Great heroes often find themselves in a position where they have to lie. "These are not the droids you are looking for." "I don't know what happened… I was watering my plant…" "I'm diabetic and I need some sugar asap" (5.16).
In Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Oskar finds himself lying about everything from his age to his health in order to find the lock that fits the mysterious key. There are different size lies for different situations, of course. Oskar withholds his father's last answering machine messages; he lies to his mother about where he's going; his mother doesn't let on that she knows about his journey; his grandfather doesn't let on that he's his grandfather; Abby Black doesn't tell him that she knows about the key.
These lies aren't malicious. Most of them are done for emotional protection, but they have the effect of creating emotional distance between the characters. Oskar feels very guilty about all these lies. He keeps track of them and numbers them.
Questions About Lies and Deceit
- Why does Oskar feel so guilty about lying?
- Why does Grandma reveal her history to Oskar in a letter? Why doesn't she tell him in person? Why has she kept it from him for so long?
- Why doesn't Mom tell Oskar that she's been watching him? Or that she's attending a grief-counseling group?