Blurry Vision

Prepare for one mess of a blog posting - The closing passages of Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close has sparked my interest in "something" and "nothing." Maybe I was imagining things but everything I read seemed relevant to the topic. For example: The Sixth Borough, the last "My Feelings," the letter from Stephen Hawking and, finally, the coffin scene.

What I've come to discover is the line between something and nothing gets extremely blurred throughout the novel, especially towards the end. Earlier in the novel, we find Thomas Schell Senior undressing in a nothing zone when he thinks it's a something zone. Later, Oskar's grandma wishes to live in the airport where there is neither something nor nothing. 

Oskar's quest, as well as his character in general, constructed most of my opinion on the blurry vision of something and nothing. When Oskar discovers the whereabouts of the lock he gets heavy boots, heavy boots for the rest of his life. Oskar's search could have led to something just as easily as it could have led to nothing, and that's what's so difficult about living in a life where there's a blend of the two - "'...the vast majority of the universe is composed of dark matter. The fragile balance depends on things we'll never be able to see, hear, smell, taste, or touch. Life itself depends on them'" (304-305). Oskar's traumatic experiences have caused him to react to situations logically, like an adult. But, his inherent, childlike tendencies often conflict with his maturity. This complication occurs in the graveyard scene. Oskar's conflicted between distinguishing his father's death as significant, something, or insignificant, nothing - "I knew it shouldn't matter, because once you're dead, you don't feel anything. So why did it feel like it mattered?" (320) Oskar had something, his father, and when he died he received "nothing." In contrast, Thomas Schell Sn. had nothing, his unknown son, and now he has something, guilt and regret. So, the question both are trying to answer is what do we do with something? Nothing? Is something nothing? Is nothing something? These are impossible questions but so tempting to answer. It's like standing in front of a closed box we cannot open. Maybe it's best to ignore the box.