Why does Oskar fantasize such a violent ending to Hamlet?
I wonder if The Cyclone is still standing after Hurricane Sandy...just wondering...
Oskar ends his Saturday with Ada Black by saying it was depressing. What do you think was so depressing about it?
Oskar has a growing list of cultural history created from old Mr. Black's stories. Anything stick out to you on that list? Any connections between the things on the list? Just wondering what you see or notice...
What is significant about the dates on the rocks?
If you were on one of old Mr. Black's cards, what one word would be next to your name? Tell me why it would be that word.
Why do you think old Mr. Black had turned off his hearing aids? Why do you think he was crying?
Why do you think we get the memory of message Message Three right after his visit with old Mr. Black?
How do you feel about Oskar's interaction with his mom at the end of the chapter? Why do you feel this way?
Oskar goes through a variety of moods in a very short period of time. Do you think these are actual moods, or is he just being dramatic?
Why is this chapter given the title "Heavier Boots"?
34 comments:
Oskar goes through a variety of moods because his life is an emotional roller coaster. His dad recently, nothing is ever going to be one mood with losing someone so close to you. He will feel all sorts of things during this time. I don't think he is being dramatic at all either, people just have different ways with how they cope with things. This chapter is given the title "Heavier Boots" because everything that took place in this chapter weighed the reader down. The information that was given was sad and left an emotional impact. Overall, I think the whole book really can weigh you down with its content.
The two main parts of the heavier boots chapter that left a mark on me were when oskar talks about what makes life worth it, and how ada black feels about being the 467th richest person. When oskar asks the question of what makes life worth it, I really connected with that since I ponder that thought occasionally. Then I thought, the only time I think that is when I'm working really hard, not seeing any improvement, and think is it worth it? That is the same with osakr, coping with the loss of his dad, feeling like he lost his mom to her "new friend", and trying to find the infamous owner of the key, so no wonder he has heavy boots and wonders is it all worth it. Additionally, I thought it was a very interesting quandary to ada black about how she is so rich, and lives steps away from people who have nothing, and yet she is so distant from them, buying her Picasso paintings. This shows how intelligent oskar is to realize that "gap" we have in society and how he is so aware.
In turning off his hearing aids, Mr. Black represented a main theme from the novel: in censoring certain emotions, all are lost. In his case, he no longer had a desire to see the world or experience what it had to offer after his wife's death. When he met Oskar and turned the hearing aids back on, he was thrown back into the world and experienced even the minute things people take for granted, such as hearing birds outside his window. In reopening himself to hearing, it was like reopening himself to worldly experiences. This vulnerability is exactly as if someone reopened the emotional floodgates and became overwhelmed by all the things they hadn't felt in a long time and didn't realixe they missed. In his overwhelmed state, Mr. Black cried tears of joy, relief, and excitement.
When being introduce to Mr. Black, I easily fell in love with his character. He seemed to have lived a fairly exciting and adventurous life- one that I hope to experience. He seemed very knowledgeable, like the kind of guy you would like to spend a Sunday morning at a coffee shop with, just having a deep conversation about life. But he is also (sadly) glazed with this idea, that Foer has talked about through many characters already, of how someone can deal with falling out of love. How scarring and devastating it can be, whether you choose it or not. In response to losing his wife 24 years ago, he turns his hearing aids off. I took this as he had already gotten everything possible out of this life. Why bother leaving his house and doing new things? Having the ability to hear? It is pointless. He has already had as much joy (as he thinks) is possible. When he first got his hearing back, I think the tears that kept flowing were from countless different emotions.
Also, I thought the conversation Oskar had (prior to hurting her feelings at the end) could be crucial to the healing of their relationship. He was able to verbalized his anger of her having the nerve to laugh and appear to be happy with Ron, while she was able to explain that just because he doesn't see it, doesn't mean she hasn't had her fair share of crying herself to sleep. I think this could help get them back on the right track (maybe??).
Lastly, I just wanted to mention how well Oskar is handling things for someone his age and someone who went through/is going through something he did/is!! He is so mature and carries himself so respectively. Like what? I was so embarrassing when I was 9 and he's out here exploring NYC. The only exploring I did at age nine was on the WShop on webkinz to make my room cute. Props to you.
