The grandma and grandpa do not truly know each other and this statement is evident throughout the book
Body
A. Foer uses the grandma and grandpa’s relationship to represent how trauma breaks and changes people.
1.
Grandma acknowledges their shared experiences of loss when she says, “Maybe they don’t know that we’ve lost everything, but they know something’s off” (Foer, 30). Foer suggests that trauma is like a scar, because while it can fade, it can always be seen and will never leave.
a. After the grandma says this, the grandpa writes, “She was the tree and also the river flowing away from the tree” (30). Foer asserts that the tree represents her as the root of the trauma, as she reminds him of Anna. However, the river flowing away from the tree represents that she could also be the key that would allow him to move on. Foer uses the grandma as a representation of the grandpa’s inability to move forward in life.
b.
B. Foer suggests that relationships can only succeed through communication, and relationships where one cannot communicate with other are destined to fail. The grandpa’s inability to communicate restrains him from being able to create a real relationship with the grandma, leaving him unable to commit to her or his