Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close Oskar Schell

In the novel Extremely loud and Incredibly close talks about Oskar a kid who might or might not have Asperger Syndrome. Asperger syndrome is a developmental disorder affecting ability to effectively socialize and communicate, people with this condition may be socially awkward and all absorbing interest in specific topics, communication training and behavioral therapy can help people with this syndrome to socialize more successfully.
In the book Extremely loud and Incredibly close Oskar Schell is the main character in the story, he is a very sweet and kind, he is only nine years old and is very smart, he is interested in a lot of stuff and is also a realistic person, in this book he had to go through a lot of stuff after his dad died in the

9/11 event, he then planned a journey to find out the purpose of a key he found in his dad’s closet hoping it could reveal some sort of secret about his dad’s past life. In the book Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely loud and Incredibly close, Oskar Schell exhibit signs that suggest he has asperger syndrome; three instances where this can be seen in the novel are Oskar’s way to speak to people, how he experienced the event of 9/11 when his dad died, and how he avoids public transportation and uses a tambourine everywhere he goes to calm himself down.
He shows signs of Asperger’s syndrome by his actions and emotions after facing his dad’s lose and trying to figure out how the key connects with his father. Oskar is very emotional and he has difficulties talking to people and making new friends, his emotions interfere with the way projects out to people. During his journey he met a lot people such as Abby Black, when he started talking to her, he asked her if she knew anything about the key but she said no, “I could feel the breath of her words against my face. I asked her, Could we kiss for a little bit?”. This quote shows the way his emotion interfere with the way his speaks to people, he saw Abby crying and he thought maybe kissing would make her feel better but the way he speaks doesn’t sound like what kids his age would say, He is only 9 years old and he is going to random people’s houses and asking them if they know about a key, and this is very unusual for a kid to be that open with people and not be shy. This could be a sign of how this syndrome makes people act out.
Experiencing or facing the loss of a loved one is very hard to go through for a human being, and this is why religion exists, because we don’t like to believe in death and that’s why every time someone dies, we say that they’re in a better place, but going through a loss of a loved one is very hard especially for a kid who is only 9 years old. Oskar had a great connection with his dad, they would always play the game “Renaissance expeditions” and Oskar’s dad was like his hero. “Dad always used to tuck me in, and he'd tell the greatest stories, and we'd read the New York Times together, and sometimes he'd whistle "I am the Walrus," because that was his favorite song, even though he couldn't explain what it meant, which frustrated me.”(1.27). This quote shows that Oskar knew everything about his dad, they were really close to each other, unlike his mother, he would not talk the way he talks to his dad and if he did, they will always ended up fighting, i think Oskar felt hopeless and by trying to find the lock for the key would bring him hope and a better understanding for these cold world that we live in, so going through this alone is very hard and this could actually make him feel depressed and could mess with his mind and emotions, leading him to have Asperger’s syndrome.
In the novel Extremely loud and Incredibly close we don’t exactly know if Oskar has Asperger syndrome but what we do know is that he was tested for it, and that the results were inclusive, but Oskar’s emotions and behavior were a little bit negative to me because not all kids are like him, he tries to hide his emotions, would self-harm himself, he would pinch himself in the stomach, and he will always be thinking in his head, inventing things and he would ask weird question.

He also has a tambourine he carries with him wherever he goes, “I shook my tambourine the whole time, because it help me remember that even though I was going through different neighborhoods, I was still me” (pg. 88) this quote shows how Oskar is scared of going through places he doesn’t know and how he gets panicky when he hears loud noises, he would keep himself calm by shaking his tambourine this will make him feel safe and help calm him down from the things he is scared of, and this is a sign that suggest he has Asperger's

syndrome.
After reading the book Extremely loud and Incredibly close i became with a conclusion that Oskar does have Asperger’s syndrome, the way he speaks to people is a significant sign of this syndrome, and by facing the loss of a loved one could bring sadness and depression and more to a little kid like Oskar, I feel like if i was him i would probably want to die after knowing that my dad or mom died, i would cry so bad but for him, he didn’t cried, he went off thinking ways of how he could become more close to his dad, and by finding the lock that would fit the key he found in his dad closets he thought maybe this could bring him hope and feel more connected to his dad, he knew he wasn’t gonna talk to his dad one more time but by doing this he knew his dad’s death could make more sense.

Oskar is scared of public transportation and loud noises and to calm himself down he will shake his tambourine, he would use his tambourine a musical stress ball. By his action and everything he does it show us signs of Asperger’s Syndrome facing the death of his dad could him have PTSD which is another type of syndrome related to Asperger’s syndrome, and this my conclusion on why Oskar Schell have this

syndrome.