It was a little difficult to find connections to the list of cultural history Oskar wanted to educate himself on. I did notice, however, that there were quite a few topics involving violence and dark times in history. For example, the Bay of Pigs is mentioned on the list, most likely meaning the failed Bay of Pigs invasion where CIA-trained Cuban exiles were sent to invade Cuba to overthrow dictator Fidel Castro. Another item on this list is Kent State, where a shooting that killed four students protesting the invasion of Cambodia occurred in the 1970s. I could go on about how many things are closely tied to violence and dark times: Ayatollah Khomeini (Supreme Ruler of Iran who supported the Iran hostage crisis during the Carter administration), apartheid (racial discrimination in South Africa), the Berlin Wall (the wall that separated East and West Berlin, becoming a symbol for the division between capitalism and communism), the Spanish Civil War (war is literally in the name), and East Timor (genocide was mentioned early in the chapter). As I mentioned earlier, the biggest connection I could find was many of the events and concepts are linked to some of the darkest times in the world’s recent history. (Also, the list sounds like someone didn’t know the lyrics to Billy Joel’s We Didn’t Start the Fire but wanted to act like he/she did.)
The references to violence do not stop there. The dates on the rocks hold significant value because they mark violent periods in history. The first rock is labeled “Normandy, 6/19/44;” during this time, Operation Overlord (a.k.a. D-Day) was being carried out. This was where the Allies invaded the shores of Normandy, France, in order to kick the Nazi Germans out of the country. On another rock, there is the label “Hwach’on Dam, 4/09/51.” This symbolizes Operation Rugged, an attempt by the United States to capture the Hwacheon Dam to gain an advantage during the Korean War. Finally, the last rock has the date and place where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.
I find it interesting how much in this chapter is a reference to violent times in history. It shouldn’t be surprising because of Mr. Black’s long history. Still, it is shocking how much death, war, and pain has occurred during humanity’s existence. I was shocked when Mr. Black said human civilization had only lived in peace for 230 years. It really illustrates how dark reality truly is.
When visiting the variety of people with the last name Black, Oskar managed to leave his mark on each one of them. He also shared that his dad had died and perhaps they felt obligated to give their presence somehow since they were not able to give him answers about the key.
The heartbreak he has experienced in his short life is quite the substantial amount. He has outbursts of anger and sometimes the reason he becomes angry doesn't always seem to be the correct emoton to feel in that situation. There's so many emotions inside of him and he feels them all at once, it's overwhelming. It's frustrating for him to try and voice his emotions because he doesn't know how to. Instead, he suppresses them and that gives him "heavy boots". I think visiting Ada Black made him upset because as rich as she was, she didn't seem happy with her life. She was just there, not really contributing and I think that upset Oskar because maybe he thought it wasn't fair for her to be alive, rich and not doing anything with her wealth but a little "charity" while his dad was dead.
This chapter is called heavier boots because it’s all about people dealing with their heavy boots. We don’t only see how Oskar deals with his heavy boots, but we see others’ as well. We see the taxi cab driver who has to decide what to do when he loses his $76.50 fare because a kid can’t afford it. We see Abe Black who tells Oskar to ride the Cyclone. He tells Oskar that he doesn’t have a choice whether he dies or not, but he has a choice to ride the cyclone. This is how Abe Black deals with whatever his heavy boots may be. Ada Black has come to terms with her heavy boots and this is shown when she says, “Even if I don’t like what I am, I know what I am.” (151). When Oskar is writing down all of his feelings, he is trying to do as Ada does. Even if he doesn’t like what he’s feeling, he can know what he’s feeling. At the end of the chapter, there’s a confrontation between Oskar and his mom. He’s trying to understand why she doesn’t cope with her heavy boots the same way he does. He doesn’t understand how she can be at peace with her grief. I liked this chapter because it really emphasized the different ways people deal with grief and despair.
I believe that if Mr.Black had made a card with my name on it, the word next to it would be creator. I think this because I have always been compassionate about art and creating things. Painting, drawing, sculpting, etc. I did have to think about that though because many people could put down creator, but I think it really somes me up. Usually when people first see me and what to talk about colleges, and I tell them I'm not sure, the first thing they will say is that "well your creative, you should think about going into graphic design". So not only do I see myself as being a creator, be other people see it as well.
