In the book Extrememly Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer, Oskar is learning how to deal and cope with the loss of his father as well as trying to find the lock for the key he found in his fathers closet in a blue vase. Through out the book, the plot and journey centers around this key. It isn't just a key, its the relationship between oskar and his father thomas jr., its the "supposed"closure for Oskar, and its the reason for the whole book. Finding this lock takes Oskar all around theive boroughs searching for someone whose name began or ended in "Black" because Oskar also found an envelope with the key and that name was written on the back.
As the plot thickens and the book goes on, Oskar has taken us many places in NYC. He's met very different people of all different cultures but none of those people knew the answer, they didn't have the lock or any idea were to find it. By the end of the book, Oskar meets William Black, the ex-husband of Abby who he met earlier on. When Oskar and Mr. Black start talking, the key comes up, his fathers name come up and the so does answer. As it turns out, the key had nothing to do with Oskar or his father. The blue vase in whoch Oksar found the envelope and key really belonged to Mr. Black. About 2 weeks before 9/11, Mr. Black's father died and he wrote a note and letter to his son explaining that there is a key in the vasefor him to open up a safety deposit box int he bank. Mr. Black didn't know about all that so when the time came to get rid of the vase, Thomas, (Oskars father) bought it from him for an anniversary present for his wife. Mr. Black couldn't find Thomas once he realized what happened and had been searching for him through out NYC as well. On page 194, MR. Black and Oskar are having a conversation about finding out the truth.
O:"Looking for it let me stay close to him for a little while longer."
B:"But won't you always be close to him?" I knew the truth.
O:"No."
This quote really shows the undermining of this journey. Oskar really felt connected with his father. He had been having trouble dealing with his passing for over a year and this key let Oskar believe he was still playing those scavener hunt games with his father. In a sense, it gave him closure or sense of security knowing "his father" left it there for him. But now, there's nothing tying his father to Oskar. Nothing like that. Oskar can let go of his father now and i think that's what's bothering and scaring Oskar the most.
Oskar also met with the renter of his grandmothers apartment. (The renter turned out to be his grandfather, Thomas Sr. who left Thomas jr. when he wasn't even born yet. ) The renter and Oskar had arranged to met late one night, the night Oskar found out the truth. The renter questioned Oskar when he arrived late. All Oskar told him was that he found the key. The renter said,
R: "So what's wrong?"
O: "I wish i hadn't."
These two lines don't say much. They clearly show how unhappy and upset Oskar feels. He may even feel a little betrayed. He was doing this alone, so no one was there really to protect him from the harsh truths. I think this quote really shows that Oskar was hurt, he felt i guess lost and confused now. I mean, no one was there to really guide him but, at the same time, the key was sorta his guide. The truth was his goal and the key led him there. The key also represented the relationship between his father and himself. The key was the last tie of that relationship, physically. Once that was gone, Oskar knew it would never be the same, he lost the key, he lost his father-that was Oskar's mind set. He found the truth like he wanted to all along, but in the end, it was a harsh truth that hurt taking in.
I think Jonanthan Safran Foer wrote this book to show that as we grow up, no one is going to be there to "sugar coat" things. Our parents aren't going to stand next us everytime somethin bad happens to hold our hands and tell us it's okay. Sometimes, it's not okay it never will be okay, but we have to keep moving foward, and sometimes we have to do that alone.
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