Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Oskar Schell is our very precocious, smart-as-a-whip nine-year-old narrator and protagonist.
He's interested in almost everything, and is forever writing letters to famous people to share
his ideas. The book is about his journey to find out the purpose of a key he finds in his
father's closet. What Oskar's hoping to find, although he never explicitly articulates it, is
closure. This isn't a fantasy story, and Oskar is a realist. He never once thinks that this key
might bring his Dad back to life or allow them to speak again, but he hopes it will reveal
some sort of secret about his Dad's life that will make this sick, sad world we live in make
sense.

Character List
Oskar Schell
A precocious, imaginative nine-year-old boy and the protagonist of the novel. Oskar’s dad’s
death shatters his sense of security about his place in the world and his family, rendering
him grieving and depressed. Furthermore, he feels incredibly guilty for not picking up the
phone when his dad called for the last time from the World Trade Center on 9/11, believing
that he failed to help his dad when he needed it most.
Over the course of the novel, Oskar struggles with existential terror because his recently
deceased dad was the person who made him feel safe and secure. To cope with this loss,
Oskar makes up rules, such as avoiding heights, and inventions, like a birdseed shirt, to
create scenarios that guarantee his safety in a dangerous world. He also turns to science, the
way his dad organized the universe, as when he plays the interview with Tomoyasu in his
class and describes how atomic bombs work instead of focusing on human loss. His quest for
the key, therefore, much like his last Reconnaissance Expedition with his dad, is also a quest
for meaning, to make sense of both his dad’s death and his place in the world. When his
quest offers up no real answer, he returns to his dad’s grave in order to face the truth that he
may never know how his dad died. Although Oskar still mourns his dad’s death at the
novel’s end, instead of repeatedly imagining the moment of his dad’s death, he focuses on
their last moments together. Even though this rewinds time, it shows Oskar realizing that he
still has those moments of love and safety in his life.
Extremely precocious and strange, Oskar is a difficult character to interpret because he
doesn’t act like a real nine-year-old and, therefore, seems less like a real character and more
like a metaphor. Some scholars have suggested that Oskar offers an impressionistic look at
the loss of innocence and sense of safety that Americans and, in particular, New Yorkers felt
after 9/11. Oskar’s fervent invention and establishment of rules to protect himself from a
dangerous world mirrors the United States’ rush to create elaborate and often ill-conceived
rules and regulations that did more to soothe Americans psychologically than create any true
security. Another interesting parallel is Oskar’s complete disinterest in history and past
wars, as evidenced by his confusion at Mr. Black’s journalistic career. Before 9/11, many
Americans did not know about al-Qaeda or the complex history of America’s involvement in
the Middle East. Despite his being a possible stand-in for all Americans, Oskar is still an
individual, evidenced by his pacifism, the way he misses his dad, and veganism—traits
irrelevant to any sort of metaphorical reading.
Thomas Schell Sr. (the renter)
Oskar’s grandfather, a reclusive man who refuses to move on from the loss of his beloved
Anna during the bombing of Dresden. Thomas’s loss causes him to lose his ability to speak
and leaves him trapped in time. Thomas writes his true feelings in letters to Thomas Jr. that
he never sends. Although he returns to America after his son’s death, when confronted with
his son’s empty coffin, he tries to flee again, unable to face his grief head-on.
Oskar’s grandpa, Thomas, showcases how unprocessed grief can destroy a person’s ability
to connect with the world around them. After losing Anna ruins his ability to speak, Thomas
uses brief, vague sentences that keep him from communicating his true feelings. In his
unsent letters, he communicates his feelings clearly, but in person, he relies on gestures and
recycled phrases that are easily misinterpreted and vague in order to avoid confrontation.