I feel like Mr. Black turned off his hearing aids because he just wanted to block everything out I mean, he hasn't left the apartment in 25 years so he doesn't really need them. He probably started with turning them off just to escape, and then eventually he just kept them off because he didn't want to maybe go back to reality. I believe that he cried, because all f those 25 years, he hasn't herd a thing. He's been alone. He's forgotten what everything sounded like, so when he turned on the hearing aids, it was just overwhelming. Especially hearing your voice, after forgetting what it sounded like. It makes you emotionally overwhelmend.
Oskar's interaction with his mom at the end of the chapter starts off as a conversation that is needed for him to let out his emotions and to express what he is feeling. I feel like it is important to tell people what is on your mind to be able to move forward and heal. However, I feel like Oskar crossed the line when he stated that he wishes it was his mom who had died instead of his dad. At a certain extent there should be thoughts that you have to keep to yourself. When I read this part I felt shocked that Oskar would say this, but when I thought about it he is under a lot of stress and from the trauma he had to go through. I do still feel like he shouldn't of said that because something that powerful cant be forgotten.
I think that Mr. Black turned off his hearing aids because he hardly had anyone to talk to so why bother waste the hearing aids’ batteries. There wasn't anything worth having the aids in for him to hear. I believe that he was crying after having the hearing aids turned back on because it has been a long time since Mr. Black last heard someone’s voice (who stuck around long enough to befriend him as opposed to a mailman delivering a package and giving small talk). With Oskar's meeting with Ada Black, I think that Oskar felt that the meeting was depressing because, once again, he was unable to find anything regarding the key or his father. Not only this but Oskar was scolded for being condescending to Gail when he was just trying to be nice to her by complimenting her name.
So my comment won't be strictly about one of your topics, but rather a bit of a deeper inspection of one of the items on the list of things Oskar learned about from old Mr. Black. Specifically, I want to talk about the Berlin wall. I went on a trip to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base/Museum where I saw an intense amount of historical memorabilia. One thing I saw that I really loved was their pieces of the Berlin Wall. I remember how they had the pieces cut out and on display and something that stuck out to me was how the different sides had different graffiti. One side was very kitsch, showing bright and ugly characters of many unusual colors, while the other was sprayed with this awful yellow color that looked like light rust or mustard gas stains. It stuck with me because I couldn't stop imagining the different people of different sides of the wall who would never know what the other side of their wall looked like. I also remembered the sign next to the display which said "YOU ARE LEAVING THE AMERICAN SECTOR" in English, Russian, and French. I always wondered why it didn't have the message in German. I talked to my dad about what I saw at the museum and showed him some pictures and that's when I learned that my dad, being a United States Air Force veteran, had actually seen the Berlin Wall still standing. This piece of history had great significance to me now, having been able to see that part that I did and learn about my dad's experience with it.
I think most of the Black's came to Oskar's play because they felt bad. They either felt bad because they couldn't help with the key or because Oskar's dad died. They probably figured that going to his play was the least they could do to make up for it. Also I think he seems like a persuasive kid, so it may have just been that he made them feel guilty for not wanting to go in the first place.
Oskar's interaction with his mom was interesting because it gave readers yet another glimpse of Oskar's train of thought. His mom asks if there's something he wants to talk about, and he says that he is just tired. But out of nowhere, he starts asking his mom to not bury him when he dies. I thought this was significant because he thinks/worries that he will die before his mom. This thought was also important because it likely stems from the untimely death of his father, and readers can tell that this is a constant thought in his mind. Readers can tell that this frustrates Oskar, because he becomes irritated quickly when his mom starts to talk about how his father's spirit is in his coffin, since his father never believed in that anyway. The conversation finally ends when Oskar tells his mom that he would've chosen her to die instead of his father. I don't really believe he thinks that, I just think that he is upset that his mom seems to be moving on and that he feels as though she wasn't there for him that day, and he is letting it out on her. I also found it incredibly sad that Oskar's mom doesn't even mention his bruises, even though they are extremely obvious. Maybe she is still upset with him for what he said, or maybe she just doesn't want to talk to him about it. Either way, it seems rude for a mother to act that way.
