She Wasn't Missing Dad

"I wanted to tell her she shouldn't be playing Scrabble yet. Or looking in the mirror. Or turning the stereo any louder than what you needed just to hear it. It wasn't fair to Dad, and it wasn't fair to me. But I buried it all inside me" (35).

"I didn't do it! I hollered, but they didn't even hear me, because they were playing music too loud and cracking up too much. I zipped myself all the way into the sleeping bag of myself, not because I was hurt, and not because I had broken something, but because they were cracking up. Even though I knew I shouldn't, I gave myself a bruise" (37).


These two quotes really hit me, because they really showed how much pain Oskar is in. Oskar feels completely alone, and seems to believe that his mother is fine and has already moved on from his dad, and that she doesn't miss him at all. This drags Oskar deeper into his sadness, because he feels as if he is the only one who misses his dad. When he thinks about it, his mother's relationship with Ron also makes him angry, because of how fast she moved on from his dad, even though Oskar believes that "It wasn't fair to Dad." When Oskar says "Mom was playing with Ron in the living room, listening to music too loud and playing board games. She wasn't missing dad" (36), it continues to show how he does not understand how his mom seems to be happy. The fact that his mother is so able to be happy almost makes Oskar more upset, because he feels like his mom is forgetting about his dad.