Instead of getting to know Grandma as a person, he tries to make her look like Anna
through his sculpture, reinventing the past instead of building a future. In light of this, his
return to Dresden becomes an escape into the past, where he doesn’t feel pressure to process
his grief or connect with the world. Although Thomas tries to move back to America and
develop a relationship with Oskar, when confronted with his son’s empty coffin, his
unwillingness to accept the truth causes him to flee again from the possibility of actually
forming meaningful
Grandma
Oskar’s grandmother, a thoughtful, sensitive woman. Although she grieves those she lost in
Dresden, she focuses primarily on moving forward in her life. She connects with Thomas as
a way to honor her past and try to build a future, but his refusal to be honest with her
destroys any hope they had at building a relationship. Instead, she focuses on her future
through her son, Thomas Jr., and grandson, Oskar. Because Thomas Sr. refuses to commit to
moving forward, she tries to keep him from her grief about Thomas Jr.’s death and away
from Oskar.
Oskar’s mom
A loving, patient woman who nevertheless finds Oskar’s anger difficult to navigate. She
takes her role as a mother very seriously and tries to hide her grief from Oskar, which,
unfortunately, makes him worry that she isn’t grieving at all. Unsure of how to best help
Oskar, she protects him from afar by calling the people named Black and letting them know
that Oskar will visit.
Oskar’s dad (Thomas Schell Jr.)
A thoughtful, loving father and husband whose death shatters Oskar’s world. He encourages
Oskar’s love of science and exploration through creating scavenger hunts and answering
Oskar’s questions about the universe. He once went on his own quest to understand his place
in the world by searching for his own father, Thomas Sr.
Mr. Black
An outgoing, wise, and eccentric old man who lives in the apartment above Oskar’s.
Although he hasn’t left his apartment since his wife’s death, he allows Oskar to bring him
back into the world and joins Oskar on his quest for the key. Throughout Oskar’s journey,
Mr. Black encourages Oskar to face his fears of public places and acts as a surrogate
grandfather to him.
Abby Black
A beautiful middle-aged woman who hides the secret of the key from Oskar. She meets
Oskar in the middle of what appears to be a painful divorce from William Black. The
marital strife causes her to act selfishly and not tell either Oskar or William about the key.
Although she only intends to hurt William, she hurts Oskar, too.
Anna
Thomas’s lost love who died in the bombing of Dresden. She was extremely insightful and
able to see through Thomas’s bluster. She deeply loved both her sister and Thomas.
Aaron Black
An old, standoffish man who is too ill to leave his apartment. Although he sounds hostile,
he’s actually impatient because of his physical limitations and his regrets.
Ruth Black
A mysterious and thoughtful old woman who has lived in the Empire State Building since
her husband’s death. Because she associates the building with her husband, she has learned
everything about it and gives tours to people who seem interested.
William Black
Abby Black’s ex-husband, an angry and frustrated businessman, and the owner of the
mysterious key. When Oskar finally meets him at the end of the novel, he seems full of
regret. He tries to reassure Oskar as best he can.
Anna’s father
An intellectual man who loves books and his family. He struggles to do the right thing during
World War II, weighing his desire to save his friend, Simon Goldberg, with the safety of his
daughters.
Ron
Oskar’s mom’s friend who Oskar fears is trying to replace his dad. Ron is patient with
Oskar’s hostility.
Abe Black
A caring man who lives near Coney Island and encourages Oskar to ride the Cyclone roller
coaster.
Dr. Fein
Oskar’s psychiatrist, full of stereotypical questions and pithy answers. Oskar hates him
because he tries to get Oskar to move on from his dad’s death.
Simon Goldberg
A friend of Anna’s father and a Jewish philosopher. He sees potential in Thomas.
Jimmy Snyder
A bully at Oskar’s school. He often makes sexually inappropriate jokes to Oskar in order to
humiliate him and expose his naivete.
Peter Black
A new father living in Harlem who introduces Oskar to his baby. He’s kind and reassuring.
Ada Black
An extremely wealthy woman who makes no apology for her privilege.
Georgia Black
A middle-aged woman who loves her husband so much that she makes a museum of his life
even while he’s still alive.
