An extended metaphor is a sustained symbolic element that an author develops over the course of many sentences, lines, or chapters in a novel. In a novel, it illuminates a greater human truth (or theme) the writer would like readers to understand. Extended metaphors are more complicated than regular metaphors because extended metaphors more deeply explore the similarities between the original symbol and the theme or idea to which it is compared.
The 6th Borough, the story Oskar’s father told him the night before he died, could be interpreted as an extended metaphor. Today, in an AARDVARK post, you will explore what The 6th Borough could represent. Choose elements of the novel that the story might relate to, and explain how it connects to the larger idea, theme, message, or concept the book explores.
The 6th Borough can represent the lasting impression you leave where you go. While it is no longer there, the 6th Borough left marks, such as the fossils and the memories. The girl and boy who talked through the string phones will always remember each other. This connects to the message of the book, which is to live your life how you want to be remembered and consider the impression you want to leave.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of living your life how you want to be remembered. Oskar´s father clearly left a good impression on him.
DeleteI didn't think of the Sixth Borough as a representation for a lasting impression, but I find that interesting. Maybe Oskar's father did just want him to step out of his shell and make more of an impression on the world than being in the family's jewelry business.
DeleteI like this idea. I find it interesting that this is how you took the story. Oskar's father clearly wants Oskar to live up to his full potential as whatever he decides to pursue in life, which is a very empowering message for anyone.
DeleteThe idea of the 6th Borough as a remnant of a time past and something that preserves a memory is definitely prevalent. I certainly agree that this story encourages Oskar and the reader to live life how you want to be remembered. This relates to other elements of the novel such as the incessant letter writing of Oskar's grandparents as way to preserve the past.
DeleteI didn't see it as a lasting impression but I could see how you could see it like that.
DeleteCertainly the Sixth Borough could represent a lasting impression. This can be back by the fact that the Sixth Borough left central park behind which would is a physical metaphor for a lasting impression. It begs the question what really is a legacy and what impression should you want to leave on the Earth.
DeleteI think that the 6th borough represents the passage of time, and letting go. While the island drifts away, the people try to chain it and hold it in place, but like time, it can’t be stopped. His toe skimming the water after he had jumped across perfectly every other time shows that nothing “perfect” can stay forever, including people. Oskar and his father had a very close bond, and like the people who tried to keep the island around, Oskar couldn’t let go of his father. However, in the end, Oskar realizes his father is gone, and he cherishes the time that he did have with his father, even though his time with him was short.
ReplyDeleteI like your connection to the toe skimming the water, meaning not everything can be perfect forever.
DeleteI like this representation a lot! I think it could be a metaphor for simply time passing and obviously Oskar dealing with his father's death over time. Death is not something people can just forget about or ever entirely let go of, but it is something Oskar will have to move forward from. He can remember his father like how they "remembered" the Sixth Borough together, but Oskar's life cannot stop moving forever, especially since he still has his whole life to live ahead of him.
DeleteI like the connection to letting go and the people trying to hold back the island, despite the lost hope of trying. There was nothing that could stop the island from continuing to drift. The same can be said for life and time.
DeleteThe toe skimming is like as we get older, we tend to forget. We can't do what we used to do as well anymore
DeleteI like the connection between trying to hold the sixth borough in place and Oskar trying to hold onto his father. The island can't be prevented from moving away, its closeness with Manhattan will change over time. This ties in with the "nothing will stay perfect" idea because harsh instances that happen all of a sudden is a part of life.
DeleteThe part where the jumper's toe skimmers the water reminds me of the Robert Frost's poem Nothing Gold Can Stay. Nothing perfect (or gold) will last forever, similarly to the leaves in Frost's poem and the jumper's leap between the city and the 6th borough.
DeleteI agree that it definitely represents time. I also like how you used the events of the book to show the theme of time as well.
DeleteThe story Oskar's father told him is definitely an extended metaphor. It is a metaphor for the passage of time and maturity. In the story we see the island slowly separate, we see the kids turn into adults and eventually the island becomes frozen with a hole in it, symbolizing its death. Oskar throughout the novel has a hard time dealing with the death of his father. He goes on a giant quest hoping to find something that meant his father might be okay, just like the people in the 6th Borough story tried to keep the island from floating away. Just, like the 6th Borough, everything comes to an end over time. Oskar finds his father´s diary and the quest is over. So in conclusion the 6th Borough is an extended metaphor for Oskar's journey throughout the novel.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t really think about it from the maturing perspective and growing up- I totally agree though.
DeleteI thought that this perspective was very different and eye opening. I never realized the similarities between maturity and the journey Oskar goes through trying to hold onto the small piece he still has left of his dad alongside this story. I really like the idea that this is an extended metaphor for his journey, because it makes a lot of sense and is just a very different take on the whole thing.
