“Heavy boots.” At first I just read this as a chapter title, but after reading I found that Oskar began to use phrases and said things that actually sounded like he himself had “heavy boots.” As I mentioned in my previous response Jonathan Safran Foer always amazes me with the dynamics of Oskar. It is very rare that he has a basic conversation with anyone, including his Mom, Grandmother, and the people whose homes he visits. Although he is simply there to ask if the person knew his father or anything about the key, he ends up having a full out conversation. For example in his conversation Abby Black he finds out that she is an epidemiologist and that her relationship with her husband is not the greatest.
On pages 170-171 you start to see how his frustration is causing him to miss his Dad even more. He goes from “optimistic, but realistic” to “incredibly alone.” Then shortly after he tells his Mom that he wishes it was her who died instead. In my opinion this specific scene shows his pain and that although he is very ambitious, he is still a child. It’s easy to forget that he is still in adolescence because of how he is portrayed, but at the end of the chapter the reader sees that he is suffering
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