The Personal Effect of Trauma in Jonathan Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close In Jonathan Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Oskar Shell, the son of a 9/11 victim, goes on a quest to find the key’s lock he believes belongs to his father. During his journey, he meets many individuals from New York City, but finds that the key did not, in fact, belong to his father. Through the trauma each character has faced, Foer demonstrates that the result of conflict differs for each individual, and it manifest itself differently in every individual involved. More precisely, the key is used as symbolism to represent Oskar’s connection to his father, the stream of consciousness used in the grandfather’s letter and Oskar’s father’s correction demonstrate that trauma demonstrates itself differently in each individual, and the grandmother’s motif to look after Oskar …show more content…
A year after his father passes away, Oskar goes in his father’s closet and finds the key that sends him off on his journey. Every time Oskar goes to look for lock, he feels like “[he] [is] getting closer to [his] dad” (52). Consequently, it also means he also feels like he is “getting farther from [his] mom” (52). The key makes it harder to accept his father’s death, since it gives him false hope that at the end of his quest, he will be further connected to his father. The key’s journey does not help him heal from his trauma and takes him away from people who want him to heal, such as his mom. The metal object tries to fill the emptiness his father left when he passed away. In addition, the key symbolizes Oskar’s journey in accepting his father’s death. In other words, the key demonstrates Oskar’s path toward the acceptance of his father’s death. Also, Oskar’s father and grandfather demonstrate their trauma in a