On page 281 of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer writes, "...why didn't I learn to treat everything like it was the last time. My greatest regret was how much I believed in the future.” This quote is from one of the last passages that Oskar's grandfather, Thomas Sr. writes. I think that this quote is significant to understanding Thomas's character in the novel, so I created an art quote using it. The background is supposed to be the World Trade Center buildings (I'm not a great artist) where Oskar's father died.
Thomas is a man who has lost everything: his former love, family, home, and speech. When he moves to New York, he marries Oskar's grandmother because of the one thing they had in common: they didn't want to be lonely. Once Oskar's grandmother gets pregnant, Thomas leaves her and her child. Thomas spends his life writing thousands of letters to his unborn child. Thomas lives in the past, constantly reliving moments from his life- his married life, his dead girlfriend Anna, the bombing that destroyed his hometown. But when he is confronted by his past actions, Thomas is unable to deal with them. This is shown when we learn that Thomas Jr. had found and visited him in Europe, but even though they both know that they were father and son, neither revealed their true role in the other's life. Thomas Sr.'s past haunts him and he regrets many of the decisions that he made, like never knowing his son. His message in this quote shows his regret and desire to have made different choices in his life so that he could have lived it to the fullest. This quote is universally relatable, as we all don't always take advantage of the little time that we have on this planet. Events like 9/11 show that the future is not guaranteed and that we should learn not to take anything for granted.
Thomas is a man who has lost everything: his former love, family, home, and speech. When he moves to New York, he marries Oskar's grandmother because of the one thing they had in common: they didn't want to be lonely. Once Oskar's grandmother gets pregnant, Thomas leaves her and her child. Thomas spends his life writing thousands of letters to his unborn child. Thomas lives in the past, constantly reliving moments from his life- his married life, his dead girlfriend Anna, the bombing that destroyed his hometown. But when he is confronted by his past actions, Thomas is unable to deal with them. This is shown when we learn that Thomas Jr. had found and visited him in Europe, but even though they both know that they were father and son, neither revealed their true role in the other's life. Thomas Sr.'s past haunts him and he regrets many of the decisions that he made, like never knowing his son. His message in this quote shows his regret and desire to have made different choices in his life so that he could have lived it to the fullest. This quote is universally relatable, as we all don't always take advantage of the little time that we have on this planet. Events like 9/11 show that the future is not guaranteed and that we should learn not to take anything for granted.