Oskar Schell, the main character in the novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, is a nine year old boy whose father died during the 9/11 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. Oskar and his dad had a close relationship, much of which involved scavenger hunts and games. On the other hand, however, Oskar was never close to his mother, Linda, due to her long work hours and inability to connect with her son. After the death of Oskar’s father, Oskar finds a blue vase that contains a key in an envelope with the word “Black” written on it. In an attempt to reconnect with his now deceased father, Oskar goes on a scavenger hunt to find the lock to the key. On his mission, Oskar explores the whole of New York, visiting nearly everyone with the last name “Black” by alphabetical order in the Yellow Pages Book to see if they know more about the key. The first person he meets is Abby Black, who immediately denies any knowledge of the key and Oskar’s father. For eight months, Oskar persistently carries on his search to find the origin of the key. Later on during his journey, Oskar meets someone by the name of “the renter” who lives in Oskar’s grandmother’s apartment. It is soon revealed to the readers that the renter is actually Oskar’s mute grandfather, Thomas Schell Sr. Throughout the novel, there are letters written from Oskar’s grandfather to Oskar’s father and Oskar’s grandmother to Oskar, giving two perspectives to certain events that occurred throughout Oskar's grandparent’s history together (which is further explained in the “Secondary Plot Summary”). After searching for eight more months, Oskar finds a voicemail message from the first “Black” he met, Abby Black. Abby explains that she had lied to him about whether she knew anything about the key and later guides him to her ex-husband, William Black, for more information. William explains to Oskar that the key belongs to the safety-deposit box of William’s father, Edmund Black, who had passed away two years ago. William Black proceeds to explain to Oskar how he had sold the vase, with the key unknowingly stashed in it, to Oskar’s dad. Disappointed that the key is not related to his father, Oskar hands the key over to William and heads home. Afterwards, Oskar feels lost and sad, but by the end of the novel, Oskar has a heartfelt conversation with his mother (one of the first conversations following the death of Thomas Schell Jr.) about Oskar's father, and they find a new found comfort by being with each other. While Oskar’s “stated journey” (spoken in terms of How to Read Literature Like a Professor by Thomas C. Foster) is to reconnect with his father by finding the lock to the key, the “real reason” is to, ironically, connect with his mother in a way that Oskar has never been able to before.
Sources:
Foer, Jonathan Safran. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Boston, MA: Mariner, 2005. Print.
Foer, Jonathan Safran. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Boston, MA: Mariner, 2005. Print.