Extremely Ugly and Incredibly Beautiful

After seeing the movie Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, I knew I had to read the book. It was unlike any other book I had ever read. It was witty and heart-breaking at the same time. It told the story of Oscar Schell, a young boy living in Manhattan, who couldn't forget his father's death on 9/11 and was dealing with asperger's syndrome. He was very complicated person and passionate. Oscar was unlike any character I'd ever read about. Jonathan Safran Foer, the author, created an unforgettable main character who seemed both innocent and so wise beyond his years. Foer has written a beautiful book that changed my perspective about life itself.

Firstly, one of my favorite lines in the book was brilliant, yet saddening: "Everything that's born has to die, which means our lives are like skyscrapers. The smoke rises at different speeds, but they're all on fire, and we're all trapped," (pg. 245). It is clear that Oscar was using 9/11 to symbolize his thoughts about life. Skyscrapers are tall, but eventually stop somewhere. They don't carry on forever, just like life. It's hard for me, at least, to imagine looking at life like this. Being born into the world seems like a blessing to me. Life is wonderful, with surprises waiting just around the corner. If everything that's born is meant to die, is there any point in living? Does being born mean waiting to die? I guess it all depends on how you look at life.

Secondly, another line that caught my attention was written by Oscar's grandfather, Thomas. Although I admired his character in some ways, this line made it clear that he had given up on life. "Why didn't I learn to treat everything like it was the last time? My greatest regret is how much I believed in the future," (pg. 281). Regrets. Regrets. Regrets. Why did he regret believing in the future? Was it because the love of his life died carrying his baby, which he'd never meet. Was it because he felt he could never be happy again? Or maybe it was because he was scared to hold onto his hopes and dreams in case they were crushed and left to wither away. The future is bright, but dangerous. It can make or break people. But there's no hurt in hoping for the best. Thomas tried to avoid the future. When his wife, the second love of his life, told him she was pregnant, he left her. He couldn't bear to see his child grow up and feel attached to him. What if something happened to his son? He refused to love anything. He believed love was dangerous.

Thirdly, Oscar was a very creative child and fond of inventing things. Most of his inventions spoke beyond their uses.


"What if the water that came out of the shower was treated with a chemical that responded to a combination of things, like your heart-beat, and your body temperature, and your brain waves, so that your skin changed color according to your mood? ...Everyone could know what everyone else felt, and we could be more careful with each other... Another reason it would be a good invention is that there are so many times when you know you're feeling a lot of something, but you don't know what the something is," (pg. 163). 


Sometimes, people's emotions cause them to act differently or say things they don't really mean. If people knew how other people were feeling, they would know not to take things too personally. But more importantly, this invention would help people figure out what they were feeling if they couldn't figure it out. Oscar was confused. He didn't know how to feel. He felt depressed because his father, who was the greatest person in the world (in his eyes), was dead and would never come back. He was angry because terrorists, who didn't know or care about his dad, killed him for no reason. He was scared because he felt like he was drifting farther and farther away from his dad. He felt frustrated, the kind where you want to rip out your hair, because no one understood him. So maybe if someone created his invention, someone would understand how he felt and try to help him. Most of all, Oscar felt lonely.

Fourthly, Oscar presented a very complicated question that you wouldn't expect eleven-year-olds to wonder about. "On the other hand, maybe I would burn, because then I'd at least have a chance to somehow escape, and even if I couldn't, feeling pain is still better than not feeling, isn't it?" (pg. 245). Is feeling pain better than not feeling? Pain is not pleasant. Pain means suffering, and suffering is worse than death. But maybe Oscar didn't really want to burn. Maybe he just wanted to feel something to know that he still existed and was a living, breathing human. His father's death left him feeling numb and lifeless. Feeling anything, even if it was pain, was better than nothing. I can understand that.

It seems as if Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close includes all aspects of life, beautiful and ugly. This book is beautiful and ugly. It's beauty shines through the dialogue and brilliant little quips that make the book just a little bit better. It seems as if every sentence is worth unpacking or looking at for those extra thirty seconds. It's ugly because it's truthful. The truth is ugly and it hurts. But the truth is always there. What's the point in avoiding it?