At the end of this chapter, Oskar confronts his mom saying "If I could have chosen, I would have chosen you." This line Oskar directs towards his mom jumped out at me as a call for help. I believe this anger was caused by the build up of stress without his father. Not even seconds later after the exclamation, he apologizes because he knows that his father's death was affecting his mother too. I feel like Oskar and his mom should talk together about the passing of their beloved father/husband and not just shove it off to the side and build up anger and stress toward each other.
Oskar's confrontation with his Mom shows the differences in which Oskar and his Mom deal with grief. The way Oskar's Mom dealt with her husband's death was much different than how Oskar did. Oskar's mom tried to move forward with her life instead of constantly focusing on her husband's death. Oskar way of dealing with his father's death was to constantly bottle up his strong emotions, until the point they erupted, and to not make an attempt to move past his father's death, just focus on it for the rest of his existence. I think the fact that Oskar's mother was, to Oskar, pushing off her husband's death deeply hurt Oskar as Oskar's dad was his role model. Oskar got so fed up with it that he unbottled his years of emotional stress, and berated his mother with "If I could have chosen, I would have chosen you." Oskar soon after realizes his mistakes, and that his mother misses his father just as much as him and he only amplified the sorrow for his mother.
I think all of the Blacks came go Oskar's play because they felt guilty about how much he had gone through. Oskar had gone so far to figure out if they had known anything about what it was to, and they couldn't help him. Also, he tells almost, if not all, of them that his dad had died, and I think that really played a part in their guilt. I think they could sense how important figuring out the key was to him, and since they couldn't help him with it, they felt that attending his play was something to help that guilt.
Oskar's outburst towards his mom is really heartbreaking to read. I can't imagine how his mom must have felt to know that her own son would have chosen his dad over her. But, I do think that it was an "in the moment" kind of thing rather than something that he actually meant. In the same way, I think some of his anger is valid and some of it could be dramatic. There are some outbursts that I can understand why he's angry and I sympathize with him, but other times are really out of the blue. However, I do understand that it all stems from the emotional pain that came from his dad dying.
I think that the Blacks all went to Oscar's play because they felt bad for him. They knew there would never be anything they can do to fix the things Oscar has had to live through, but they felt like they need to at least do something for him. I think that Mr Black turned off his hearing aids because after his wife died, he felt like he shouldn't go on living a normal life. After awhile he probably just didn't even realize that he wasn't hearing anything because all he had was his own thoughts. I think when Oscar turned them on, Mr Black began crying because it made him think of his wife.
I felt horrible for Oskar's mom, I pitied her so much, but I also didn't per se blame Oskar for his actions. He has been dealing with so much pent up emotion and it was natural for him to have an outburst. That's how I interpreted it, at least- an outburst. It was an awful thing to say, that he wishes she had died rather than his father, but I'm sure Oskar didn't truly mean it. She's really damaged by his words, although somewhat lets it go and forgives him. I feel like his feelings are valid.
The chapter is called Heavier Boots because in a sense, everyone is carrying their own "heavy boots", or own personal struggles.
All of Oskar's "moods" are absolutely real. He has gone through so much, so he is bound to be emotional. Oskar also has a mental disability so that means that he isn't able to control his emotions as well as other people can. He is just a kid, he just lost his dad, and he has a mental disability. You can't really expect a lot of consistency with his emotions because he does have a minimal amount of control. And after he has a mood he can freak out over being in a mood, and that just makes it all worse. It is a chain reaction of emotions and feelings. No one can really judge him, he has gone through to much to ever have "normal" reactions to situations.
I think what compelled all of the Blacks to show up for Oskar’s play was a feeling of guilt. They weren’t able to help out Oskar in any way with leading him to what his key unlocked, so the least they could do was show up to his play. As for Mr.Black and his hearing aids, I think he had them turned off because he didn’t have a need to hear after his wife passed. I think he cried after turning them back on simply because of how overwhelming it was to hear again. I also think the fact that someone was with him and spoke to him long enough for him to have to turn them back on was overwhelming for him as well. It was honestly heartbreaking reading Oskar’s interaction with his mom at the end. Oskar is obviously resentful towards his mom for moving on with her life. I don’t think he understands that people deal with grief in different ways, and even though she doesn’t show it, she still misses her husband.
