The cliché saying, “Youth is wasted on the young” may apply to many people but not to all. Oskar Schell, a nine-year-old fictional character, can attest to that. In Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2005), he implies that youth is defined by a person’s intellectuality, relationships, and experiences. Foer first uses tone to present Oskar’s deep curiosity and intellectuality. An eager and interested tone displays Oskar’s curiosity: “…I showed her the envelope, and explained how I had found the key, and how I was trying to find the lock it opened, and how maybe black meant something. I wanted to know what she could tell me about black…” (Foer, 44). In the book, Oskar is really determined to find out what door …show more content…
An example of this would be when Abe Black, one of the first Blacks Oskar meets, rides a taxi with him to Manhattan: “I told him, ‘I don’t get in cars with strangers.’… While we were in the car I told him all about how I was going to meet everyone in New York with the last name Black,” (Foer, 149). Oskar’s determination to find an answer regarding the key allows him to establish relationships with people he did not know the existence of before. Despite the fact that Oskar had just met Abe Black, he was still open to him about his mission and the story regarding his father. This act shows a youth’s itch to tell stories to other people that will then blossom into a connection between the youth and the other person he or she is interacting with. The anecdotes also provide as a proof that every relationship has a lesson: “We sat around for a while and he told me more about his amazing life… It was getting hard to keep all the things I didn’t know inside me” (Foer, 154). As intellectual as Oskar may seem, it is important to remember that he is still a nine-year-old child with many more things to learn in life. The relationships he was able to create and develop allow him to gain further knowledge about life in general. Oskar learns and realizes that the world is much bigger than he thought, thus, showing his innocence as a
Adulthood, as a child, was always portrayed as a time of freedom. The short sighted minds of children, as I once also had, only wanted to get away from the parent’s all-seeing eyes. I never thought a job too bad, what my mom did, my dad did, it didn’t seem too bad, but how wrong I was. I thought I could
A hero can be anyone, short or tall, big or small, and not necessarily empowered with super abilities. Heroes can be someone to look up to for their acts, and personalities, in the case of Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel Extremely Loud and Incredible Close Oskar Schell is the unlikely hero. He exemplifies traits associated with the common hero like courage, as he enters into scenarios that under normal circumstances he would never dare confront. While also being slightly untraditional in the sense that he is only nine years old and suffering from depression as result of the loss of his father, and other ailments. Throughout Oskar’s journey he becomes molded into a stronger person as he comes to closure near the end of the novel thanks to those he encounters along his path.
As the story progresses, he notices the interactions between the girls, and he even determines the hierarchy of the small dynamic. He observes their actions and how they affect the patrons of the business. Rather, how the other people view the girl's actions. His thought process is maturing and he starts to see things as an adult might see them.
...en-year-old girl”. She has now changed mentally into “someone much older”. The loss of her beloved brother means “nothing [will] ever be the same again, for her, for her family, for her brother”. She is losing her “happy” character, and now has a “viole[nt]” personality, that “[is] new to her”. A child losing its family causes a loss of innocence.
In Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Oskar Schell can be seen confronting several different types of trials, some of these being man versus man conflicts, and others being man versus self. One of the major man vs. man trials Oskar faces throughout the course of the book is in the form of the noticeable and consistent bullying he takes because of his awkward personality and odd quirks. Kids like Jimmy Snyder can be seen exploiting Oskar’s social shortcomings verbally, and even being ready to turn towards physical bullying (Foer 189-192). As Oscar is not the knight in shining armor, he rarely stands up for himself, instead fantasizing about actions he would like to take and follows that up by saying, “that’s what I wanted to do. Instead I just shrugged my shoulders” (Foer 203). Throughout the course of the story, Oskar also faces many internal conflicts. The death of his father has left Oskar traumatized giving him fears of taking showers and getting into elevators…people with mustaches, smoke, knots, tall buildings, and turbans” (Foer 36). As Oskar continues on his quest, he eventually comes face to face with many of his fears, and is forced to confront and ultimately overcome them. Oskar’s final and arguably most daunting challenge is facing his own inner demons in regards to the death of his father. A year after his father’s passing, he has
Another interesting aspect the reader might recognize in these stories is the theme of acceptance and integration to something either known or unknown to them. Most of these stories deal with having to change who they are or what they would become like Nilsa, the boy, and others, they have all had to choose what they wanted for there life and accept the fact that if they did not take serious measures they would not be integrated into society prosperously.
