Kevin Gehl

1/22/2020

Pd. 3 English

Inventing Reality

In Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, two of the main characters (who happen to be

grandson and grandfather) experience lives filled with disaster and misery. Oskar Schell, an

extremely bright young child with autism, lost his dad in the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Thomas

Schell Sr. lost Anna, the love of his life, and his unborn child which she was carrying. Each of

these characters copes with their loss in a variety of different manners, but a common theme is that

they both envision a better future for themselves, however it’s one they can’t attain. A fitting title

for Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is Inventing Reality because in both Oskar Schell’s

narration and in Thomas Schell Sr.’s story there are many instances of the two of them attempting

to cope with their lives by dreaming up better ones.

Inventing Reality is a reasonable alternate title because Oskar Schell invents certain objects

in his head that would have saved his dad from being killed by the attack. While Oskar is in a

limousine heading to his dad’s funeral, he brainstorms a skyscraper that moves up and down while

the elevator stays in the same place. While this may seem like a useless and silly invention from a 9

year old, there is a deeper reason behind Oskar’s thinking. As Oskar later remarks, “Also, that

could be extremely useful, because if you’re on the ninety-fifth floor, and a plane hits below you,

the building could take you to the ground, and everyone could be safe” (Safran Foer 3). Clearly,

Oskar is trying to invent a reality in which he would still have his father. Another instance of this is

when he creates a birdseed shirt that would make it possible for birds to fly a human. As he
explains, “there are so many times when you need to make a quick escape, but humans don’t have

their own wings, or not yet, so what about a birdseed shirt?” (2). Oskar’s coping method of

creating inventions that would have spared his father is one reason that Inventing Reality is a

fabulous title for a book in which imagination is everything.

Thomas Schell Sr.’s attempts to cope with his loss of Anna by marrying her sister and

living at the airport is a method of inventing a reality for himself that reminds him of his previous

one. Thomas tries everything in his power to attempt to forget about his previous near-perfect life

with Anna and instead create a life for himself where he could move on from the tragedy of losing

her. When he meets Oskar’s grandmother, they almost go their separate ways before Thomas

realizes that Anna’s sister is close enough and maybe it will improve his life. As Oskar’s

grandmother remarks, “But then I heard him clapping his hands behind me” (82). Thomas

envisions that he could possibly regain the type of feeling he had with Anna by marrying her sister,

but sadly it never works out that way. Another instance of Thomas trying to invent a better reality

for himself is when he decides to stay at the airport and watch people reconnect with each other.

His wish is that even though he can’t reunite with Anna he can still get joy out of seeing others do

so. As Oskar’s grandmother states when they are announcing flights at the airport, “They do not

matter to [Thomas and I], because we are not going anywhere” (174). Thomas’s attempts to create

a new reality for himself, one where he can cope with losing Anna in the most direct way possible,

is one reason why Inventing Reality is a title that fits.

Another way that Oskar tries to invent a new reality for himself is by recounting his dad’s

actions on 9/11 back to himself but in reverse order so that his dad never died. The last page of

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close consists of Oskar reversing time from the point that his dad
may have jumped out of a window all the way until his dad had told him the story of the sixth

borough. Oskar laments,“He would’ve flown through a window, back into the building” (325).

Although this instance is extremely simple, it provides a fantastic storybook effect for the title

Inventing Reality because Oskar has done it through the whole book, but especially at the start and

the finish. The final sentence of the book reads “we would have been safe” (326). Oskar’s

obsession with inventing a world where his dad would’ve been safe is the primary reason that

Inventing Reality is a great alternate title.

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close is a novel in which the two main characters grapple

with the loss of a loved one. For Oskar, he copes by inventing ways his dad would have survived

and rewinding time in his mind to a time when his Dad was with him. For Thomas, he tries to

sculpt a new world for himself that mirrors aspects of his life when he was with Anna. Inventing

Reality is a fitting title for the book because the main characters invent realities for themselves

where they can deal with the losses they have encountered.