After Oskar made his rounds visiting the first group of Blacks, it is safe to say he made a lasting impact on all of them. He was genuine and kind of each and every one of them even if they were a little thrown off by his antics. I think what made them all want to come was the fact that Oskar was such an outgoing a persistent little boy when he visited them. He was straightforward with what he wanted and although he came in search of one thing, he stayed to talk after. I can personally say I would have dropped everything to go see a play that he was in simply for the fact that Oskar is so well rounded for such a young age.
Oskar's violent fantasy for the end of Hamlet scared me. It started out being like a regular mistake while acting, and it transformed into a bloodbath. I believe Oskar thought about this incident because he was tired of being sad. He has been quiet ever since his father's death and he probably feels like he's the only one in his family feeling that way. When meeting with the old Mr. Black, Oskar had a list of topics, people, and places to Google when he returned home. There were a couple that stood out to me. For example, "hula hoop" and "Technicolor" caught my eye because most of the other things were related to war or something books. I'm guessing this was the point where Mr. Black was telling Oskar about his days coming back from war and experiencing new drugs. Oskar was reminded of the third message because of Mr. Black hearing for the first time in a long time. Oskar's dad repeatedly asked "Hello?" in the third message, waiting to hear another voice on the other line, like Mr. Black waiting to hear another voice.
Oskars interaction with his mom at the end of this chapter made me sad but at the same time, it made a lot of sense for him to act like that. At this time, I can only imagine how alone he is feeling and that the one person he wants to talk to, is gone. His change of character was bound to happen at one point and I guess it was better him being around his mom than anyone else. I also think that the variety of moods he goes through in such a short period of time are genuine moods and feelings, not him being over dramatic. I think this because, Oskar is still pretty young and it makes sense for a young boy to be going through so many different emotions. That factor along with him simply having faces so many things a young boy or a person in general should never have to face, can't be helpful.
I believe old Mr. Black turned off his hearing aids because after his wife died he had nothing to listen to. The real world no longer mattered without her in it. He could no longer hear talking or the sounds of nature. Once Oskar turned on his hearing aids and the birds flew past, he was so overwhelmed with emotion of hearing something. Oskar opened Mr. Black's eyes into the world again. Oskar also showed him what he has been missing out on the floor and out of his apartment. I believe Oskar made a huge impact in Mr. Black's life and showed him that there is so much to live for, In a way Oskar gave Mr. Black a new beginning to life and showed him how to live it.
I think that Oskar is depressed after meeting Ada Black because she has lost hope for true happiness in her life. She resigned herself to her material wealth and gave up her optimism in life, and as a self-proclaimed optimist and someone who generally enjoys other people's happiness, this makes Oskar sad. If I was on one of Mr.Black's cards, I would hope that my word would probably be something along the line of writer or poet, but it would probably just say confused. I do think that the moods that Oskar go through are all justified in their own way. I think that as a child, we are given more freedom to express the many emotions we constantly go through more openly because we are seen as immature. However, I think that adults do go through crazy cycles of emotions too- we are just taught to hide it from others unless we want to be seen as moody or overdramatic.
I think the Blacks showed up to Oskar’s play because he had made an impression upon them through his dedication to showing up to each of their houses and they perhaps felt bad that they couldn’t help him and it was the least they could do to support him. Some things on the list that Oskar wrote to research that stuck out to me were Mustang convertible, Kent State, Polaroid, Trotsky, and Frank Lloyd Wright. If my name were on one of Mr. Black’s cards, I think it might say “fool” or “war”. I can’t decide between the two, but I don’t think I’d have one in the first place, honestly. The most interesting part of this chapter to me is when Oskar smashes Jimmy’s face with the papier-mâché Yorick skull; the last sentence in that section: “I saw Abe Black, and he saw me. I knew that we were sharing something with our eyes, but I didn’t know what, and I didn’t know if it mattered” (147). Also, right before he begins to bash his face in, he declares “On behalf of the dead…” Hm. Obviously Mr. Black had turned his hearing aids off shortly after his wife’s death, perhaps because the sounds of his empty apartment were too much to bear without the sounds of her being with him or something, I don’t know. For some reason, it didn’t feel important to me even though that part was super emotional and all. I did notice how often Oskar uses the words “incredibly” and “extremely” with one another in this chapter. No deeper thoughts on that, just an observation.
