pg 1-107 response chris zink

1. The point of view for the novel is first person from the perspective of Oskar and his Grandmother. This confused me at first because he transitioned to first person from a different character without any warning. I was surprised when suddenly Osker's thinking sounded very different but I was intrigued once i realized it wasn't Oskar and i think that was one of the more exciting parts about reading this particular exerpt from the book.

2. Oskar Schell is a young boy growing up in New York city coping with the loss of his father in the 9/11 tragedy. At this point in the book Oskar is looking for the lock that fits the key he found while rummaging through his father's old things. He's found the key in an envelope marked "Black" and he's proceeded to try and locate every person named "Black" so he can question them about the key. Underneath the facade of this escapade however i believe Oskar is simply looking for closure for his pain. I think by going on this scavenger hunt he feels closer to the father he lost. This is his way of coping with and remembering pain he can't let go.

3. I really liked the image of the elephant because when he described to the lady the studies done with elephant memory it was very interesting to me. I found the idea that elephants can remember long lost herd members to be quite intriguing and when i saw the photo it helped me visualize it much better. I also liked the photo of the lady facing the other way because he never directly said what pose he took a picture of when she covered her face but rather that he simply took a picture of a different pose. The photo helped fill in that blank in the story. The story would be less complete without that photo.