Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close Analysis

Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close Analysis While writing about Oscar, Foer drew upon the emotions Oskar faces after his fathers death. He writes about an anger, fear, confusion, love, grief, hope, and uncertainty with unflinching clarity. In my opinion, Foer realizes that although the details of intense experiences vary between people, the emotions behind them are universal. The crossroads between hope and grief are at their most poignant long after Oskar has started looking for the lock to the key he discovered in his fathers closet. In Oskars vocabulary, the words extremely and incredibly occupy a great deal of space. For instance, Oskar turns the dials on Abe Blacks hearing aid extremely slowly (Foer 165). The birds fly by the window extremely fast and incredibly close (Foer 165). Oskar has an extremely important rehearsal for Hamlet (Foer 168). He tells his mother he is extremely brave (Foer 169). He writes EXTREMELY DEPRESSED and then INCREDIBLY ALONE to describe his feelings (Foer 171). All of this describes a boy who i s living in a heightened state of anxiety. Events do not just happen in Oskars world. They take on an exaggerated sense of importance or nearness or loudness; he is overreacting in the face of a terrible tragedy that is also a very personal one. He worries that his mother will not be there in the morning. Try as she might to convince him otherwise, he knows from experience that the possibility of her not returning from work one day is real. So everything in his life is critical because it may be the last time and thus Oskar transfers this to his feelings of grief, not recognizing that others, especially his mother, might have similar feelings and be of some comfort to him. That is why he feels incredibly alone or, to use his metaphor, has heavy boots. In the same section as above, his mother mentions that she cries too. Oskar asks her why she rarely lets him see her cry, a question that really means he needs to know that she hurts as much as he does (Foer 171). Oskar is refusing to let go of his dad because of his emotional attachment to his father. I opened the coffin. I was surprised again, although again I shouldnt have been. I was surprised that Dad wasnt there. In my brain I knew he wouldnt be, obviously, But I guess my heart believed something else. Or maybe I was surprised by how incredibly empty it was. (Foer 320) Even with his intelligence level Oskar is not able to get over the emotions running his head because of this tragedy. He cant let go of father and when he goes to dig up his grave with the renter he is hoping that somehow his dad will magically appear in front of his eyes or yet thats what his heart believes. Digging up his fathers empty coffin constructs the climax of the story as it centers around Oskars sadness and reaction to the loss of a loved one. The empty coffin shows how symbolically he cannot accept his father not being in the coffin. When Oscar digs the grave he is surprised at how the coffin is damaged already and knows that his father would not like his coffin to be in this condition. One thing that surprised me was that the coffin was wet. I guess I wasnt excepting that, because how could so much water get underground? (Foer 320) Another thing that surprised me was that the coffin was cracked in a few places, probably from the weight of all that dirt. If Dad had been in there, ants and worms could have gotten in through the cracks and eaten him, or at least microscopic bacteria would have. I knew it shouldnt matter, because one youre dead, you dont feel anything. So why it feels like it mattered? (Foer 320) Another thing that surprised me was how the coffin wasnt even locke d or even nailed shut. The lid just rested on top of it, so that anyone who wanted to could open it up. That didnt seem right. Oskar is starting to accept the fact that his dads body could have been in the coffin, and comes to realize that he isnt because of how they coffin is treated already. The physical and emotional journey Oskar goes on in order to connect once more with his father demonstrates how intertwined hope and grief are regardless of the age at which one experiences loss. Oskar states: I turned on the radio and found a station playing Hey Jude. It was true, I didnt want to make it bad. I wanted to take a sad song and make it better. Its just that I didnt know how (Foer 207). This is an incredibly heartfelt moment: Oskar wants to feel good again, but he does not know how to do so. He does not know how to be happy but remember his father; he does not know how to forgive his mother for trying to move on; he does not know how to live anymore. Everything he had known up until September 11th is foreign to him. Such feelings are not only poignant, but empathetic. Foer tries to portray that Oskars and everyone experiences are unique to their life, but that their emotions are universally inescapable. Everyone goes through a trying time in life, regardless of age, nati onality, wealth, or title.