Oskar throughout this Chapter met Mr.Black I thought they were extremely similar in a sort of this was how Oskar was going to be like, like an older version of himself. By the end of the chapter "Heavier Boots" it made me feel very down. the title itself describes it. Since his dad died he went from happy to slowly declining to sad. Through out the chapters that lead up to this on he kept saying "heavy boots" by the end of this chapter is says "heavy heavy boots" The reader and Oskar feel extremely low and they start to feel what he feels just by visualizing it I feel it. When he started visiting the Black's he made an impact on each and every one of them. Made there day's and talked to them which I thought was sweet and nice. I do think that it is very weird to just show up at random people's houses but he is very bold and determined.
Really, everything in this chapter weighed down on Oskar. The fight with his mom only added to the already unbearable stress from losing his father, and when one is stressed they may say things they don't mean. So maybe Oskar really did mean what he said to his mom at the end of the chapter, but deep down I don't believe Oskar truly wishes death upon his mother at all. He only said that out of anger. Oskar's mood throughout the chapter went from happy, to slightly sad/unsettled, to incredibly sad. I don't really think Oskar intends to be dramatic, but that he might just be exaggerating to get his point across.
Why do you think old Mr. Black turned off his hearing aids? Why do you think he was crying?
I think Mr. Black turned off his hearing aids because he didn’t have a need for them, he didn’t have anyone to talk to. He didn’t have a need to have them on because he didn’t want to hear what was going on outside of his apartment. I think he was crying because he was overwhelmed from hearing after living in complete silence for a while.
Oskar goes through a variety of moods in a very short period of time. Do you think these are actual moods, or is he just being dramatic?
I think that Oskar believes he feels the emotions that he wrote down in his feelings book. He is trying to figure out his feelings by writing them down then crossing them off and writing his new emotion when it appears. Oskar does have mixed emotions and I think he’s trying to make a point that saying certain things can change someone's emotions like snapping of fingers.
Oskar's mental handicap sets a sort of limit of how his mind both comprehends and expresses things. It seems throughout the novel, Oskar's many thoughts and emotions seem dramatic and over emphasized. However, I don't believe that is any sort of accident or mistake. This is actually very clever on the author's part. This tool used in his novel helps the reader to better understand how Oskar's mind comprehends the same things we do daily. These are his actual moods and the only way Oskar's mind knows how to deal with them and ask for help is to be over dramatic with his thoughts and actions.
By turning his hearing aid off, Mr. Black essentially settled himself into the past. If he could not hear the world turning around him then time was essentially not passing. Just like anyone experiencing a level of depression, we tend to live in the past and dwell on what could have happened differently. Turning his hearing aid off kind of resembled him not moving on and just living in the moments he used to be happy in. His tears came from the realization that he has let himself free from the past. Hearing the world again was like allowing time to move again. It seemed to me he was overcoming more emotionally than what was being described.
Oskar's mental problem limits how he thinks and expresses himself. Oskar is a very dramatic kid and feels the need to express his feelings and emotions. Throughout this chapter he shows the pain and sadness he has by the interaction with his mother. He tells his mom that he wishes she would have died instead of his father. I feel bad for his mother, but at the same time, for Oskar, as he is just trying to overcome his sadness. I do not like how his mother acts throughout the novel thus far due to her immature behavior(i.e. not talking to Oskar).
Oskar, although he doesn't show it, has a lot of frustrations to let out. The fact that he imagined such a violent scene, in which he lets out his rage on Jimmy Snyder, reveals how angry he is at the world, his place in it, and the unfairness of his father's death. The irritations of specific people in his life come out as well, like the anger directed at his mom for moving on with her life. I think it's interesting that he imagines that the audience applauds, because he "is making so much sense." I think that he desperately wants his pain to be understood, something that he isn't getting from the people around him.
This anger actually comes to a head in the conversation with his mom, at the end of the chapter. Through the conversation, you can see how much his mom cares about him, but isn't sure how to help him. She's trying, but Oskar takes out his anger on her. He doesn't understand how she grieves and tries to move on with her pain, and that frustrates him just as much as her attempts to help him.
I think Abby told the Blacks' how much it would mean to Oskar if they were there. Also, when Oskar met them in person and told them about the play, they may have felt inclined to go because they felt sorry for him. Oskar fantasizes such a violent end because he hates Jimmy Snyder and he has the biggest role in the play. He doesn't think that Jimmy should have a happy ending because he bullies Oskar.
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