Backwards Dreams

One theme that runs throughout Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is the idea of time running backwards.  This can be seen more prominently at the end of the novel when Oskar imagines the man falling upward and his father coming home.  There are also smaller moments when Oskar asserts this idea.  One example can be seen when Oskar gets into a fight with his mom about whether they should save his father’s razor.  His mom thinks it is trash and Oskar insists that they save it.  He gets so frustrated that he yells, “So it will be OK if I throw away all of your things and forget about you after you die?”  Oskar feels bad about snapping at his mom and thinks “As it was coming out of my mouth, I wished it was going into my mouth.”  I think this recurring idea is significant because it is not just about him wishing something hadn’t happened.  Instead, Oskar literally imagines these things happening in reverse.  This response can be categorized as more active and imaginative than simple regret and I think it reveals more humanity in Oskar.  The emphasis on wishing that something could be reversed is also important because it demonstrates an understanding that it can’t be reversed.  In spite of his difficulties dealing with grief, Oskar is not in denial which would prevent him from moving forward.  Instead, he lets himself feel his frustration and outwardly expresses it.  This is especially significant at the end of the novel after Oskar goes through a transformation process.  Oskar matures greatly by this point after he has connected with the owner of the key and confessed his secret about the answering machine.  He even opens up to Ron and comes to terms with his relationship with his mother.  Despite these changes, Oskar uses a similar coping mechanism to stay close to his father.  Once again, I think that Oskar’s desire to live time backwards is an acknowledgement of his inability to do so.  Oskar has made many new relationships and while his memories stand, he seems ready to face the future.  This does not erase the grief that he feels but it emerges as a coping mechanism for him to move forward.