Aporia in "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by J.F. Foer (PDF)

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,0, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (Anglistik American Studies), course: Graduate Seminar American Studies- 9/11 in American Literature and Popular Culture, language: English, abstract: After a traumatizing event it is psychologically well-known that adequate words are hard to find in order to express emotions and fears. As an example, 9/11 was not only a worldchanging tragedy; it also influenced and radically changed the personal lives of many, having to cope with loss and trauma. Looking at post- 9/11 fictional novels, Jonathan Safran Foer's Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is a story about nine-year old Oskar who has lost his father in the World Trade Center on the day of the attacks. It describes his journey through New York City, trying to find a lock belonging to a key he found of his deceased father.

Interpreting the novel as a trauma narrative, the story evokes themes of loss and coping, not only of Oskar but also of his mother and grandparents. Because mourning oftentimes leads to aporia, Jonathan Safran Foer employs a wide range of stylistic heterogeneity, representing the unspeakable in numerous ways throughout the novel. As a form of adaptation, the novel has experienced a transformation into a movie. Subsequently it is questionable in how far the unspeakable is conveyed within the movie and which strategies are therefore employed.

In this essay, adaptation theory will be shortly analyzed as means of familiarization with different media. Following this, the representation of the unspeakable will be regarded in its depiction within the novel in order to compare in how far aporia can be overcome within the movie. Finally, major differences and similarities will be revised in order to process the value of the different genres.