1. Warming up with puzzling together the motif of "black" in grid groups
Round 1: Put a sticky note on page 284. Hold it close. Hold it far away.
- What does it look like?
- Find a quotation from this chapter that you think explains somewhat why this page looks this way (literally, why is it black?).
- Look up "dark matter." How does it connect to this book?
- Look up a summary of Hawking's A Brief History of Time. How does it connect to this book?
- How does his letter connect to your response from Round 1?
Round 3: Everyone Oskar visited on his quest had the last name "Black." Foer could have chosen any name in the universe, but he chose to repeat the name "Black."
- How does this connect to the answers for Rounds 1 and 2?
- Make a thematic statement: What do you think Foer is up to with the concept of "Black"?
2. Enjoying our penultimate fishbowl discussion: ELIC, pages 260-306
3. Wrapping up with takeaways (for an extra challenge, work in a new tone word)
HW:
1. Finish the book and your final journal entry for Thursday.
2. Bring in five items on Friday that hold significance to you (an old, printed photo, an object, something you carry around for luck, a gift you received, a letter, etc).
what did you see in page 284, I thought it looked like space.
ReplyDeleteI saw bird silhouettes
DeleteDoes the running out of space found on page 284 represent a similarity to the stars on page 318?
ReplyDeleteI think the the running out of space on page 284 compares to the stars on page 318 because the grandfather wanted more space to write and in outer-space you have an infinite amount of space.
DeleteThe black page that his grandpa wrote looks like the picture of the stars on page 318, and they both come after stuff about Thomas Schell's death.
ReplyDeleteWhy was the text by the Grandpa all pushed together and unreadable by the second page?
ReplyDeleteIn the context of assuming that the key was a big part of Oskar's dad's life, how do assumptions create more problems?
ReplyDeleteI have always used the phrase, assuming makes a ass out of u and me. Assuming can make things easier depending on the context of the situation. For Oskar, he assumes so much about the key. His most accurate assumption is when his dad circled the word black in the newspaper. However, why his dad circled the word black is still unknown, Oskar could have been on a hunt for a completely unrelated subject. Maybe it was something for Oskar's father, a reminder or something like that. An planned event that was scheduled but interrupted by 9/11.
DeleteAlso assuming about an assumption is another double edged sword.
Deletei think most of the characters fear losing people they love. i think the mom fears losing oskar, the grandmother fears losing the grandfather, and oskar fears losing the connection to his dad
ReplyDeleteI think that Foer's characters fear losing a loved one, and I think they try and overcompensate to avoid this fear
ReplyDeleteI agree! Oskar overcompensates by thinking too much and the mom by laughing and not grieving enough and the grandma thinks about Oskar too much and loves him too deeply
DeleteWhat do you think was going through the grandfather's head when he wrote the black pages? what was going through the author's head?
ReplyDeleteI think the whole idea behind the black pages is the grandfathers judgment on himself, If you try reading as far as you can on page 281 the grandfather talks about how he and oskar have been planning every detail of digging up the grave. then he says " It reminds me of our rules; I know I wont be in his life, I won't be the grandfather he never had.he wont think of me or miss me." this is when the text starts to become unreadable.
Deletethe grandfather is known for writing. it seems as if he has been writing his whole life. the way that I somewhat imagine this is someone who is frustrated and upset. with loosing Anna, and his son. also loosing his wife in the process. this would be his whole life written out or one word or phrase repeated.
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ReplyDeleteWhy did the husband of Abby never seek out Oskar?
ReplyDeleteWas the blackness on page 284 birds?
ReplyDeleteIt must be related to dark matter, it has been talked about in the book and might explain why Stephan Hawking has so many references in the book. But the relation between dark matter and the context of the book is like a black hole.(hehe)
DeleteIt looked like a blank TV when it is really static and loud.
ReplyDeleteWhat do Foer's characters fear? What do they do to feel safe?
ReplyDeleteI believe Foer's characters fear the concept of not knowing something. Oscar specifically fears how his Dad died, so he come up with "inventions" to cope with it.
What does the dark page with the words squished together have to do with dark matter? How does it relate to space? How does it relate to Stephen Hawking?
ReplyDeleteOn page 284 I saw a tree, the reason behind this I believe is that when Stephen hawking was talking to Oskar in his letter he was sitting under a tree -- what do you guys think?
