Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

    Directions: For this mini essay Please answer the study question I have provided and after you complete this please chose one Motif from below to write about. Please make sure to focus on the

    postmodern aspects of the novel in this mini essay.

    Study Question:
    Some would say that Oskar exhibits symptoms of Autism or Asperger’s Syndrome.  If you are familiar with this spectrum disorder, say what characteristics you would associate with Oskar’s

    behavior and thinking.  Then speculate as to what an autistic character (especially as a narrator) adds to the vision of this novel and its larger themes.

    Put another way, how might an autistic

    character’s perspective be considered a Postmodern view of reality? (Or, how might aspects of his behavior reflect Postmodern elements?)  Be as specific as you can.  Draw on your theoretical

    and introductory readings.

    Following are some important elements in the novel, including some key motifs, refrains, and issues.  (A motif is a recurrent element in a text.  It may occur in multiple forms.  It may be an

    indirect or figurative way of conveying something complex and elusive.) You should think deeply about each one, noting when they are introduced, when and why they reappear, how they

    morph, and how they are (re)contextualized.  Think of each one as a placeholder for certain themes and ideas that the novel is preoccupied with.  What do they convey, both literally and

    figuratively, directly and indirectly? Why are they there?  Why are they emphasized?  What is Foer trying to say? What is postmodern about his sensibility or perspective?

    You may be able to identify additional motifs on your own that carry similar weight.  Consider how some motifs with specific, contextual meanings suggested in a particular passage may also

    suggest larger ideas or themes developed throughout  the novel if viewed in a larger context.

    Dresden, Hiroshima, 9/ll
    Graphics
    Parables
    Ways to undo, reverse, retell, redeem, or reframe a narrative of death and loss
    Facts vs. inventions, hypotheses, fictions
    Bruises, burns, scars
    Black and white
    Nothing/something
    Literary allusions, refrains, intertexts
    Hamlet, Yorick, Shakespeare
    Writing
    Letters, codes, texts, numbers, answering machine messages, and more (especially delayed or abortive messages)
    Muteness, silence, white space
    Deconstruction and reconstruction: buildings, families, father/son bonds, more
    Quests and totems
    Locks and keys, keyholes, doors, doorknobs
    Parallels and correspondences and patterns: why are they significant?
    Beatles’ songs
    “What if…?,”  What about…?”
    Questions
    Falling and rising
    Birds
    The Sixth Borough
    Art, sculpture, jewelry
    Autism
    Guilt
    Inventions
    Stephen Hawking
    EmpireStateBuilding, viewing machines, elevators, etc.
    Unfinished things
    Maybe
    Fire, St.Elmo’s Fire, etc.
    Displacement, substitution
    Absence/presence

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