Wednesday, April 22, 2009
"Happiness, Happiness" (Kelly Aiken)
The chapter “Happiness, Happiness” I believe really shows Oskar’s character, and how he is mature and wise beyond his eleven years. For his class presentation, I found it interesting that Oskar chose one that involved the Hiroshima bombings. The interview gave such a horrific and terrifying description of what happened to the people and this mother who lost her daughter. The class reaction had girls crying, and boys pretending to barf. I doubt this would be something a child at Oskar’s age would normally do a presentation on, because it is horrific. But what Oskar has been through, and seen and experienced would allow him to stomach something of this sort, and allow him to think of it from a scientific point of view (instead of talking about the emotional aspect, he talks about how the “radiant heat traveled” [p.189]). This bombing would connect to all the men in the Schell family; in the next chapter, the grandfather finally describes the day of the bombings in Dresden and Oskar’s father was in one of the towers. It’s interesting to then look at how each dealt with these situations, even if Oskar wasn’t involved in the Hiroshima bombings. Thomas Sr. spent the rest of his life regretting and writing letters, not able to fully handle what happened in Dresden. In Thomas Jr.’s messages, he always seems rather calm trying to explain what is happening and trying to talk to somebody. For Oskar to give this presentation, he does not even blink at the idea of people being killed from the bombings. This translates to how Oskar deals with the tragedy and his emotions in general. Instead of facing something, he would give himself a bruise and it wouldn’t even phase him. When he talks with Dr. Fein, he only gives brief answers to how he is feeling. We’ve also seen earlier in the scene during Hamlet that Oskar wanted to bash the other boy’s skull in til it bled to make himself feel better, but instead didn’t do anything. This happens again when Dr. Fein asks Oskar if “any good can come from [his] father’s death” (203). Oskar wanted to respond, “No! Of course not, you fucking asshole!” which would show his true feelings, and let him open up his emotions (203). Instead Oskar shrugs his shoulders. It makes me wonder about Oskar and if he’ll ever be able to let his emotions go and deal with them openly instead of burying them in bruises and in his subconscious.
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Oskar's Hiroshima presentation was something that stood out to me, as well, as horrific. Oskar is arguably a very intelligent child for his age, so in that sense a topic that might be over his peer's head is not at all unlikely. This particular topic is appropriate because we have learned that Oskar is on a quest for answers about the meaning of life. He is a self-proclaimed atheist, and we have also seen several scenes, between his letters to the author of "A Brief History of Time" and conversations with his father, about one person's impact on the world. In particular in the Hiroshima presentation, he talked about a mother and a daughter who had been separated. The mother did not stop searching for her daughter until she found her. This seems significant because Oskar has a lot of questions about the day his father died. He wants to know if the answering machine messages are for him. He wants to know what he was thinking about that day, why he didn't say "I love you." Part of Oskar is angry at his dad for leaving him, for dying. Oskar and his mother had their own search, waiting to hear during these tragedies, similar in many ways to the chaos in Hiroshima, what was going on and if their loved one would make it. Oskar is also on his own relentless journey, a mission to find the lock for his key. I think he related to the tragedy of this personal mother/daughter story, and I think he wants to know if his father cared for him the way the mother cared for her daughter. In light of the tragedy, Oskar is drawn to tragedy and looks at them in a detached way, trying in his very practical, reasoning mind to understand why something like Hiroshima or 9/11 could happen, and for that matter, why human life happens and matters.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Kelly's post, I also find it interesting to see the connection between the three separate bombings or attacks, Hiroshima, Dresden, and the World Trade Center, and the three males in the Schell family. All three males, the grandfather, Oskar's father, and Oskar himself, were affected or influenced by these three horrific actions and, because of them, I feel as if they are the main theme of the novel. The feeling of loss, experienced by the main characters involved in the bombings or attacks, is a universal feeling throughout mankind. Thus, concentrating a novel on this shared human emotion would make sense yet the true reason for the connection between the three males is still confusing to me. The communication or, in some cases, lack thereof, connects the three males in the story. The grandfather left behind the letters to express his feelings of loss after dealing with the bombing of Dresden and, after this last reading, we find out that Oskar's father might have read the letters himself. The communication between Oskar's father and the rest of the world is the series of clues he left behind in the form of the key with the name Black. Three generations of the Schell family have dealt with pain and loss because of bombings or attacks and, as I stated earlier, this is due to the fact that loss is a universal human emotion. The way the three males deal with these emotions also strikes up another comparison between them. All three of them use non-confrontational ways of communication or healing to deal with the pain of the loss they have suffered. Oskar's grandfather's letters are indirect yet they ease his sense of guilt and allow him to move on with his life. Oskar's father, though indirectly as he would have not known that he was going to die, left behind the puzzling game of clues to lead Oskar on a wild goose chase. Oskar deals with his loss by burying it deep within and, as Kelly pointed out, rarely speaks in depth about it even to his therapist. While the Schell men may have unorthodox ways of dealing with pain and loss, their manners make them similar in that they don't deal with the emotions directly. As smart as he is, I find it extremely troubling that Oskar deals with his emotions by keeping them to himself because one day they will come back to haunt him yet this has yet to happen.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Kelly's post, I too thought it was really interesting that Oskar did a presentation on Hiroshima and his grandfather experienced the bombings in Dresden. It is an interesting and terrifying look into tragic events that we cannot control and are forced into. Each of these events also relates to how Oskar was pushing into experiencing the tragic event of his father's death. They are all situations that had lasting effects on many people for many years.
