Existentialism In Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close

In Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close the story of Oskar Schell is existential as shown through Oskar’s loneliness, the absurdity of his father death, and his attempt to find meaning in the search for the what the key unlocks.
Oskar embodies the existential mantra of “I am alone” throughout the entire book. Oskar spend the first part of his journey alone and he suffers from feelings of loneliness and depression throughout the book. He says when appears in the play “Hamlet”, “I felt that night, on that stage, under that skull, incredibly close to everything in the universe, but also extremely alone. I wondered, for the first time in my life, if life was worth all the work it took to live. What exactly made it worth it?” (145 Foer) After his
father’s death he feels alone. The main plot action in the book is Oskar trying to keep his dad’s memory alive. He does this to not feel alone. He feels “extremely alone” as he walks around New York City all day searching for his father’s last memory. After a long search, Oskar finds a companion, Mr. Black, but soon after, “We had been searching together for six and a half months when Mr. Black told me he was finished, and then I was all alone again, and I hadn’t accomplished anything and my boots, were the heaviest they'd ever been in my life.” (234 Foer) Oskar is unable to connect to anyone for very long. This personifies the existential ideal of loneliness because not only is Oskar alone, but no one cares about the meaning he has found in life.
Oskar creates his own meaning in an absurd world by searching for what his dad’s key unlocks. Oskar is searching for answers to his father’s death. One day he finds a key in a blue vase with the world “Black” written on the outside. He believes it was the final reconnaissance expedition his father had left for him. He states, “That night when I decided that finding the lock was my ultimate raison d’etre--the main raison that was the master over all other raisons-- I really needed to hear him” (69 Foer). Oskar’s ultimate raison d’etre, french for “reason to exist”, is finding the lock that matches his father’s key. He has found a purpose to in life that was not there after his father death. According to existentialism, “he is free to create his essence in whatever form he chooses.” Oskar uses the the search for the lock to keep his father’s memory alive. Although, “Every time I left the apartment to go searching for the lock, I became a little lighter, because I was getting closer to Dad.” (52 Foer) He searches for meaning in a meaningless world, a strong trait of an existentialist hero. In his search for his dad he has an optimistic existential view that he is so free that he can create his own meaning.
Oskar’s story follows the existential principle of life being absurd when his father dies, and again when he meets the owner of the key.
On September 11, 2011 Oscar’s dad died in the Attack of the World Trade Center. His father did not work in the Twin Towers, but had a meeting there that morning. Because of this seemingly random act Oskar now looks at the world as a meaningless series of events. He states, “I thought about all of the things that everyone ever says to each other, and how everyone is going to die, whether it's in a millisecond or days, or months, or 76.5 years, if you were just born. Everything that's born has to die, which means our lives are like skyscrapers. The smoke rises at different speeds, but they're all on fire, and we're all trapped” (245 Foer). Since he experienced the death of his father at such a young age, he struggles to understand why something like this would have happen, what the reason is. The theories of existentialism offer an answer, “Neither nature or a supreme being or another individual cannot or will not give meaning to this world there is no pattern of existence: catastrophe, starvation and inhumanity proves this. The world is essentially absurd.” After searching for month for the lock for his father’s key he find that it was not a message from his father, but rather a meaningless coincidence. When William Black explains to Oskar that the key did not belong to his father he says, “I’m so sorry. I know that you’re looking for
something too. And I know this isn't what you’re looking for” (300 Foer). From the beginning to end Oskar searches for a greater meaning to his father’s death but in the end is left with the same feeling of meaninglessness he began with.
Oskar’s story does not follow a Tragic structure because Oskar is able to reconcile for not picking up the phone, instead of paying the “ultimate price” and the story ends with a optimistic outlook. Though a tragic story of death and lost love Oscar is able to come to terms with the events surrounding his father's death. When he meets William Black the key’s rightful owner he explains to him that “I couldn’t pick up the phone. I just couldn’t do it. I wanted to pick it up and I couldn’t. He needed me, and I couldn’t pick up” (301 Foer). He then asks if William Black forgives him for not picking up the phone, William answers that he does. This is unlike a Tragic plot structure because the hero, in this case Oskar, is able to receive forgiveness for his actions, rather than “see the action through to its grim conclusion”. In the end Oskar comes to terms with his father’s death and his final words in the book are, “He would have told the story of the Sixth Borough, from the voice in the can at the end to the beginning, from ‘I love you’ to ‘once upon a time…’ We would have been safe” (326 Foer). This ending is unlike that of a Tragic hero, because not only does Oskar not die or have a tragic downfall but he has resolved the questions he had about not knowing his father’s last words, in the end there is an optimistic outlook to the state of his family, rather than a remorseful and reflective look back onto the events of the past.