ReplyDeleteI think it represents the endless amount of word grandpa wrote in paper
ReplyDeleteOn page 284, I see multiple outlines of birds which have been a reoccurring theme of the book.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that key never belonged to Oskars father an there was no intended journey for Oskar from his father. How could they key have created a bigger problem rather than a solution?
ReplyDeleteI think that key aggravated Oskar beyond anything else in ELIC. For a while I think Oskar thought the key was some final clue/hint to the 6th borough or it was a message to his father. Oskar was so desperate to be close to his father after his death that this journey was the final push for him to get over his grief. "So I can stop inventing how he died" (Foer 256) Nothing else was easing Oskar's grief, and the solution to the key was the only way he could accept his father's passing.
DeleteRelating to this question, as i was reading i wondered how Oskar's dad didn't see the envelope inside the vase when he bought it because in the book Foer says "I remember watching him hold the vase. he examined the bottom of it and turned it around a number of times." (Foer 298). So as he was looking at this vase how didn't he come across the envelope?
Delete"That's a lot of suitcases for someone with nothing to declare" (Foer 268)
ReplyDeleteThis quote stood out to me a lot. This is the guard talking to the grandpa, why would he say something like this?
I think the suitcase was what the grandfather wanted to say, and possibly symbolic for him not being able to speak with his son before he died. A suitcase of unspoken words
DeleteWhy do you think he couldn't or didn't talk to him before he died though? I feel like he had so much to say but was he scared or nervous too?
DeleteI feel as if he thought of himself as a coward, for not talking to him. He had every right to which was almost selfish of him to not reach out for his son. yes, agreed it could of bring up the past about loosing Anna and their future child.
DeleteDo you think the grandfather will be more interactive in Oskar's life to try to "Make up" for the void from his own sons life?
Foer characters fear mostly is death and unanswered questions. What they mostly do to feel safe is go off on their own and find answers on their own and try to do other things to get death off of their minds.
ReplyDeletethis this what most people do when they are afraid. on page 290 the conversation goes
Delete"I want to hurt him." "Why?" "Because he hurt me?"
They was us, as humans to protect ourselves from other people you sometime hurt others to somehow heal yourself. this could b e why he was so argent with his mother, because that was a tool to use to protect himself from getting hurt.
The key was the search of "Home" for Oskar,this was a journey for him to find himself, and to find out what his meaning on life really was. hes been following his "Fathers" journey but not his own -- yes, agreed he feels as if it is his own but it really isn't.
ReplyDeleteI think the pages that the grandfather wrote that were all black represented all the words he wanted to say to everyone but never quite got the chance because he could not speak. I think that the grandfather thought typing and words could only say so much, and that he needed something visual to show the reader how frustrated, sorrowful, and regretful he was.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a very good explanation for what the black pages mean, however I don't think that it's the entire reason why. I also think that it's because the grandfather was running out of paper and needed somewhere to write down all of his thoughts and what he needed to say, even if it ended up being unreadable.
DeleteI agree with this. I think it also represents how all of his thoughts had gotten so jumbled up in his own head that maybe he didn't even know what they meant anymore. He had been holding in so much for so long that it was all just one big blur.
DeleteThat makes a lot of sense, how the grandpa has so many belongings in the form of mountains upon mountains of books as well as paper. This visualization of hopelessness and sorrow brings out all for the grandfather's feelings that we as readers of the book can see clearly in those black pages.
Deletepg 281-284. Does these page symbolize that everything during those pages, were a blur for Oskar?
ReplyDeleteduring this book we notice a lot of symbolic meaning with the pictures, or short phrases. its really difficult to fully understand or read what he his really thinking -- what are your thoughts? what is the reader trying to portray to the reader?
DeleteI think that the pages represent the grandfathers daybooks. Foer always repeats "I want an infinitely long black book and the rest of time" (Foer 279). The pages can symbolizes a long black book that the grandfather wanted. It can also represent the rest of time with Oskar.
Deletei feel like it could be how much the grandfather has to say to oskar and thomas and how much oskar has to say to thomas, but they probably never will be able to say all of it
DeleteOn page 286 Oskar says, "At first I was relieved, because I felt like everything I'd done had been worth it,".
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think Oskar felt this way, that his father's memory was based on an old mans cards?
I think Oskar might've felt this way because even though it may not have been the answer he was looking for, he got closure and felt that he did all that he could
DeleteI think Oskar felt this way because he then said, "because I'd made Dad into a Great Man who was biographically significant and would be remembered." Then Oskar examined the card and saw that it wasn't his father. He wanted to make his dad different and stand out more I think.
