Written by New York Times bestselling author, Jonathan Safran, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” is the tale a precocious nine-year old boy named Oskar, who is in search of the lock to a key found in his father’s closet. From the very beginning, it is apparent that sound is an inevitable and recurring theme within the novel. Because sound is incredibly powerful and expressive, I can understand why the author chose to begin the story with an assortment of noises. Although the primary sounds Oskar mentions appear arbitrary, they are actually filled with meaning, as we later find out. On the first page of the novel, Oskar envisions a teakettle that has the ability to create different sounds including, recite Shakespeare, read in his father’s voice, and chant The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine”. Following our discovery that he admires Hamlet and is currently in a play, his thoughts about the Shakespeare-reciting teakettle do not seem so random. As mentioned earlier, he also considers if the teakettle could read in his father’s voice. Not only is his father dear to his heart, but his voice is extremely important and influential within the novel as well. As we find out later, Oskar secretly hides the answering machine that contains the voicemails that his father leaves hours before his death. As discussed in class on Wednesday with Ms. Sells, Oskar says, "That secret was a hole in the middle of me that every happy thing fell into" (71). His assertion discloses the gravity of this secret on his life.
In addition to revealing his interests and foreshadowing the story, I believe that these sounds demonstrate Oskar’s thought process and brilliance. For instance, he thinks about the teakettle singing “Yellow Submarine,” a song performed by the Beatles, the musical band. This thought triggers the idea of actual beetles and his love for entomology, the study of insects, which illustrates both his outlook and genius. In addition, although he has not even celebrated a double digit birthday yet, he knows about the Hall of Mirrors and its exact location in France as well as a variety of French phrases. Oskar also begins to speculate if people’s heartbeats can beat in synchronization, which he compares to female roommates who menstruate simultaneously. These unusual thoughts and facts reveal his uncanny knowledge and curiosity.
Based on the evidence above, I believe that the initial sounds used within the novel are present to lightly foreshadow and reveal various characteristics about the main character, Oskar. Do you think sound is significant in “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”? Why or why not? Also, why do you feel that Oskar begins narrating the novel with various sounds from lovely harmonies to racing heartbeats? What do you believe these sounds signify?
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I believe that sound is extremely important within the novel, not only to Oskar but to other characters as well. As we see later in the novel, Oskar's grandfather loses his voice and as a result he claps, writes and can only listen to what others say. This results in the reader thinking about the noises he hears and how he responds trying to use other noises and writing. Also, his wife, loses her eye sight. As a result,she can only listen to and take people in through sounds because she can no longer see them. I believe the novel began with many different sounds in order for the reader to think about how many different things may be related in the end. Because he uses many different sounds which, as Dani explained,eventually come together, it means too that his random actions throughout the novelwill also eventually come together.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I did not notice it so much until Dani pointed it out, but sound does hold a major role in this novel. However, sound plays a major role in everyday life as well. Describing a sound, especially one that a lot of people are familiar with, can add to the mental image that is formed when reading a book, which can be helpful.
ReplyDeleteWhen we first started to discuss the meaning of sound and fury in our class I didn't think of actual sound at all. I thought of something or someone being sound, secure, and reliable, like a rock. I thought of fury as being the people who aren't so stable. To me fury was the elements that can act without reason and change things in the blink of an eye. However, the more we read I realize that sound can be used in both the literal and figurative sense. A lot of the sounds Oskar described were sounds that we would think of as being reassuring and stable, such as heartbeats and a father's voice. For Oskar the fury was 9/11 and his father dying. I have noticed this connection of the literal and figurative sense of sound and fury in most of the other works we have read, and it is an interesting way to look at our reading.
I believe sound plays a very significant role in this novel. Oskar is so aware and in tune with all of his surroundings that it would not seem natural for him not to pay close attention to details such as the sounds around him. I believe sound even helps him cope with some misfortunes, such as the death of his father, in the novel. For example, although his father is dead, Oskar can still hear him, which sometimes helps to comfort him.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what many have said already, and to add on I must say that I think sound and also sight play a major role in this novel. We can assume this is on purpose just by looking at the title " Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close". Though throughout the novel we realize that the characters depend on sound, I find the title ironic because its not really loud. The family doesn't really comunicate well and as for Oskars grandparents one couldn't realy see and the other couldnt talk, so there wasnt really communication there. They were in the world but they wern't really living in it. I agree with Susie. Oskar sarts with the sounds to mirror his life. He has a lot of random incidents and questions that dont make sense now but in the end they will all come together.
ReplyDeleteSound is significant in "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" because the characters are abstract and very unique so without the element of sound I feel that the story would not flow as smoothly as it does or have nearly as much underlying themes or relevance.
ReplyDeleteOskar speaks with sound because it is an element that he can relate too and has knowledge of. There aren't many things that Oskar is unaware of at such a young age but I think sound is his tool of choice because it can be related to an array of topics across a spectrum of relatable categories. He is clever and he knows that he can manipulate sound to fit into any situation that he needs support in.
These sounds signify the knowledge and reliability of Oskar's intelligence. He knows what sounds to put in certain places to accent an occurance or set the atmosphere for a reaction that he himself would have. Sound create and molds perceptions and thoughts about the characters, plot, and setting throughout the novel.
Sound is obviosuly very important in the novel, hence the fact that it is included in the title. For Osckar, sound helps put everything into place, and helps with reasoning. It sparks memories, ideas, new inventions, ect. It is such an important facet to everyday life that many take advantage of. As Susie pointed out, the clapping of the hands of his grandfather show the union of two random events. Also, as others pointed out, it demonstrates his intelliegence, which is something that I would not have figured out.
ReplyDeleteI think this book is great for sound and imagery because oskar is a very complex and original individual. His father's death is the driving factor for his great expeditions. Every aspect of this book has sound within it. I think that sound plays a major role in this book, because there is alot of emotion in this book and sound brings emotion.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Sound is of course very important in this novel. That’s why the book is named "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close". The main role, Oscar, his fate is foreshadowed by the different sounds around him. As is mentioned at the beginning of this week’s blog, the teakettle has the ability to create different sounds. For example, reciting Shakespeare, reading in his father’s voice, and chanting The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine”. All the details somehow reveal the following story.
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