161,999,999 Locks in New York Will Hide My Unhappiness

…Double Happiness… “Not a character pronounced very often-almost exclusively used in written form” (www.orientaloutpost.com).
In the chapter “Happiness Happiness”, Noah Blumenthal writes, “In the interview with Tomoyasu…the interviewer kept asking about the generic facts of the bombing… like the mushroom cloud and the black rain, but Tomoyasu replied ‘I didn’t see the mushroom cloud, I was trying to find Masako”. Like Oskar, the interviewer is so focused on the facts that he cannot really connect to the emotional aspect of tragedy. For Oskar, he cannot fully realize and come to terms with the emotional effect of his Dad’s death, although it affects him every day. Through his speech and actions, especially after his presentation to the class, parallels are drawn between how he speaks after his class presentation of the atom bomb tragedy, and his manner of speaking, his intellectually driven approach, towards everyday life. After his class presentation, Oskar is so focused on the facts he cannot acknowledge the sadness, the reaction of the class. When the teacher says, “that seemed pretty complete to me” (189), Oskar ignores this, going on by saying, “Because the radiant heat traveled in straight lines from the explosion, scientists were able to determine the direction towards the hypocenter…” (189). Oskar here ignores the emotional side of the tragedy, focusing on the facts as a tool to distance himself from the event. Oskar uses this same technique when thinking about his father, ignoring the actual fact that he is gone, instead focusing on the numbers, the “161,999,999 locks in New York” (200), and “Lie #77” (196).
Throughout the novel, Oskar deals with his inability to express emotion, his inability to outwardly confront his mother about the bruises he gives himself, or vocalize his violent and angry feelings demonstrated though his imagined play. Through this chapter, relating the narrative of the loss of a loved one parallels the fact that Oskar has also lost a loved one, affecting his ability to express himself. Throughout the chapter, themes of expression where Oskar is left out of the joke, left out of the conversation convey his inability to communicate effectively. “Mr. Keegan got angry and said, ‘Jimmy!”…I could tell that Mr. Keegan was cracking up too” (190), and the encounter where Oskar’s language of English, and even French “Parlez-vous francais?” (195), leaves Oskar on the outside looking in. Through the chapter, Foer develops to what extent Oskar’s father has connected him to the rest of the world, and allowed him to connect all of his thoughts into words. When Foer writes the two speaking in Spanish were “cracking up together” (195), Oskar is merely an observer, and cannot communicate, because he does not know the language. Here the ‘language’ is not only diction and syntax, but is used as a symbol for the connection of two people.
After Oskar’s father is gone, Oskar finds it difficult to communicate his emotions. At his psychiatrist appointment, after the question, “Does this emotionaless of yours, does it affect your daily life?” (201), Oskar answers “yes” (195), but in a very round-a-bout way, taking about three sentences to answer a simple question. Before Oskar’s response is “Well, to answer your question, I don’t think that’s a real word you used. Emotinalness. But I understand what you were trying to say, and yes” (201). Through this example, Foer develops language’s variations of expression, from Oskar’s lengthy answer to a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question to the three short words, “Mother. Water. Mother” (187), uttered by the girl coming towards Tomoyasu. Through this comparison of language, Foer develops Oskar’s language’s inability to convey, to express true meaning.
For Oskar, his “yes” (195), and the journey to that simple syllable revealed his hesitancy and avoidance to connect to his feelings. In contrast, the young girl whose “skin was melting down her” (187), and her utterance of three short words, “Mother. Water. Mother” (187), convey more than her want for her mother and water; this phrase expresses her want and need for comfort, safety, and protection. Through this example, Foer juxtaposes the expressive nature of language, and how, by using such a large quantity of objective, of written factual language, Oskar avoids the personal emotion, the personal expression of his own language. Corresponding with this theme of non-expressional language is Foer’s title of the chapter, “Happiness Happiness”, an allusion to the Japanese symbol of double happiness, though this symbol is rarely spoken. Like Oskar’s response to his tragedy, his response to the word “happiness” (202) asked by his psychiatrist leaves Oskar at loss for words, moving Oskar to say, “I’m feeling uncomfortable” (202). Oskar’s inability to respond to the word “Happiness” (202) reveals how his language cannot expresses his feelings, and how Oskar reveals the tragic death of his father forces him to rarely experience happiness.