Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close Character Analysis Essay

From the Harry Potter series to the television program Gossip Girl, stories contain characters whose actions are immoral, yet readers and viewers develop sympathy for them due to their presentation. Likewise, in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Grandpa’s character is portrayed as immoral. The reader witnesses Grandpa marry a woman for a dishonest reason and then abandon her and his unborn child. However, as the story progresses, the reader discovers Grandpa’s backstory and can sympathize with him. The reader learns the rationales behind his unethical behaviors and Grandpa becomes a sympathetic character. The method Jonathan Safran Foer uses to present Grandpa forms him into a dynamic character about whom the reader’s opinion shifts over the course of the novel.

On the basis of Grandpa’s actions alone, he is immoral enough to dishonestly marry a woman and then leave her and his unborn child. He only married his wife because of her physical resemblance to her older sister, Anna. While Grandpa and Grandma engage in a romance where Grandma poses for Grandpa’s sculptures, Grandma notes that “After only a few sessions it became clear that he was sculpting Anna.” He left his wife traumatized when he departed, “She [Grandma] emptied herself of tears when Grandpa left.” Grandpa even admits to his immorality, asking “Why couldn’t I be the type of person who stays?” The author uses symbolism to lead us to unconsciously associate Grandpa’s traits with immorality. In many societies around the world, left-handedness is associated with evil. “Sinister” in Latin means “the left.” Therefore, the fact that “Yes” is tattooed on Grandpa’s left hand instead of the right is used as a technique to cause readers to either consciously or unconsciously associate Grandpa with the “dark side.” Through these devices, Foer crafts Grandpa as an outwardly unethical