Characters
Oskar Schell, a self-proclaimed inventor, is the nine-year-old protagonist of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. His thoughts have a tendency to trail off into far-flung ideas, such as ambulances that alert passerby to the severity of the their passengers' conditions and plantlike skyscrapers, and he has several assorted hobbies and collections. He is very trusting of strangers and makes friends easily, though he does not have many friends his own age.
Oskar's grandfather, Thomas Schell Sr. (also referred to as "the renter") is an important character in the story, even though he does not physically meet Oskar until the book's end. After the death of his first love, Anna, Oskar's grandfather loses his voice completely and consequently tattoos the words "yes" and "no" on his hands. He carries around a "daybook" where he writes phrases he cannot speak aloud.
Abby Black is William Black's ex-wife. She is forty-eight years old and lives by herself. She is friendly and welcoming to Oskar when he arrives at her house, though she does decline Oskar's offer of a kiss.
Thomas Schell, Oskar's father, dies before the events of the book begin. Oskar remembers him as caring, smelling of aftershave and always humming the song "I Am The Walrus" by The Beatles. Thomas Schell organizes several expeditions for Oskar, such as a game to find an object from every decade of the past century, and this is one of the reasons Oskar even begins his journey in the first place.
Oskar's mother, Linda Schell, referred to as "Mom" in the book, cares for her family very much. After Thomas's death, Oskar's mother tells Oskar "I won't fall in love again." Though it is implied that she knows Oskar is running around the city meeting strangers, she nevertheless allows him to do so in order to discover more about his father.
Oskar's grandmother is a kind woman who is very protective of Oskar. She calls out to him often, and Oskar always responds with "I'm okay" out of habit. When she arrives in America, she reads as many magazines as she can to integrate herself as best she could, and enters into a tumultuous marriage with Oskar's grandfather. The two split apart before the events of the novel.
Anna is Oskar's grandfather's first love. Oskar's grandfather falls in love with her instantly. She dies in the Dresden firebombings of World War II after telling Oskar's grandfather of her pregnancy.
Read more about this topic: Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close
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“The first glance at History convinces us that the actions of men proceed from their needs, their passions, their characters and talents; and impresses us with the belief that such needs, passions and interests are the sole spring of actions.”
—Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831)
“Of all the characters I have known, perhaps Walden wears best, and best preserves its purity. Many men have been likened to it, but few deserve that honor. Though the woodchoppers have laid bare first this shore and then that, and the Irish have built their sties by it, and the railroad has infringed on its border, and the ice-men have skimmed it once, it is itself unchanged, the same water which my youthful eyes fell on; all the change is in me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)