Where does Oskar think Mr. Black is? Why is this significant? Where do you think Mr. Black is?
Why doesn't Oskar's mother care about Oskar going all over New York city at night? If his mother knew what he was doing all this time, what is her motivation for not talking about it with Oskar? What is significant about her involvement in contacting everyone before Oskar even arrived?
The phrase "incredibly close" shows up twice in this chapter...the phrase "extremely loud" shows up once...
Why is the picture of the back of a man's head included in the chapter?
William Black's father wrote letters before he died -- a lot of them. Letters show up a lot in this novel -- some sent, some not sent. Why do you think the author uses letters so much in the novel? What do they represent?
Why do you think Oskar didn't want to go to the bank with William? Why do you think he told William the story about the last message? Why is it so critical that he finally told someone?
What is significant and powerful about Stephen Hawking's letter and the timing with which Oskar receives it?
It makes sense that Thomas (Oskar's father) wanted to meet his own father...but why did he see him only once after he had found him? And why is Thomas' father still writing letters to him?
If it was Simon Goldberg in the bookstore, why would he simply hug Oskar's grandfather and then run away?
Why do you think Mr. Black never told Oskar about his grandfather?
What do you think about those last few pages that get more and more dense with typing?
8 comments:
Although my mother would have a heart attack at even the thought of me wandering around New York at night, I have a certain degree of respect for Oskar's mother in the fact that she knows he is doing so- and allows him to. To me, this revealed the heart of her that it seems Oskar doesn't always see- that she loves him, cherishes him, and is terrified of losing him. Cities can be dangerous places- extremely dangerous, at that- but she tries to make it a little LESS dangerous for her son by calling everyone he's on his way to meet and telling them that he is coming and to be on the lookout for him. I'm sure she felt more secure once Mr. Black (the one from the same apartment, because there are several Mr. Black's in the novel) began travelling with him, because at least then the young boy wasn't alone. I believe that she knew that this was what Oskar had to do in order to help himself heal, if it could be called healing. Maybe a better word would be understanding? Either way, she took a step of faith- and a step back- to allow him to go around, but didn't fully pull her hand away because, like most mothers, she wants to protect him. She doesn't bring it up to him because she doesn't want him to quit, shut down, or get angry with her for knowing. It's his journey and his battle, and she doesn't want to overstep her bounds by talking to him about it.
I really like the origin of the key in the letter, sure it's disappointing, but that's the whole point. Oskar looked for months all over New York City for the owner of the key, he found out what the key is all about, but it wasn't what he was looking for. The real truth was that he never wanted to know what it was, what he wanted was the kind of false hope the key gave him. He fooled himself into believing that the key could somehow unlock the truth behind his father's death, so he could stop inventing ways for his dad to have died in his own head. The key in the story represents the idea of unanswerable questions, Oskar can never know for sure the fate of his father and the key represents his inability to come to terms with that fact.
Oskar's mom doesn't ask Oskar questions anymore because 6 months earlier Abby Black called to let Oskar know that she had news about the possible use for the key. He didn't know that she called because he hasn't picked up the phone since the worst day. But Abby was leaving a message when Oskar's mom picked up and she told his mom what Oskar was doing because she thought his mom already knew. So once she knew what Oskar was up to, she would call the next person on the list of Blacks's and tell them that her son was coming and to be ready for him. I think that she didn't want to tell Oskar that she was doing this because it was his mission that he wanted to do on his own.
Oskar's mother really cares a lot about her son. Even though he is running around to different places in New York City, she allows him, because she knows that it is best for Oskar to try and learn without help. It helps to give Oskar a sense of independence. Like every other kid, Oskar is curious, he just has a really good reason to be curious. Even though it seems like Oskar's mother isn't being a good Mom, she is doing a good job at letting herself give her son some freedom, even though it has to be painful for her to do. She always knows what's going on, she just allows him to go and do his own thing. Like a good Mom, she supervises over the situation from a distance, and has him make his own mistakes.
It isn't that Oskar's mother doesn't care about her son going all over New York, It's that she does. She knows where he is at and who he will be with every time he goes out. Oskar needed to go on his own journey to "reach his dad." It was something between Oskar and Thomas that they did. They would play games that could take a few days or even a few months. believe she didn't talk about it with Oskar because she wanted him to reach his closure. It was his way of saying goodbye, much like she does with the support group she is in. Oskar needed something that would keep him close to his father, and that thing was the key that was always around his neck.
When I first skimmed through the book when I first got it, I saw these pages and wondered what in the world is this?? After getting though the chapter I understood that often times Oskar's grandfather would run out of space to to write his thoughts. Eventually he would have to write over them in order to even try to communicate. It made me kind of sad to think that he would run out of space to put his words. At the same time, it made me realize that he tries so hard to say things but sometimes they just don't come out the way he wants them to because they get jumbled up or they would run over each other and become illegible. I tried to red some of the words all covered up but they became s jumbled that nobody would be able to understand them. I just with Oskar's grandfather had more room to write what he really wanted to say.
Where does Oskar think Mr. Black is? Why is this significant? Where do you think Mr. Black is?
Oskar thinks that Mr. Black is living at the Empire State Building with Ruth, it’s significant because Oskar would rather believe he was there than knowing for sure, and earlier on Oskar always needed an answer. I want to believe that he is with Ruth in the Empire State Building but realistically, he passed away. If Mr. Black was still alive he would have taken care of his possessions and say goodbye to Oskar, but instead it’s realtors and contractors and garbage men. Mr. Black appreciated his possessions too much to just throw it all away to be with Ruth.
Why doesn’t Oskar’s mother care about Oskar going all over New York City at night? If his mother knew what he was doing all this time, what is her motivation for not talking about it with Oskar? What is significant about her involvement in contacting everyone before Oskar even arrived?
We are told by Abby that Oskar’s mother found out about the key and mission at the beginning of Oskar’s quest for answers. If Oskar is correct, then his mother called all of the people he would visit in the future, and warn them about her son coming and what he’s doing, she ruined the element of surprise. She didn’t talk to him about it because she probably thought that it would be better for Oskar to do this, but with someone she knew could watch over him, like Mr. Black. Maybe she believed it to be a thing Oskar needed to do to accept his father's death. She wasn’t worried about him because she probably had something to do with Mr. Black going along with Oskar to watch over him. I think her contacting everyone before Oskar met with them took away the whole point of the plan.
I believe that Oskar's mother sees it best for Oskar to learn on his own instead of talking with him about it. Although there appears to be danger in allowing him to run around New York City on his own, is there emotional danger in keeping the answers from him or by not letting him find out through his own curiosity? Oskar's mother also knew what he was doing and had ideas about where he would be going and the things he did. She also had contacted people before Oskar arrived so she would know not only what he would be doing, but also she could help the people who he talked to to steer him in the directions she knew were best.
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