After a traumatizing event it is psychologically well-known that adequate words are hard to find in order to express emotions and fears. As an example, 9/11 was not only a worldchanging tragedy; it also influenced and radically changed the personal lives of many, having to cope with loss and trauma. Looking at post- 9/11 fictional novels, Jonathan Safran Foer’s Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a story about nine-year old Oskar who has lost his father in the World Trade Center on the day of the attacks. It describes his journey through New York City, trying to find a lock belonging to a key he found of his deceased father.
Interpreting the novel as a trauma narrative, the story evokes themes of loss and coping, not only of Oskar but also of his mother and grandparents. Because mourning oftentimes leads to aporia, Jonathan Safran Foer employs a wide range of stylistic heterogeneity, representing the unspeakable in numerous ways throughout the novel. As a form of adaptation, the novel has experienced a transformation into a movie. Subsequently it is questionable in how far the unspeakable is conveyed within the movie and which strategies are therefore employed.
In this essay, adaptation theory will be shortly analyzed as means of familiarization with different media. Following this, the representation of the unspeakable will be regarded in its depiction within the novel in order to compare in how far aporia can be overcome within the movie. Finally, major differences and similarities will be revised in order to process the value of the different genres.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Adaptation Theory
3. Aporia- Representing the Unspeakable
3.1 Representation of Aporia in the Novel
3.2 Representation of Aporia in the Movie
4. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper examines the literary and cinematic representation of trauma, specifically focusing on how Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and its film adaptation navigate the "aporia" or the inability to articulate the unspeakable aftermath of 9/11.
- The role of visual and graphical elements in trauma narratives.
- Adaptation theory and the transposition of literary meaning into film.
- Methods of coping with grief and loss through non-verbal communication.
- The impact of media and narrative structures on the perception of traumatic events.
- A comparative analysis of character development in the novel versus the movie.
Excerpt from the Book
3.1 Representation of Aporia in the Novel
When regarding Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, it becomes clear that the author plays with a mix of visual and verbal representations. Without even having to read the book, simply by flicking through, one comes across a whole set of pictures and graphic illustrations, which will be analyzed step by step in this essay. As Eßmann notes, pictures take hold in our memories and strike us sustainably (39). Furthermore, he argues that the written word seems to lose its importance, as mostly pictures remain in our memories instead of urging newspaper headings (39). Who does not remember the picture of the second airplane crashing into the tower? It is this influential force of pictures which Foer employs within the novel, making Oskar cope with his experiences and his trauma and simultaneously influencing the reader notably.
As the main narrator, Oskar has just tragically lost his father in the towers of 9/11 and it quickly becomes clear that he is suffering trauma, haunting him as a survivor. Already the first page of the book displays a picture of a lock, alluding at what is to come and what the reader can expect from the story. In the first chapter of the novel, we get an impression about Oskar’s mixed-up personality. Oskar imagines a teakettle being able to whistle or even to read in his father’s voice (Foer 1), alluding at his “traumatized mind” (Le Cor 3). Throughout the novel, Oskar’s vivid and overactive imagination remains, presumably as “a by-product of trauma” (Uytterschout 186). His imagination even reaches this far that he begins to invent gadgets which are “meant to rescue people from all sorts of dire straits” (Uytterschout 193), eventually trying to find a cause for his father’s death. Clearly, Oskar hopes to find something that could have prevented his father from dying, which does not make it rare that a lot of his inventions would help when being stuck in a skyscraper (Foer 2-3).
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the core subject of trauma in post-9/11 literature, specifically identifying the novel as a narrative about Oskar’s search for meaning after his father’s death and establishing the goal to compare its cinematic adaptation.
2. Adaptation Theory: This section provides a theoretical foundation by discussing the complex relationship between literature and film, emphasizing that adaptations are creative, independent acts of interpretation rather than mere copies.
3. Aporia- Representing the Unspeakable: This chapter analyzes how both media employ visual strategies and narrative techniques to represent the "unspeakable" nature of trauma.
3.1 Representation of Aporia in the Novel: The author examines how Foer uses graphic illustrations, flipbooks, and diverse narrative voices to allow Oskar and his family to navigate their grief through non-verbal means.
3.2 Representation of Aporia in the Movie: This part focuses on the filmic techniques used to condense the narrative, highlighting how the movie relies on monologues, silence, and visual storytelling to convey trauma without the original text's supporting elements.
4. Conclusion: The paper concludes by synthesizing findings, noting that while both genres use visual representations to overcome aporia, they differ in their narrative endings and the degree of closure offered to the protagonist.
Keywords
9/11, Trauma, Adaptation, Aporia, Jonathan Safran Foer, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Visual Representation, Grief, Literature, Film Studies, Narrative, Unspeakable, Oskar Schell, Memory, Coping
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this research paper?
The paper explores the concept of "aporia"—the difficulty of expressing the unspeakable—in the context of 9/11 trauma, specifically analyzing both the novel Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and its screen adaptation.
What are the central thematic areas covered?
The central themes include trauma theory, the role of visual culture in narratives, adaptation studies, and the psychological process of coping with loss.
What is the main objective of the analysis?
The goal is to investigate how both the written text and the film employ different strategies to represent the inexpressible emotions of characters dealing with traumatic loss and to compare their effectiveness.
Which scientific methods are utilized?
The paper utilizes a comparative literary and media studies approach, analyzing narrative structures, focalization, and adaptation theory to evaluate the transposition of content from book to film.
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body examines the specific literary devices Foer uses (such as images and scrapbooking) and contrasts these with the film's techniques (such as visual monologues and musical cues) to represent trauma.
What are the key terms that characterize this work?
Key terms include 9/11, trauma, aporia, adaptation, narrative, and visual representation.
How does the movie handle the "unspeakable" differently than the book?
The movie relies more heavily on visual cues and monologues, whereas the book uses typographic and graphic elements, such as the flipbook and the grandmother's blank pages, to express silence.
Does the author consider one medium superior to the other?
No, the author argues that both are valuable genres that use different creative strategies to fulfill the goal of helping characters and audiences approach the incomprehensible.
- Citation du texte
- Anonym (Auteur), 2016, Aporia in "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by J.F. Foer, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/538778