ReplyDeleteOskar's ways of coping with this tragic event are interesting and disturbing; a normal kid his age would never even dream of the things he is doing in this story. It is painful to see how Oskar is dealing with his father's death in such an odd way, the reader is really made to feel sympathetic for him and really reach out and connect with his. He is such an interesting and likable character, you just want him to feel better and be happy. Hopefully things will eventually for out for Oskar, but until then we have to watch from a distance and hope he recovers.
The fact that Oskar chooses to discuss the Hiroshima bombings once again shows his maturity and intelligence in comparison to other people his age. This comparison is shown through the student’s reactions to his behavior and specifically his presentation. A specific example is when Jimmy Snyder said, “You are so weird.” Oskar is not like other children. Another example is when he goes to see Dr. Fein. When Dr. Fein asks if he wants to throw a ball around instead of talking, he responds, “Sports aren’t fascinating” (200). Oskar seems to skip the stage of innocence and enter a life of based upon negativity. I agree completely with that Oskar’s desire to research such horrific events has to do with the past terrifying experiences he has dealt with in the past, losing his dad on 9/11. The Hiroshima bombings link directly to the Bombings in Dresden. I found it interesting that you talk about how the grandfather turned to writing letters when he was unable to speak. I feel as though letters represent something deeper in the novel that will appear later as the grandma uses them to express her emotions that she cannot say out loud. The letters are about communication and the struggle of communicating after and dealing with a tragedy. Oskar understands that his life isn’t a good one and he wants to make it better. “It was true, I didn’t want to make it bad. I wanted to take the sad song and make it better. It’s just that I didn’t know how” (207). The idea of “I didn’t know how” relates back to the grandpa and the grandma once again. All of the characters face difficulty in finding happiness and dealing with tragedy. The grandma writes letters that her grandson never sees, but all is information she wants him to know. The grandpa wrote letters about his regret and explains how pain led to his silence. Last, we see that Oskar is struggling to move on in a positive way. When Dr. Fein asks Oskar if any good could come from his death he immediately thinks to himself, “No! Of Course not, you fucking asshole!” (203). As we continue to read I hope that there is closure to each character and their individual story.
ReplyDeleteI found the title of this chapter, "Happiness, Happiness" to be ironic since Oskar discusses nuclear war and the gruesome images of the Hiroshima bombing. In my opinion, I think this chapter goes a great deal into Oskar's mind, and helps the reader to understand his psychological problems that he has to overcome. Before reading Kelly's post, and following comments, I didn't even connect the three different bombings discussed-let alone the relation between the bombings and the Schell men. It is true that all these men have seen tragedy that can be caused by modern technology and scientific exploration, and I believe that Oskar is so interested in these things for that specific purpose. The more scientific research and exploration that Oskar indulges in, he gets a better grasp on the death of his father. Oskar reads about and idolizes obscure individuals and spends his time gaining knowledge, inventing new things. It seems to me that the more knowledge he absorbs, the more he will not think about his father’s death, which should allow him to find happiness, which he is desperately searching for through his quest to find the meaning behind the key.
ReplyDeleteWhile playing the word association game, Oskar’s therapist asks him, “Do you think any good can come from your father’s death?” After this question, Oskar is clearly upset, though he contains his emotions on the inside. This word association exercise seems to push Oskar’s therapist over the limit, telling his mother he needs to be hospitalized. When Oskar’s mother goes in to talk to the therapist, Oskar only hears a few words of every sentence. However, though there are missing words, I found it easy to figure out what was being said. The therapist has given up hope on Oskar, since he does not discuss his father’s death, and seems fragile when the topic is addressed.