The Grandparents
1. What do you think the title means? Given that there are no events in the book that are explicitly “extremely loud” or “incredibly close”, what do you think the author meant by choosing the title?
Oskar uses those words often when he explains something.
He is extremely close with his grandmother.
2. How did the storyline of the grandparents compliment the story of Oskar and his quest?

3. Describe how you felt about each of the grandparents. How did you feel about their relationship?
Grandmother:
She is really nice and protective to Oskar. She spends much time with Oskar and she really cares about him.
Grandfather:
He is not really nice to the grandmother, but all he wants is to protect the grandmother from him. He marries her even though he is in love with her sister. Then he leaves her and then comes back after his son’s death and then he wants to leave her again.
Relationship:
It is really complicated because he is in love with somebody else, and he leaves the grandmother and comes back, twice.
4. Compare Oskar and his reaction to tragedy to the reaction of each grandparent to tragedy. How did each character react to the terrible and violent loss in their loves?
Oskar wants to stay unhappy about his dad. The grandmother is sad but she doesn’t tell Oskar that she is. The grandfather comes back after his son’s death.
5. Why do you think the author introduced the Dresden plotline of the grandparents into a book that involves the attack on the World Trade Center?
The author uses many of his own experiences from his childhood in the book. He is a Jewish and the bombing of Dresden is the extermination of the Jewish. He is drawing parallels to WTC and Dresden.

svar til extremely loud and incredibly close af Mathias Fjord, HC, Jonathan og Michael

1. Mathias Fjord, Hc, Jonathan, og Michael

j 1. 1. We think that”incredibly close” refers to all the persons in New York that have Black as last name. But we couldn't figure out what "extremely loud" could refer to.

2. 2. We think the book is very easy to read. The language isn’t difficult and very exciting to read. What makes the book good is that we follow 3 persons, the time aspects and the difference between the stories from the grandfather and grandmother. The pictures in the book are also a good idea as they help you to understand the situations and as pictures say more than a thousand words, we get a lot out of the pictures. Some of them are a bit odd placed and hard to understand but that makes possibilities for a deeper analysis of the book.

3. 3. There are a lot of pages with few words, and some with so many that the text blurs. An example of a page with few words, is when we see what the pages in the grandfathers book says, and when Oscar is listening through the door to his doctor. A page with too many words is when the grandfather gets too many thoughts through his head, when he is going to have sex with his “exgirlfriend”. Another funny page is those with the red markings, which shows that the father have read and corrected the letter from his farther.

These effects make it easier to see what is going on inside the persons head. If they get a lot of information or very little. This can be VERY confusing if you can’t see what is happening, but very funny if you do understand the effects in the book.

4.

4.

Doorknobs: if you can see through the keyhole is when you can see into person’s life, and when you can’t see through the keyhole is when you can’t see what happens in the person’s life

Falling man: is because Oscar tries to make the episode seem more positive, that the man flies up in the building and come home to his family.

Writing samples: gives an illustration of how people write “Green” with a green color, and “Red” with a red. This shows how Oscar gets on the track of a certain Black.

The cover: it shows the grandfathers’ left hand that says yes. We thinks that it is an indirectly way for the author to “approve” the book. Also it represents a very dominating way to communicate in the book. By writing on the hands.

5. We think it isn't respectless, but the Americans sure don’t. They have banned all the materials from 9/11 in the media and you can’t see anything unless you use un-American sites. It’s a question of culture, because we do not feel it’s wrong. But in USA it is a taboo.

The happening of 9/11 doesn’t have more meaning to the book than the father died, which triggers the whole plot.

Discussion questions + student answers

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Discussion Questions

The Book

1. What do you think the title means? Given that there are no events in the book that are explicitly “extremely loud” or “incredibly close”, what do you think the author meant by choosing the title?
2. Generally speaking, did you like the writing style of the author? Was the writing itself easy to read?
3. What did you think about the way the author used words on the page? Some pages, for example, had nothing more than a single line of text. Others had the text crowded and overlapping. Did this add to the meaning of the book for you? Distract you? Why?
4. What did the various photographs in the book mean:
• Pictures of doorknobs. Is there a pattern?
• The falling man in the book? The flip-book at the end?
• The writing samples from the pen store?
• The cover of the book of the hand with writing on it?
5. Do you think the book handled the 9/11 subject material with respect? Did the use of 9/11 contribute to the meaning of the book? Was the book “sentimental?”

The Characters & The Plot
Oskar and his Quest

1. Do you think the main character, Oskar, was believable?
2. How did you relate to him as he pursued his quest?
3. What was the effect of Oskar on the people he met on his quest? How did the people change as a result of meeting Oskar?
4. Do you think Oskar’s mom was involved in his quest, even if Oskar wasn’t aware of it at the time?

The Grandparents

1. How did the storyline of the grandparents compliment the story of Oskar and his quest?
2. Describe how you felt about each of the grandparents. How did you feel about their relationship?
3. Compare Oskar and his reaction to tragedy to the reaction of each grandparent to tragedy. How did each character react to the terrible and violent loss in their lives?
4. Why do you think the author introduced the Dresden plotline of the grandparents into a book that involves the attack on the World Trade Center?

Symbolism and So On

1. What is the meaning of Oskar’s various inventions? Is there a pattern to them?
2. What makes the key such a powerful symbol in the book? What does the key open, besides the obvious physical lock we learn about near the end of the book? Is there meaning to the fact that we never learn what the key protects in reality?
3. Writing is a powerful image that appears in many forms in the book. Letters, letter writing, journals, writing samples and even tattoos make appearances. Why is writing such a powerful thing in the world the author created? What does each instance of the writing do for/to the characters?
4. What do you think the ’something’ and ‘nothing’ of the grandparents’ apartment is meant to represent? How does this fit into the larger storyline of the book, of dealing with loss, of dealing with grief?
5. Are there any common themes that run through the storyline and the symbols found in this book? Grief and loss have been mentioned here already. What about the ability of people to connect with each other? The ability to heal? The ability to make meaning from tragedy? Maybe none of these?