DeleteI never thought about it as representing his quest, but that is very interesting. Just like the 6th borough his quest came to an end.
DeleteThe Sixth Borough could represent in this novel the fact that life doesn’t stop moving just like the Sixth Borough did not stop moving. The Sixth Borough kept moving and “receded from New York.” I think this represents how even though Oskar’s father died, Oskar’s life has to keep moving. He cannot hold onto the pain he has experienced forever and that is why he goes on the hunt for the unknown “Black” key owner. He is looking for some kind of closure so that he can keep moving forward. Oskar cannot hold on to the pain he has experienced from his father’s sudden death or else he will end up being as frustrated as the long jumper who ended up separated from the Sixth Borough. Oskar will end up like “the eight bridges between Manhattan and the Sixth Borough” that “strained and finally crumbled” if he holds on to the pain and anger he has felt since 9/11. This extended metaphor represents that in life things do not always go as planned and unexpected things can occur that completely change the plans we have or the lives we live (like the Sixth Borough moving and messing up the long jumper’s plans), but in the end you have to keep living and find a new version of the Sixth Borough because life is ultimately a cycle of changes. Oskar and even his entire family will have to learn to keep moving forward just like the Sixth Borough, even if it is only “a millimeter at a time.”
ReplyDeleteI did not think about the 6th borough's separation from the city in comparison to Oskar's separation from his father. This is interesting. His frustration compared to the long jumpers frustration makes total sense here. Both of them had something they loved taken away.
DeleteThis take is something that's different from the others. I like the connection between Oskar getting frustrated like the long jumper, and that life will continue to move, even if you don't want it to.
ReplyDeleteI think that this story is in itself an extended metaphor for the incident of 9/11. The island that was once connected to New York, and was once so invested as a major part of the city was one day just taken away. It began to happen slowly and under peoples noses, just as the plan that the terrorists thought of did. Then all of the sudden, everything happened quickly as it did with that day in 2001. Once the people realized what was happening, it happened all at once and there wasn't a single thing anyone could do to stop that. The people in the story attempted to keep the island within the stretch of land and close to New York, but nothing they did helped because it was already way too late. Much like after people realized the first plane hit, they couldn't get the building to not collapse on everyone at the end of the day. They also couldn't make the other plane not crash into the second tower. This story ties into the main theme of the novel: coping with the grief of a lost loved one. In the end of the story, they decide to pull Central Park in and save it. The people unite and are victorious in their efforts. This reminded me of the way that people from all over the nation united after 9/11. Tons of people became volunteers that helped clean up and search for bodies. They gave up countless hours so that some people could have any amount of closure after such a horrible chain of events. The entire nation mourned the loss together and decided to take action against what had cost them so much sadness and lives. Much like the people of this story pulling part of their lives back to them in celebration.
ReplyDeleteGreat insight! I find the view of the 6th Borough as a metaphor for 9/11 valid in that it captures the loss of an entire community, leaving behind sleeping children. In a way, Oskar is one of the sleeping children left in Central Park because after 9/11, his father and a part of New York is gone, but he remains.
DeleteThis is a very fascinating idea and I like the fact that you made these connections because they are very important. I think there is a theme of grieving because we can see this through the book with Oskar losing his dad in the 9/11 attack, and the grandfather losing Anna and her baby in the bombing. This is meant to show the dramatic change these events caused and the effect they had on people.
DeleteI hadn't thought of the sixth borough being a metaphor for 9/11 itself, this is really interesting. I also agree with your point of everything happening quickly in Oskar's life, like how the jumper suddenly realized the sixth was drifting away. I also agree when you said the sixth's drifting is unstoppable because that will eventually happen over time and this relates to how Oskar cannot stop the death of his father, but he can cope with it.
DeleteInitially, Oskar alludes to the fable of the 6th Borough at the end of the first chapter when he retells the night before and the phone calls of the day that Thomas Schell died. This intentionally builds anticipation and leaves the reader hanging as the only piece of time leading up to the death of Oskar’s dad that is omitted. Thus, the reader is on the lookout for this story until chapter eleven where it appears as a chapter called “The Sixth Borough”. Obviously, the eleventh chapter is important in a novel centered on 9/11 and the fact that this story is the eleventh chapter signifies its importance in the novel. An important symbol is the “I love you” spoken over a string connected to the 6th Borough that a boy bottles and puts in his closet. This mirrors the vase holding a key that connects Oskar with his father and the answering machine preserving Thomas’s final words, both stored in a closet. These two items connect Oskar to a hopeful, Neverland-like space much like the string connects the 6th Borough and the rest of New York City. Additionally, the letters of Oskar’s grandfather that he buries in Thomas’s empty coffin represent a similar sentiment of emotion stored in a container. Just like how Central Park remains from the 6th Borough and the bottled “I love you” preserve an inter-borough relationship, Oskar carries the safe deposit key from the vase for months next to his heart, keeping a piece of his father next to his emotional center. Thus, the 6th Borough create a fable that unites Oskar and Thomas despite tragic death and Thomas’s insistence that the 6th Borough was real encourages Oskar to hold on to the memory of his father.
