Introduction
Significant catastrophes always leave the scars in the souls of the generation-eyewitness. People receive physical and psychological traumas that may affect a generation or two after the event. Numerous ‘damaged’ voices of people who have suffered and survived the disastrous moments or their relatives shout in different ways about the pain caused by the terrible situation in their lives. Sometimes, the voice of a child sounds more distinctively and louder than hundreds of adults’ voices.
The terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, caused thousands of deaths and made much more people suffer in the pain of loss. The novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Foer provides the audience with the chance to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of such an approach to drawing attention to the traumatic stress that people experienced after the 9/11 events in New York and other places involved. Foer’s child narrator is an effective voice because children perceive traumatic events deeper than adults do and react to these events differently.
Background
The attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York on September 11, 2001, has changed the world forever. The scale of terror has not been so tremendous until that attack. It has catalyzed the War on Terror declared by the US President and made the world more polarized, politicized, and much more intimidated by the feeling of total unsafety. On September 11, 2001, at 8:46 a.m., the first hijacked airplane crashed into the World Trade Center North Tower, and at 9:03 a.m., the second airplane hit the South Tower. Both collapsed within the next few hours killing about 2,000 WTC workers and first responders in total (“September 11 Timeline” par. 24-28). The attack appeared to be the turning point of the American newest history, ruining thousands of destinies.
The novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Foer tells the story about the family that lost one of its members in this tragic catastrophe. Oskar is a 9-year old boy, and he suffers from depression, attacks of panic, and severe insomnia. He lost the father, and he has certain issues with his mother whom Oskar does not trust (Foer 5). The story is narrated on behalf of Oskar, and the audience finds out the details of the storyline through the grim and depressed wonderings of the boy searching for somebody with the last name Black.
The boy finds the key hidden in an envelope put into the vase he manages to smash. Oskar does not know what it opens, but this mysterious Black occupies his mind. He became obsessed with the idea to find this person and talk to him or her (Foer 15). The boy loved the father very much and wanted to find at least something that would remind him of his father, Thomas. The key appears to belong to some other family from whom Thomas Shell had bought the vase earlier.
The entire idea of visiting all Blacks in New York appears to be false since Oskar’s mother knew about this and had talked to these people before Oskar visited them (Foer 320). They were nice to Oskar because of this. It disappoints the boy tremendously. The audience observes the efforts of the young man to reconnect with his father somehow and realizes that all those efforts were meaningless.
Arguments for the Author’s Choice of Child Narrator
The narration by a child may seem inappropriate for the adult audience. However, it only adds value to the story. The thing is in the peculiarities of children’s perception of the traumatic events. Children do not have the experience in life that would protect them from the damage of their mental stability. It can make their world black and white and too sad to manage the depression. It happened to Oskar when he started to perceive the world without his father: “Nothing is beautiful and true” (Foer 43).
These are the words of the boy to his mother. The trauma is so deep that nothing makes Oskar happy, even the fact that his mother is well, and she loves him. The reader understands it better through the words of an innocent boy rather than from an adult. It is also much more persuasive to read such words of a 9-year-old rather than of an adult: “There are so many different ways to die, and I just need to know which was his” (Foer 257).
It sounds even somehow surrealistic – children should not operate such ideas, especially at the age of nine years. The same can be said about the following phrase of Oskar: “I don’t believe in God, but I believe that things are extremely complicated…” (Foer 324). However, the fact that these words come from a boy make them so persuasive and deeply touching. In the case of narrating by an adult, it would be the words of some man or woman in despair, which would not be that controversial and eye-catching. The controversy makes narration by Oskar such an appropriate choice of Foer.
Arguments against the Author’s Choice of Child Narrator
One might say that it is not appropriate to talk about such a tragedy using a child as the narrator. It may seem wrong to a certain extent because of the already mentioned discrepancy between the essence of the story and the form of its presentation. The narration by the boy in such a situation seems too surrealistic. Oskar is too logical, too smart, too persuasive, and too adult in his actions and ideas he operates. That is probably the only flaw of such a way of providing the story chosen by Foer. It is not weird to read such words of Thomas, his father: “…sometimes I can hear my bones straining under the weight of all of the lives I’m not living” (Foer 113).
The words of the grandmother appear to be appropriate the context of the story. According to Foyer, she says to Oskar: “You cannot protect yourself from sadness without protecting yourself from happiness” (180). However, it looks very unnatural when Oskar reflects about his mother: “…her looking over me was as complicated as anything ever could be. But it was also incredibly simple. In my only life, she was my mom, and I was her son” (Foer 324). The boy of his age cannot be that logical, smart, and even experienced.
Discussion
The controversy has two sides. These sides are the two interrelated and interdependent parts of the whole. On the one hand, logic and life experience may not allow the appropriate perception of the story about the depression of the 9-year-old boy who generates very mature and deep concepts about life, death, and love. On the other hand, it makes the story special. People experienced deep emotional and physical stress that would fade away after the substantial time only (Fivush, Edwards, and Mennuti-Washburn 1100).
In this light, they should be ready to read the story and understand it properly. The novel can be allegorically compared to the situation in the country after the 9/11 events. It has changed and became depressed first, suffering from the pain of loss. Years after, the country became more mature, more experienced, and less naïve. The same happens to Oskar. He had to grow up too soon. Foer was right in his choice.
It is the only possible way to present such a topic to the audience that has gone through such a tragedy. The author was right in his effort to establish a mental connection with the audience using such a method of narration. The novel has provided the opportunity to look at the problem of people who had survived the catastrophe but had been left one on one with their problems. Oskar’s behavior symbolizes loneliness and certain self-isolation that should be treated with compassion, patience, and love. Time is the only medicine in this case. Oskar realizes it eventually, so it is Foyer’s message to the audience.
Conclusion
Summing, Foer’s child narrator choice is correct because children perceive traumatic events deeper than adults do and react to these events differently than adults do. There are as benefits of such decision as well as drawbacks. Both sides of the controversy have strong arguments to use. The author has made an effort to present the issues the new country has as the psychological problems of a young boy. They are deep, depressing, and severe.
However, they still can be resolved. Oskar resolved his issues. It took several months to recover. Foer tries to show that it is necessary to be strong to go through the hard times. Another point Foer tries to make is that love and compassion can become the saviors of the nation. The terrorist attack on the WTC was one of the most significant tragedies in the history of the United States. It caused numerous deaths and psychological traumas. At the same time, it united the nation. People realized that it was important to support each other to go through the pain and suffering. That is the main idea of Foer’s choice of the boy as the narrator.
Works Cited
Fivush, Robyn, Valerie J. Edwards, and Jean Mennuti-Washburn. “Narratives of 9/11: Relations among Personal Involvement, Narrative Content and Memory of the Emotional Impact Over Time.” Applied Cognitive Psychology 17 (2003): 1099-1111. Print.
Foer, Jonathan Safran. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Wilmington: Mariner Books, 2006. Print.
September 11 Timeline: A Chronology of the Key Events that Shaped 9/11 2013. Web.