In the sections we read this week, we’re finally given some answers to fill in the story’s blanks, especially in regards to Oskar’s grandfather. But there is one revelation that I would have skipped over if it hadn’t been there in red ink staring me in the face. The section “Why I’m Not Where You Are 4/12/78” is marked up with red circles. Honestly at first I thought some hoodlum had decided to be stupid with a pen, but then I realized that the circles were a part of the book. Then I noticed how annoying it was to read with the red circles, and thought about how Oskar’s dad used to circle mistakes in the newspaper with red pen. It wasn’t until later that the obvious struck me. Thomas Schell must have read the letter.
Now I’m not going to hypothesize on what effect, if any, that has on the story, but it made me wonder at the similarity between Thomas and his father. They both left their sons and wives, went away one day and never returned, and left behind messages received by their children. It’s not much to go on, but just that there are similarities I feel is somehow important. I might be stretching things too far with this, but I see a connection between Thomas and his father in what they are (were?) thinking on the day they left. Obviously Oskar’s father can’t have put all his feelings about his life and how he felt about leaving Oskar on the answering machine. But the elder Thomas can leave his feelings and reasons behind in the form of his letters. I wonder, if Oskar could receive letters from his father, if they wouldn’t read something like the ones we’re seeing.
On a completely different topic but still with a focus on the parallels between the generations, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between the bombing of Dresden and 9/11. We’re given pages of description of the bombing, from the grandfather’s letter, and there’s a definite connection with the description of the destruction of the twin towers that we read earlier in the book. Plus the two and a half pages of the description of the bombing of Hiroshima at the beginning of “Happiness, Happiness” as used in one of Oskar’s class presentations. Now we get a connection between Oskar and his grandfather. They both survived the attacks, but lost someone they cared deeply for, and have been changed because of it, in the way they act, think, feel, and interact with others. Plus they’re both left with people who occupy a far less important place in their lives than the one they lost – Oskar has his mother and his grandfather has his grandmother. I wish I could say more about how this all works together, and I know it does, but as of right now the bigger picture is still out of my grasp.
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When I first read the chapter “Why I’m Not Where You Are 4/12/78,” I thought the red markings were supposed to mean something but I never thought about the markings being made by Oskar’s father. When I read that comment in this blog, I actually verbalized, “OH!” The circles around certain words like, ‘my child,’ ‘I love you, Your Father,’ was heartbreaking because Thomas circled it to draw attention to it as if it was something to remember. Thomas also circles mistakes in grammar and punctuation which I found interesting because he only circles sentimental phrases or mistakes which show a similarity between the two. There were a few times when a red circle was around an empty space in between words, which I thought could either mean there was a missing punctuation mark or he was paying very close attention to every detail in the letter that even the empty spaces meant something to him.I also thought it was interesting that Thomas, the grandfather, left his wife and son and Thomas, Oskar’s father, did the same, only under different circumstances. The grandfather willingly left, but Oskar’s father was killed. There is an obvious similarity in the absence of a father, but the reasons were different. I feel for Oskar because his father was killed and taken from him, but I do not like his grandfather because he abandoned his wife and child because of his own selfish issues.
ReplyDeleteI also thought it interesting that in the middle of this chapter there was a picture of a door knob. I thought that this showed another similarity between Oskar and his grandfather. Oskar is on the search for a door or a lock that his father’s key will unlock. He is searching for answers much like his grandfather was searching after the bombing of Dresden.
I am completely amazed by (and totally agree with) this attention to detail. I figured the red circling must have been done by Oskar’s dad, but I never made the connection between the final messages between father and son (I feel like such a dimwit for not picking up on that!). That said, I would like to venture a few guesses as to why this particular letter might be so important to this novel. We have these final connections between father and son, but in two different ways. We’ve discussed in class the pros and cons of sending letters – how one can plan the words and how the distance relieves the pressure of the recipient’s response – and I think it’s important to note that this lengthy letter is the only way that Oskar’s grandfather could even attempt to express his emotions to his son (as he could no longer try to articulate them through speech). However, Oskar’s final messages from his father exposes the failures of the letter as a means of outreach, especially for a message of such importance. There is something about the tone of the human voice which can express far more meaning in far fewer words than the lengthiest of letters. Oskar’s father didn’t have time to plan out his final words; he didn’t have the time to think to say “I love you, Oskar;” but perhaps his love for his son comes through in his voice, if Oskar could learn to listen to that instead of the words themselves. I think it’s interesting that, in the last words Oskar spoke to him (after the bedtime story about the “sixth borough), all he said was “Nothing,” but he was almost certainly about to say “I love you, Dad,” and I think his father probably knew that was what Oskar was really saying.
ReplyDeleteI am also very curious as to how this letter fits into this book. Does Oskar know about it? Did his father mean for him to read it? If so, that could give even greater significance to the red circles. We already know that Oskar’s father has left him clues via this method before, and I wonder if this is another example of that. But it’s puzzling: in a few chapters (I know this is getting ahead of myself, but we’re supposed to have this read for Tuesday, so I hope it’s ok), we find out from Oskar’s grandma that all she ever got from the grandfather were empty envelopes, so how did this letter come to be in Oskar’s father’s hands for him to mark it up? We also find out that this was written the day that Oskar’s father died. I have not yet finished the book, but is it possible that somehow this letter got to Oskar’s father before he died, and it records his last words to his son? It is rather surreal, and I know I’m probably wrong with this whole idea, but I think it’s intriguing, especially when you consider the phrases that are circled. Apparently Oskar’s father felt that such phrases as “you can’t love anything more than something you miss,” “it was the silence of my life,” and “help that was impossible to give” were important enough to merit pointing out to someone else (presumably Oskar). It is certainly possible that he just circled them because he found them interesting and poignant, but I think it’s also likely that he meant for Oskar to see them. They are all very meaningful phrases, as though he wanted Oskar to know that he was thinking of him, to tell him what he was going through, and that he understood how confused and helpless Oskar must feel after his death. I think it’s rather significant that, at the end of the letter, the words “I know I won’t be able to send…no matter how hard I try…how much I want to” are circled, as though he is trying to tell Oskar that he knows he will never be able to give this to Oskar (perhaps it will never reach him), but he wants him to know that, in his final moments, he wants to tell his son, “I love you.”
The relationship between little Oskar and his father is diametrically opposed to the relationship between Thomas and his own father. Allow me to explain. Oskar is left with very important and unanswered questions - loose ends - in terms of his father’s death.
ReplyDeleteWe get many clues to their relationship throughout the book. Oskar’s curiousity is fed by his father’s multifarious and seemingly never-ending knowledge of the world, and there are many instances that paint their bond and love for one another. Thomas always seems to have a reply to Oskar’s questioning, some kind of wise answer to unanswerable questions. The information that they share through the exchange of words is very important. However, the ultimate question is never answered -- Why did Oskar’s father have to die? -- and can never be answered. The void that follows Thomas’ death in Oskar is from an absence of information.
If we look at Thomas and his father, the relationship is completely reversed. Thomas was never brought up with a father who dedicated time to his son like he did with Oskar. In fact, his father abandoned his son to return to Germany because of his inability to “never let go.” (17) There was no physical presence of a father to Thomas. However, the ultimate question to why he left is there in the form of letters. The unanswered questions are answered to Thomas, as Jiselle points out in her blog. His red ink is all over the pages. Simon looses his ability to communicate while in America. His words abandon him but find his son, Thomas, later in the form of writing. Thomas has an overabundance of words to communicate to Oskar. However, they create a void after his death, unable to answer Oskar’s questions.