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¨I later read that the first bombing lasted less than half an hour, but it felt like days and weeks, like the world was going to end"(Foer 210). The bombing of Dresden was what both Thomas Schell Sr. and Grandmother lost their families/loved ones to. This quote was taken from one of the letters written to Thomas Jr, by Thomas Sr. Which was heavily annotated for the ¨mistakes¨ of Thomas Seniors writing, one of which being that Anna was pregnant with Grandfather´s baby.
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¨I grabbed the doorknob and it took the skin off my hand, I saw the muscles of my palm, red and pulsing, why did I grab it with my other hand?¨ (Foer 211) Throughout the book, we see re-accruing images of doorknobs. To me this symbolized the guilt of Thomas Sr. He burns his hand on the doorknob to his house in Dresden when he turns his back on his family to pursue Anna. Even in his attempt to insure that Anna stays safe, he is unable to save either his family or Anna.
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¨She flipped forward and pointed at, ´Please marry me.´ I flipped back and pointed at, ´I´m not sure, but it´s late.´ She flipped forward and pointed at, ´Please marry me.´ (Foer 33) Neither of them are able to break free from their past when they end up meeting and getting married shortly after. Their marriage becomes one built on rules, for both struggles to love each other well still carrying the weight of the past on their shoulders.
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¨I wrote I am pregnant.
I handed it to him. He read it.
He took the pen and wrote, How could that have happened?
I wrote, I made it happen.¨ (Foer 177) Grandma´s pregnancy becomes the breaking point in their relationship. Thomas, who had asked for her to never conceive, his reasoning being, because he had already lost a baby (which is revealed in the next chapter). Thomas flees back to Dresden (home) shortly after, and Grandma is left to raise the baby by herself. -
¨He wrote, I want to go home.
What is home to you?
Home is the place with the most rules.
I understood him.¨ (Foer 185) Thomas realizes how caught up with the past he is when Grandma gets pregnant. He is scared, and he is still in love with Anna, so he flees. Leaving for Dresden in search of home. -
The book centers around coping, and the ability to continue. Oskar battles coping with his dad´s death and spends much of the book going on a journey that he believes will somehow bring him closer to his dad. And arguably in ways, it does (just not in the way he was intending). It brings him closer to healing, to resigning to the fact that his father is dead. A feat he would not be able to do without the help of the people he meets throughout his journey.
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¨ I went to the phone to check the messages, and listened to them one after another.¨ (Foer 68) ¨I thought about rushing downtown to see if I could somehow rescue him myself. And then the phone rang. I looked at my watch. It was 10:26:47.¨ (Foer 68) This is the first time Oskar lies, a lie he tells to protect his mother. Although he later finds out she already knew. But prior to knowing that this lie was a heavy burden on Oskar, who spent his time inventing how he could have saved his dad.
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¨I couldn't explain it: a fat and short key, in a little envelope, in a blue vase, on the highest shelf in his closet.¨ (Foer 37) This is the start of Oskar´s journey. And although this key doesn't directly bring him the answers he seeks it does bring another man, William, his closure. And it helps Oskar with his own closure with his dad´s death. I would even say the key symbolizes something similar for Oskar, to what the door symbolizes to the grandpa.
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¨I asked, ´Did you know Thomas Schell?´ ´Excuse me?´ ´Did you know Thomas Schell?´ She thought. I wondered why she had to think. ´No.´ ¨ (Foer 91) This is the first person Oskar visited as a part of his journey. What I find most interesting about this quote is that we can see the doubt in Oskar when he questions why Abby stopped to think.
This couples with the voicemail she later leaves in which she tells Oskar that she did not in fact tell the truth about everything. -
¨Hi, this is a message for Oskar Schell. Oskar, this is Abby Black. You were just over at my apartment asking about the key. I wasn't completely honest with you, and I think I might be able to help. Please give-¨ (Foer 288) This voicemail symbolizes the start of the closure of Oskar´s Journey. Oskar meets with Abby shortly after hearing this voicemail and finds out that the key is important to William, Abby's ex-husband. With the key Oskar is able to help William overcome his own dad´s death.
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¨´What were you trying to say?´ He pointed at, ´I´m sorry.´¨ (Foer 258) This quote illustrates the overcoming of a communication barrier between the two of them. And despite Grandpa never being prevalent to Oskar previously, and Oskar not realizing the renter is his grandpa they are both able to help each other heal from the past by digging up Thomas Junior´s grave.
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¨I wish I had known that I wasn´t going to see Mr. Black again when we shook hands that afternoon. I wouldn't have let go.¨ (Foer 286) A possible interpretation of this is that Mr. Black died, but that´s not how I see it. I think what Mr. Black's departure symbolizes is that Oskar helped him enough that he was able to get back into the world. And through Oskars journey, he was able to meet someone, Julia, and move in together.
To me, this was an example of how Oskar helped others heal. -
¨Here is the point of everything I have been trying to tell you, Oskar. It´s always necessary¨ (Foer 314) To me, this was grandma trying to tell Oskar that it is always necessary to tell people you love them, for one day you may lose them. This is also the last line of grandma´s last letter to Oskar and I see that as grandma´s healing from her past. Throughout the book, she writes in all these letters her regrets, and not telling people she loved them was her biggest one, her last regret.
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¨I ´d had the idea to dig up Dadś coffin the night after I met the renter. I was lying in bed and I had the revelation, like a simple solution to an impossible problem¨ (Foer 321). I interpreted the ¨simple solution¨ as Oskars way of getting closure for the ¨impossible problem¨, his dad´s death. Digging up Thomas Junior's grave and filling it with letters that Thomas Sr. wrote to him helps with Grandpa´s closure as well. It helps heal the regret of not being present in Thomas´s life.
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¨She said, ´Dad would have been very proud of you.´¨ (Foer 323) This is the final conversation of the story, and to me, this symbolized a reconnection between Oskar and his mom. And a realization that both are still healing from the loss of Thomas Jr. but have each other throughout the process. Which is something I felt that Oskar forgot through the story, and as a result was often upset at his mom for being happy.