Archetypes in Beowulf Essay

Archetypes stir profound emotions in the reader because they awaken images stored in the collective unconscious. In Seamus Haney’s translation of Beowulf this is used in the form of character types. Beowulf is a hero and encounters many triumphs with different types of people on his journey in this epic poem. There are three archetypal characters in Beowulf that are particularly effective and intriguing. These are The Creature of Nightmare Grendel, The Mentor Hrothgar, and The Loyal Retainer Wiglaf. The characters are common experiences in the human psyche. The Creature of Nightmare is a monster from the deepest darkest part of the human psyche. Throughout Beowulf, Grendel’s actions and description accurately fits the archetype. The vivid language used in the poem illustrates Grendel as a monster. â€Å"The God-cursed brute was creating havoc:/greedy and grim he grabbed thirty men/from their resting places†¦/ (121-123)†. He’s also depicted as â€Å"a fiend out of hell/ (100)†. This passage acts as an illustration of the archetype in the poem because a demon that steals lives at a peaceful hour is what would happen in a nightmare. Grendel shares similarities with another dark creature from literature, Poseidon. He is known through Greek mythology as an almighty god but also is a monster. In the myth of Medusa, Poseidon took medusa’s virginity forcefully in the temple of Athena, had the blame put on her, and she was terribly punished. The acts he committed were iniquitous. What makes this archetype particularly effective and intriguing is the fact that these monsters are real; except they aren’t in the form of a nightmare or make believe gods. In addition to the Creature of Nightmare there is the Mentor. This individual acts as a teacher or consoler to the initiate. The fit for this archetype is Hrothgar. For the duration of the novel, he acts as role model to Beowulf consoling him to achieve greatness. Hrothgar depicts this archetype when he talks to Beowulf about life and how to be a good king. He says â€Å"†¦understand true values. / I who tell you have wintered into wisdom. / (1724-1725)† and â€Å"Do not give way to pride. / for a brief while your strength is in bloom but it fades quickly†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . Being a mentor requires experience so that wisdom can be bestowed onto another and that something is learned. He undoubtedly does this for Beowulf. Hrothgar can be compared to another character in literature. This character is Hagrid from  Harry Potter. It’s easy to overlook him but Hagrid turns out to be Harry’s rescuer and first real friend. He’s the first person to take Harry’s side in anything, and he is the first real impression that Harry gets of the wizard world, aside from the letters. Harry makes use of relying on friendship throughout all of the books thanks to Hagrid. These details make him an exemplary example of a mentor. The Mentor archetype is effective and intriguing because people still have mentors by their side in the form of a mother, father, friend, teacher, or other guiding them through life. Lastly, there is The Loyal Retainers. These people are very important as they are usually a sidekick who has a duty to protect and reflect the nobility of the hero. Beowulf’s sidekick is Wiglaf. He comes at the end of Beowulf and is the only warrior who stays and helps Beowulf defeat the dragon, â€Å"No help or backing was to be had then/ f rom his high-born comrades; that hand-picked troop/ †¦ ran for their lives†¦/but within one heart sorrow welled up/ (2597-2600)†. He also stays with Beowulf when his last breath is taken. Wiglaf gets this archetype because he protected the hero, Beowulf. He shares very similar qualities with Ponyboy from The Outsiders. He is the main character but when his friend, Johnny, kills someone Ponyboy runs away with him staying by Johnny’s side till he died even though he could have let Johnny get in trouble by himself. Ponyboy protected Johnny and stood by his side. The archetype, Loyal Retainer, is effective and intriguing because there’s always somebody that is there for another person in life to protecting them and be loyal. Archetypes are persuasive in the epic poem Beowulf. The Creature of Nightmare, The Mentor, and The Loyal Retainer are common experiences in the human psyche. These archetypes can be connected to other literature. They can also be connected to life. The ideas in this essay matters to the world because as according to Carl Jung people from all over the world respond to certain myths or stories in the same way not because everyone knows the same story but because lying deep in our collective unconsciousness are the racial memories of humanity’s past. These memorie s exist in the form of archetypes.