Delete"Ms. Schmidt," I took back my book and wrote, "That was her maiden name." (Foer 274)
ReplyDeleteOn this page the grandpa was talking to the door man asking about Oskar's grandma, and he found out she changed her name back after he left, What do you think her reasoning was for this? Was if for closure?
I think that the grandma was really hurt that the grandfather left her and she didn't want anything to remind her of him.
DeleteI agree, I feel the grandma was very hurt and wanted to try to forget about him as best as she could.
Delete"they knew i was coming. mom had talked to all of them before i had. [...] did he even really like me? and we're all of his amazing stories even true?"
ReplyDeletedo you think Oskar is upset that his mom knew what he was doing? does he understand that she was probably just trying to make sure he was safe?
Yes I think he was, he had been trying so hard to keep this away from her and her finding out probably made him feel bad.
DeleteI think he really liked being independent and growing in his social skills and his mom took that away from him.
DeleteI think that yes he was angry with her but in a way he could have been relieved. He had told her so many lies and I think that he probably felt bad about that because she knows he was lying. But in the long run I think he will be okay with her knowing.
DeleteOn oskar's mission for finding the key, it was also a mission for him to find his journey for himself. it was an independent search for him, even though he is so young and he is meeting strangers, that was another reason why she wasn't relentless for letting him go because she knew what was going on
DeleteI think that Oskar was surprised that his mother knew before he did. He could be a little upset because she could have told him what she knew so his journey did not have to be that long. I think it was an understanding of making sure he was safe.
DeleteI think Oskar might be mad that he didn't figure out earlier that his mom knew all along, but in the end I think he will realize that his mom was trying to protect him with out him knowing because she loves him
Deletewhy do they think of digging up the coffin? on page 36, Oskar says "even though dads coffin was empty, his closet was full." Oskar clearly knows that the coffin is empty, what does he want to see in the coffin??
ReplyDeleteI feel that he had a lot of emotion built up about how his dad died and where his body was and in that moment a small part of him wanted to believe is Dad was inside there.
DeleteI think Oskar was just desperate for answers and for reassurance. Although he may have "known" that the coffin was empty, it was as if he wouldn't stop thinking about it until he saw it himself.
DeleteWhy is the relevance of the sixths borough to that dad and Oskar
ReplyDeleteOn page 276 it says “Because I changed his diapers. And I couldn’t sleep on my stomach for two years. And I taught him how to speak. And I cried when he cried. And when he was unreasonable, he yelled at me." Why does she say these things? Does the grandma feel justified by saying these things? Like he finally wants something that she gets to say no to?
ReplyDeletei think the grandma says this because she'd been there for Oskar the whole time he'd been growing up and the grandpa is trying to walk into their lives without being there for Oskar or for Thomas and just now he realizes he wants to be a part of the family.
DeleteI think that the grandmother says these things because she wants the grandfather to understand what she went through raising Thomas on her own and that she had to be a grandparent with no help. I think she feels that he doesn't get to meet Oskar just because he wants to, the grandfather should have been there in the first place.
DeleteOn page 260-261 it looks like two different people's hands, but we can assume the grandpa is the only one with those tattoos. Why did the author do this?
ReplyDeleteHow do the different styles of writing come together to tell a complete story?
ReplyDeleteI think all of the different perspectives and writing styles give away answers to some of the questions that have arose during the story. Also, by reading all of the different points of view, the reader is able to put the pieces together in order to make their own conclusions about the story. I feel like if we just heard Oskar's point of view, there would be lots of confusions and unknowns about the bigger picture of the story.
DeleteIt gives us different perspectives, which I find really appealing because it helps me understand whats going on.to fully grasp something we have to look at readings from multiple point of views
DeleteWhen the grandma and grandpa weren't talking and he stayed in the guest bedroom, he asked himself if he was the prisoner or the guard? How could he be the guard, and guarding what? (pg 274)
ReplyDeleteHe could be guarding the truth of the grandma and his past maybe.
DeleteThe would be guarding his palace in the house. In this odd relationship that the grandma and grandpa have together, they are reliant on each other. The grandpa's very presence so close to his former spouse is overpowering the grandmother's negative attitude towards her spouse. She just wants him to be around, so in a way the grandpa is also guarding his wife.
DeleteIs the sixth borough like dark matter?
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