Allen Black
A Russian immigrant who once was an engineer but is now a doorman. He’s kind and allows
Oskar to set up an email account for him.
Alice Black
A nervous artist living illegally in an industrial building. Her paintings all center on one
man, whom she clearly misses.
Fo Black
A Chinese immigrant who buys “I Love NY” merchandise, mistaking “NY” to be the
Chinese word for “you.”
Gerald Thomas
A limo driver. He is a patient and kind man who drives Oskar to dig up his dad’s grave.
Stephen Hawking
The famous physicist who Oskar writes to multiple times for advice. In his reply to Oskar, he
encourages Oskar to seek value in the unknown instead of the quantifiable.
Stan
The doorman of Oskar’s building who is amused by and endeared to Oskar. He’s extremely
friendly and plays along with Oskar’s quirkiness.

Theme:
Ambiguity
Oskar struggles with the reality that part of life is learning how to live without answers. This
theme appears early on during Oskar’s dad’s last Reconnaissance Expedition, during which
he refuses to give Oskar any direction as to his goal. In response to Oskar’s frustration that
he doesn’t know the right answer, his dad explains that there’s no wrong answer,
encouraging Oskar to find freedom in searching and drawing his own conclusions. However,
Oskar finds the search for meaning terrifying as he continually imagines ways that his dad
might have died. The novel portrays this ambiguity as an uncomfortable but inevitable part
of life. For example, when Thomas and Grandma attempt to delineate their apartment into
the clear categories of “something” and “nothing,” the two begin to blur, signifying that
people cannot escape uncertainty. Ultimately, Oskar learns to embrace ambiguity,
symbolized by his decision to dig up his dad’s grave and acknowledge that he may never
know how exactly his dad died. On his way to the cemetery, Oskar joyously sticks his head
out of the limo sunroof at the part of the 59th Street Bridge that exists in neither borough—a
liminal space—finding wonder in a place with no clear meaning.
Relationships
Foer portrays love and familial connections as more essential to life than personal greatness.
Oskar’s dad introduces this theme through his anecdote about the Sahara Desert. According
to his model, changing things on a small scale that only affects those directly around you still
changes everything. Mr. Black emphasizes the same idea to Oskar in talking about his own
life story, in which he trades covering globally important events like war for staying at home
with his wife, prioritizing his own love over what the world deems important. Mr. Black
further disparages so-called greatness when he points out that he can sum up most of the
famous people in his index with the words “war” or “money,” destructive and emotionally
empty forces. Although Oskar initially wanted his dad to become immortalized as “great” in
Mr. Black’s index, he becomes overjoyed to see Mr. Black has distilled Oskar into the word
“son.” The card helps Oskar realize that he himself became important to Mr. Black because
they spent time together on his quest. Thus, the word “son” means that Oskar became
significant through his love for his dad, a triumph of personal love and commitment over
fame.
Deception
Throughout the novel, characters lie to protect their loved ones, only to unintentionally
cause more harm. Thomas pretends to read Grandma’s blank memoir to spare her feelings,
but he instead makes her believe that he doesn’t see her as a full person separate from Anna.
Oskar’s mom secretly oversees Oskar’s quest, allowing him the illusion of keeping her out of
his grieving process. However, her well-meaning deception causes Oskar to believe that she
doesn’t love him or that she can’t handle his grief. Although the magnitudes of these secrets
differ, in both cases the choice to act out a charade instead of having an honest conversation
hurts the very person it was intended to protect. Foer highlights the importance of
uncomfortable but necessary honesty again at the end of the novel when Oskar decides to
dig up his dad’s grave. The emptiness of the grave forces Oskar to acknowledge that he
might never know what happened to his dad. After taking this step, Oskar repairs his
relationship with his mom by speaking honestly with her about his fear of being
institutionalized. Their shared openness addresses difficult feelings of grief but, in the end,
allows Oskar to feel certain that his mother loves him unconditionally.