Taking Control of Eating with Bulemia or Anorexia Essay

According to the article Eating disorders 101, it states that â€Å"Between 5 and 10 million Americans have anorexia or bulimia†. People may not think of anorexia as an addiction, but in many ways it is. Anorexia usually begins as a diet. People may feel a loss of control and dieting is something that they feel they can have control over, thus feeling better about themselves. People will become closer with their bodies and soon develop a preoccupation with food and fear of gaining weight. The person may begin to notice something wrong but won’t stop dieting because the quest for the perfect thin body has become the most important factor in their life. Some people may think that anorexia is affected only by teens but in fact mothers have a big†¦show more content†¦This could then result in the patient not reaching their full height and developing brittle bones. Many doctors say that weight loss leads to many health effects. The lack of food causes the body to break down and cause to function properly as internal organs, such as the kidneys and liver, begin to shrink. Blood abnormalities include leukopenia (low white blood cells), thrombocytopenia (low platelet counts), and osteopenia (thinning of the bones). Anorexia has a big effect towards teens. According to the book Anorexia by Karen F. Balkin, it states â€Å"My story began 14 years ago when I was 12 years old. I was an awkward middle-schooler who desperately wanted to be beautiful and ached to be popular. I heard enough derogatory fat comments and witnessed enough pointed fingers while growing up to know that I didn’t ever want shunned and ridiculed like that. Therefore, I came to the conclusion that to be beautiful and popular, you needed to be thin.† Some teens may feel the only way to fit in is to lose weight or the other teens will pick on them. The other teens should indeed stop bulling anorexic teens because it’ll encourage them to keep starving themselves. The first step in treating anorexia often is the most difficult one. The person with anorexia must admit that he or she needs help. According to the book Anorexia by Bonnie Graves, it states â€Å"First, the person must be evaluated for any urgent medical problems. The next step is to help the person begin gaining weight byShow MoreRelatedPsy 244 Essay10464 Words   |  42 Pagesself-report (by children and/or parents, other family members, teachers, peers): children don’t remember (infintle amnesia) but parents do experimental: deliberate, controlled manipulated of presumably relevant variables; comparison of â€Å"experimental† and â€Å"control† subjects â€Å"natural experiments† (â€Å"experiments in nature†): observational studies that take advantage of naturally occurring variations along presumably relevant dimensions (Feral â€Å"wild† children, Twins, adoptive, children with physical/structural

Essay about Monsters - 1570 Words

In mythology, monsters provide a challenge that humans must overcome. Heroes try to gain fame by defeating them and townspeople are afraid of them. Monsters spread fear for men to conquer. They give the opportunity for heroes to prove themselves. According to Mr. Thomas Bullfinch, â€Å"monsters are unnatural in proportions and parts and are employed for the injury and annoyance of men (Bullfinch 1).† Monsters do have strange parts and a common purpose. In Greek mythology, monsters have striking similarities. They fall into distinct categories based on form and duty. Monsters may be part snake, lion, or human. Some have multiple heads. Most monsters’ duties include guarding something for another being. Other monsters have no responsibilities†¦show more content†¦A prime example is the Nemean lion, which Heracles defeated as his first labor. It was fierce and could not be hurt by bronze or stone. It shows its power with violence and physical superiority. The Gri ffin is another ferocious monster that has the body of a lion but the head and wings of an eagle. It is mostly known to guard treasure. It is a mix of the lion, the king of beast, and the eagle, king of birds, so it was extremely dominant. Finally, the Sphinx was a lion with a human head. It guarded the gates to the Greek city of Thebes. When a visitor wanted into the city, the Sphinx would ask them to solve his riddle. Thus, the Sphinx never used violence to guard the entrance. People wishing to enter the city knew of his power and physical capabilities. So even though the Sphinx never used violence, people knew of its strength and power anyway because he was partially lion. All in all, monsters with lion characteristics are very powerful and feared. Several monsters such as the Minotaur, Medusa, and centaurs appear to be partially human. These monsters have human characteristics because the gods decided to create them that way. 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