmother and grandfather have a mixed relationship towards each other where sometimes they need each other, and other times they don't This is in part because the grandfather doesn't speak and the grandmother is such a rounded person in her personality.
The quote "she was the tree and also the river flowing away from the tree" could be taken in several ways depending on how exactly the reader wants to see it. I generally like to think of a tree as something very sedimentary. On a different note, a river is constantly changing and moving away from you. I think the quote that Oskar's grandfather uses this quote to express the feeling of a mix between love and sorrow. The love him and his wife share that is unwavering like the tree, but the sorrow is his wife slipping away from communication like the river.
I believe that Oskar’s grandfather lost his ability to speak because he is in a state of complete speechlessness. After the war everything that he had known was gone. This immense loneliness caused the lose of his words. When something hurts so bad that its hard to breath its almost impossible to speak a word. This affected Oskar's grandfather greatly, leaving a scar on his heart resulting ultimately in his muteness.
Oskar's grandfather pointed to the word, "help" at the end of the chapter when Oskar's grandmother asked to marry him. This portrays that their relationship was predominantly an escape, or mutual help for each other. Their marriage was a cure for their loneliness and despair, rather than years of proximity and true love. Before explaining their encounter at the Colombian Bakery on Broadway, he remarks, "I was already out of words when I met your mother, that may have been what made our marriage possible, she never had to know me."
A combination of seeing and hearing of war decimating so close to home, as well as the loss of Anna, leave him speechless and at a loss for audible words about everything around him. The quote, “She was the tree and also the river flowing away from the tree” tells me that she was the head of the river, but since it flowed away, anyone in the river was slowly pushed away. The relationship between the grandfather and the grandmother is obviously spur of the moment and twisted due to the grandfather’s mute nature and need of, “HELP”.
I agree with both Olivia and Matthew. Oskar's grandfather lost his voice not just because he lost the love of his life, but also because he lost his hometown and everyone he knew. The feelings of loneliness caused by both losing Anna and losing his home (Dresden) caused so much anxiety and confusion inside of him that his soul became lost and he eventually became speechless.
The picture at the end of this chapter shows a locked door with a key unlocking it. The locked door symbolizes Oskar's grandfather-- he's locked up in life, isolated from everything else. The key symbolizes his grandmother being accepted into his life. The idea of the two objects together are significant because they both need each other in order to function. A locked door is nothing without its key, and a key is nothing without something to unlock.
Although it may seem cliché, I too have to agree with what many have said before. It makes perfect silence that someone could go into a state of shock after the city you live in is bombed. Dresden was practically a war zone. He not only lost his city but also the people he knew closely and the love of his life. Going through all of that could've made Oskar's grandfather come down with PTSD which can in some cases result in loss of speech.
I have to agree with what gabe said about the picture. Doors are commonly used to symbolize a new opening in life which is exactly what he needed after the trauma that he experienced. Going beyond his thought though, I believe his grandfather did take the little strength he had left and unlocked that door when he moved to America. He took a leap in hopes that he would be able to live a life without his love Anna and their unborn child.
The significance to the picture in the chapter to me is that it's a locked door. It fits into the chapter by the grandfather lost of words. He cant let anything out and holds in it. The grandfather says in the novel that what made their marriage possible was that she never had to know him. So I feel that what it also means with the door being locked is that he wont let anyone in to know the real him. But the main way I feel that it fits in to the chapter is that he's trapped in his own mind so meaning he can't escape the door cause it's locked.
Oskar's grandfather became silent because there was nothing else his mind would let him do. He lost his wife, his family, his friends, his town, and his country. How can you explain this to someone by just talking. He can never completely express how awful he feels because his hurt is so deep that his own mind tries to bury it so that it won't suffocate him. He goes silent so that he can still see the life in the world and be reminded that not everything was lost. He fears that if he opens his mouth that he will break the happiness of life around him as people go about with their day while his are filled with endless pain.
I believe the cause of his muteness would be severe mental trauma , a mix of depression and P.T.S.D. Not only does it make it a horrible pain in the neck for daily life but the psychological repercussions are horrible as well. Just imagine being surrounded by people but unable to communicate with any of them. It would drive me mad even without the past trauma. Imagine how much it makes the poor guy stand out.His writeings getting more and more frantic is a look at how desperate he's gotten for some comapanionship or solace from his inner demons. The grandmother met him , loved him and desperatly wanted to fix him, but it just wasn't enough
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