Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

1. For the most part, the novel was written from a first person's point of view; that of Oskar Schell. Pages 16-34, however, were also written from a first person's point of view but it appears as a letter from Oskar's grandfather and pages 75-85 are letters for Oskar. Basically, the novel was told in a young boy's perspective who is very smart, yet very innocent.

Most of the novels and/or short stories I have read are from a first person's point of view. For me, it is effective because whatever Oskar has in mind, including the lies he tell other people, I understand. I also feel that I know why he does the stuff he does. I feel that I am in his shoes; searching all over New York City as to where tha key fits because of the use of "I" and "me". It makes me feel excited and adventurous as he is.

2. Oskar Schell is a 9-year old boy whose father died in the 9/11 tragedy. Reading the novel, I came up with this image of him: An imaginative, creative, adventurous, ambitious, and curious young boy. He really loves his family, most especially his grandmother who basically raised him and his father who molded him into who he is now. He and his father used to play mind games, treasure hunts, and all sorts of activities which include looking for clues and solving puzzles. He enjoyed such stuff thus making him feel obliged to search all over New York City as to where the key he found among his father's things fits. At the same time, I think he is unconsciously searching for a part of himself that is missing; a part of him that was burried (NOT literally!) with his father.

3. Page 95 - It is a part of the photo that Oskar saw in Ms. Black's refrigerator, an enlarged photo of an elephant's left eye which seem innocent and at the same time shocked by something in front of it. The tear makes an implication that the elephant is sad. It fascinated me, the fact that (according to Oskar) only human can cry tears. Anyway, the picture magnified the facts about elephants: a) They have much, much stronger memories than other mammals, b) They cannot cry tears, and c) They gather the bones of their dead. I think, however, the reason why the author included this picture is not to fascinate the readers about "elephant facts" but to make the readers think how living creatures all have feelings, beliefs, and thoughts and how some animals could be as smart or even smarter than human beings.