#thomas schell jr.

[canesenzafissadimora]

Come ogni cosa, se vorrai crederci, troverai i motivi per farlo.

[extremelyloud--incrediblyclose]

"He said, ‘What would happen if a plane dropped you in the middle of the Sahara Desert and you picked up a single grain of sand with tweezers and moved it one millimeter?’... (I said), ‘I guess I would have moved a grain of sand’... (He said), ‘Which would mean you changed the Sahara'" (86).

 Oskar Schell reminisces on a conversation he had with his father, Thomas Schell, before he died on 9/11. This uses a pastiche method, where the story is pieced together by reflecting on past events to eventually create a whole story. Specifically in this scene, Thomas attempts to condole his son after Oskar begins to experience an existential crisis. Oskar feels as though he is insignificant, and as though his actions are pointless in the grand scheme of the universe. These emotions serve as reflective parallels to the postmodern nature of the novel, as it is clear that Oskar’s feelings are representative of characteristics found in postmodernism. His father thus uses an analogy to attempt to assuage Oskar’s disarming emotions. Thomas attempts to prove Oskar’s post-modern opinions wrong by exemplifying that the only way to be insignificant is to remain idle. He shows with his Sahara Desert analogy that even if you move a tiny grain of sand, you’ve changed the course of history- and as a result, you are significant. This serves in direct contrast with the books postmodern tendencies which deal with a defiance of traditional structures, the concept of self-actualization, and the purpose of existence. Moreover, this helps to set Oskar’s father apart from the rest of the characters in the novel, as this scene shows that prior to his death on 9/11, Thomas served as a balancing force who was able to help refute Oskar’s painful postmodern concerns.