Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 5

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

What do these short films have in common?

Jot down what you know about 9/11 and the bombings of Dresden.

There are 3 settings in this story: write them down.

ELIC Setting:

1. New York City 2003

2. The Sixth Borough 

3. Dresden, Germany, 1945

What is the 6th borough and what happened to it?

Why is the setting Dresden, Germany, 1945 important to the story?

ELIC 

The structure of the novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is unusual from the beginning, with the mixing of different narrators and syntax styles, but Jonathan Safran Foer also regularly interrupts the story by adding different pages which contain:

1) Photos (e.g. p. 53 photo with keys)

2) a single phrase (e.g. p. 20, "And I wouldn't say no to something sweet").

3) or are Blank  (e.g. p 121, 122 & 123)

The main character's name, the one who was introduced to us, is Oskar Schell.
What do we know about him after the first few pages?

Who is or who are the narrator(s) of this story?

ELIC: Narrator(s)

The story is told by Oscar, occassionally interrupted by the letters of grandmother and grandfather, who tell the story of Dresden and the bombing in 1945.

ELIC: Characters

Oskar Schell

Grandma and Grandpa (Thomas Schell Sr. aka The Renter)

Mom and Dad (Thomas Schell Jr.)

Mr A.R. Black

Abby and William Black

and many minor characters mostly called Black

Oskar Schell

* Nine-year old Protagonist and central narrator;

* Coping with the tragic death of his father Thomas Schell jr.

* suffers from neuroses and phobias, bruises himself when depressed;

* inspires many during his quest;

* learns to deal with his grief.

What happens in this short piece of film?

What could be a possible theme in this short piece of film?

Definition of a Theme

The theme in a piece of fiction is its controlling idea or its central insight. It is the author's underlying meaning or main idea that he is trying to convey. The theme may be the author's thoughts about a topic or view of human nature. The title of the story may point to what the writer is trying to say and he may use various figures of speech to emphasize the theme, such as: symbol, allusion, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, or irony.   

How is the theme
LOVE portrayed in Oscar?

How is the theme Love present in Grandpa and Grandma?

The theme Death is important in the story as well. Jot down who suffers (4x) from this theme and why.

Who suffers from Trauma and survivor's guilt in ELIC?

1. mother and Oskar
2. grandfather and grandmother
3. mother, Oskar, grandfather and grandmother
4. nobody

What are the two main themes in this story?

Which characters suffer from grief?

1. Mother, Oskar and Grandpa
2. Mother, Oskar and Grandma
3. Oskar, Grandma and Grandpa
4. Oskar, Mother, Grandma and Grandpa

Themes

* Mortality and the purpose of life;

* National and personal tragedy;

* Grief and how to cope with it;

* Love and family;

* Isolation, Communication & Language;

* Puzzles and cleverness;

Write down two symbols in this novel.

Symbols Elic

* Keys and Doorknobs;

* Telephones and answering machines;

* Letters, Notes and Notebooks;

* Science, Mathematics and Inventions;

* the Empty Coffin;

* Heavy Boots;

* Grandpa's hands;

* The name Black;

* The sixth Borough;