"Im telling you all of this because I'll never be your father, and you will always be my child. I want you to know, at least, that it's not out of selfishness that I am leaving, how can explain that? I can't live, I've tried and i can't. If that sounds simple, it's simple like a mountain is simple. You mother suffered, too, but she chose to live, and lived be her son and her husband. I don't expect that you'll ever understand me, much less forgive me, you might not even read these words, if your mother gives them to you at all. It's time to go. I want you to be happy, I want that more than I want happiness for myself... I'll never write another word again, I am gone, I am no longer here. With love, Your father" (135).
These words came right at the end of the chapter and really stood out to me and I am sure to all of you too. Narrator #2 who we all weren't sure who it was is now made clear in this chapter. I imagine this is the last time we are going to hear from him as the narrator because of how this chapter ended. This chapter is all a letter to his unborn son. Him and his wife have a rule that they aren't aloud to have kids so he writes this letter expecting it to never get read by anyone. This raises a few questions:
Where did Oskar's father come from if he's grandma was never going to have any kids? Did Oskar's father ever read this letter? Or did he ever meet his mothers first husband who wrote this letter? Did Oskar's grandmother ever get remarried? What happens to Thomas the sculpture? What happens to Oskar's grandmother after she finds out he's not coming back? Does he come back? Do they ever see each other again?
The English Dork Club: A real-time ongoing conversation for Readers, Writers, Thinkers, and Discussers in English 4
As for the last few questions you asked, I am sure the 2nd and 3rd narrators will reveal what happened as the book goes on. For the 1st question, it is necessary to consider that most people in Oskar's family history used writing as a tool to cope with all of the loses they had to endure because of the war. I think that the letter wasn't necessarily meant for his "unborn child" to read, but rather a way for him to make sense of whether what he is doing in his life is right or not because writing helped "heal" a lot of the people in his family. Another thing to look at is, is that is Oskar's grandma on his mother or father's side because we can't assume that Oskar's grandma's son was his dad. Also the other questions are kind of hard to answer right now because we are not that far into the book yet, and the book is designed to reveal itself over time. Does anyone have any other ideas?
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ReplyDeleteI really like reading this. Thanks
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