Pollan’s article provides a solid base to the conversation, defining what to do in order to eat healthy. Holding this concept of eating healthy, Joe Pinsker in “Why So Many Rich Kids Come to Enjoy the Taste of Healthier Foods” enters into the conversation and questions the connection of difference in families’ income and how healthy children eat (129-132). He argues that how much families earn largely affect how healthy children eat — income is one of the most important factors preventing people from eating healthy (129-132). In his article, Pinsker utilizes a study done by Caitlin Daniel to illustrate that level of income does affect children’s diet (130). In Daniel’s research, among 75 Boston-area parents, those rich families value children’s healthy diet more than food wasted when children refused to accept those healthier but
There is a certain process that every human being on the planet has in common. Not everyone can say it is a pleasing experience, but nobody can deny that it happened to them. ‘Growing up’ happens to everyone one whether they like it or not. The transition between childhood innocence and adulthood is long and confusing, which often reveals questions that can never be answered. The novel Catcher in the Rye written by J.D. Salinger explores how the adult life has its complexities and can be very puzzling to teenagers starting that phase in their lives. The main character Holden Caulfield realizes the confusion of a teenager when faced with the challenges of adapting to an adult society. The catcher in the rye shows the inevitable loss of innocence
Growing up and becoming mature can be an intimidating experience; it is difficult to let go of one’s childhood and embrace the adult world. For some people, this transition from youthfulness to maturity can be much more difficult than for others. These people often try to hold on to their childhood as long as they can. Unfortunately, life is not so simple. One cannot spend their entire life running from the responsibilities and hardships of adulthood because they will eventually have to accept the fact that they have a role in society that they must fulfill as a responsible, mature individual. The novel “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger follows the endeavours of Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old teenage boy who faces a point in his life where he must make the transition from childhood to adulthood. In an attempt to retain his own childhood, he begins hoping to stop other young children from growing up and losing their innocence as well. As indicated by the title, “The Catcher in the Rye” is a book that explores a theme involving the preservation of innocence, especially of children. It is a story about a boy who is far too hesitant to grow up, and feels the need to ensure that no one else around him has to grow up either. His own fear of maturity and growing up is what leads to Holden’s desire to become a “catcher in the rye” so he can save innocent children from becoming part of the “phoniness” of the adult world.
In the chapter we can see that he has made descions that he does seem to regret. Leaving his wife and their unborn child has led him to living in regret. The quote relates to the meaning of the book as a whole because to me, Oskars seems to be living with the quilt of his fathers death. I chose this quote because it's something that I can personaly relate to. The life choices we make can sometimes leave us feeling gulty. Even though the choice seemed to be right at that particular moment the reprocusions of that choice can stay with us for a life
Joy Harjo uses a metaphor throughout the memoir Crazy Brave , in order to express her emotions about how she feels about art, her classmates , and the books she has read .
“Maturity is when your world opens up and you realize that you are not the center of it.” –M.J. Croan. In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee demonstrates the path to maturity through the character Scout who exhibits the journey it takes to accept one’s responsibility and limitations. Shaping the mockingbird as a representation of innocence, it is stated “it is a sin to kill a mockingbird”, symbolizing Scout as she gradually becomes more mature throughout the novel, consequently leaving behind her innocence while also reconstructing her empathy and tolerance for others. Similarly Scout and I were both naïve to the world around us, but because of witnessing first-hand the inhumanity around us blatantly displayed a lack of empathy people contain within them. This was a learning experience for myself because it brought home racial discrimination in an event that will
Marita Bonner starts her short essay by describing the joys and innocence of youth. She depicts the carefree fancies of a cheerful and intelligent child. She compares the feelings of such abandonment and gaiety to that of a kitten in a field of catnip. Where the future is opened to endless opportunities and filled with all the dream and promises that only a youth can know. There are so many things in the world to see, learn, and experience that your mind in split into many directions of interest. This is a memorable time in life filled with bliss and lack of hardships.
Optimistic: op·ti·mis·tic - adjective - to be hopeful and confident about the future. Being optimistic can be extremely difficult when you’re taken away from a happy life, and forced into situations that make him pessimistic about the future,just like Buck did. My dad was taken away from a happy life, going through tons of traumatic situations while being forced to grow up at the same time. Although Buck and my dad went through different situations, they still felt trapped and unhappy at one point in life. Perseverance is a life skill and everyone goes through tough situations everyday, it’s the way you handle them that shows true characterization.
While societal attitudes attitudes may change over time, the challenges associated with the transition from childhood to adulthood remain constant. The ideas of individuality, alienation and loss of innocence fortify the theme of coming of age across the texts The Catcher in the Rye and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. The Catcher in the Rye, a bildungsroman novel written by J.D. Salinger in 1951, focuses on teenager Holden Caulfield’s transition from childhood to adulthood in 1950’s America, whereas the film The Perks of Being a Wallflower directed by Stephen Chbosky in 2012 follows teenager Charlie experiencing a similar transition in 1990’s America. Despite their varying contexts, these ideas are presented in both texts through the use the