ReplyDeleteThe 6th borough could represent how quickly time passes because from the story with the long jumper, the person went out every year, and every year there was change from where the island was located. This further leads to the idea of change in your own life. As the island drifts away, this shows the mood shift, because you are comfortable with what you have now and do not want to live differently. Sooner or later you will move away from others and feel lonelier, like the island. Through this theme of isolation, Oskar himself feels lonely without his father which is why he goes searching for the lock, to find something he could remember him by,but becomes unsuccessful. Oskar never adapts to the idea that change is necessary in life because he still wants to be with his father by the end of the novel.
ReplyDeletethe story of the father is on Chapter 11 and it's a book on 9/11 and how he died so I think that's pretty significant. I think the 6th also has to do with how kids grow up and eventually we all die and we can't tie down our youth forever. Also Oskar doesn't want to do anything with the voice machine as the boy who used the tin can and closed the tin can because it contained her I love you. We really don't want to let go, but sometimes we have to
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting how you related youth to the 6th borough and how it cannot last forever. Letting go for Oskar is not easy for him and feels like it will last forever.
DeleteI also think it is interesting that you connected these ideas to the 6th borough. Oskar, himself, does want everything to last forever, like wanting to have his dad around more, but has to realize that he'll have to let go. This idea further applies to everyone and every character in the book.
DeleteThe sixth borough can represent how things can change all of a sudden and as a result, things get further apart. In the sixth borough story, an athlete would long jump from Manhattan to the sixth borough and things went great for him, his jumps were always flawless. One year, the jumper missed the 6th borough by a millimeter because the island was drifting farther away from Manhattan and the jumper could no longer reach the island anymore after that. This shows how once things change due to the passage of time, nothing will be the same anymore. In the novel, once Oskar’s dad died, Oskar’s life changed for good and he could no longer reach him. Even though Oskar tries to connect with his father by going on the quest for the lock, he has to mature to accept that, just like the sixth, that closeness will not last forever, things will eventually change.
ReplyDeleteThe Sixth Borough story, to me, best shows the theme of time and the inevitability of maturity. The Sixth Borough represents childhood and Manhattan represents adulthood and maturation. The Sixth Borough is like a neverland; this is shown by how the people have to use ways of communicating that “resembled children’s toys(pg.218)”. It’s said that “the children were pulled, one millimeter and one second at a time, into Manhattan and adulthood.” This extended metaphor shows how maturity in inevitable. The use of diction here is important because in specifically says the children were “pulled” into adulthood. This wasn’t their choice. They were forced into it. Similar to how maturity just happens. It’s not a choice. It’s a natural transition. Like how Oskar naturally transitions into maturity. His maturity comes by is acceptance of his father’s death. This is shown when Oskar digs up his father’s coffin. By digging up his father’s grave, he comes face to face with the reality and finality of human life. And like the children who were pulled into adulthood, Oskar’s father’s sudden death pulled him into maturity.
ReplyDeleteI really like how you compared it to Neverland. I think it is important to realize that the diction of the story has lots of things related to childhood like talking through cans with wire, the toys, the reference to catching fireflies, and the line about adulthood you mentioned.
DeleteThe Sixth Borough represents time and the uncomfortable lack of control we have relating to time. Nothing lasts forever, and similar to the sixth borough, it cannot be chained down and neither can time. Not only that, but the sixth borough also represents the complete opposite. It is a special secret that Oskar and his dad share that bonds them. This is their way of having their own private world within the city. Throughout the novel, as Oskar hears fabels, including the sixth borough, his father never admits that they are untrue. The author is saying something about truth and how these myths can contain truths by creating connections that are real. The sixth borough can represent the reality of truth and how everything magical should be taken into considering and not just shrugged off.
ReplyDeleteI think that this story represents the maturity and the separation of childhood and adulthood. Some of the people on this island do not really want to leave. They wish to stay on the island, even as it floats further and further away. The island also gets frozen, which could mean that it becomes preserved. We never forget our childhood, but it is no longer a part of us. However, the 6th borough does leave something behind. Central Park does not float away with the 6th borough. Instead, they saved the park. Perhaps this symbolizes how our childhood can disappear forever, but we remember it and keep a part of it with us.
ReplyDeleteI believe the 6th Borough is an extended metaphor to innocence. Typically, loss of innocence is a gradual thing that’s bound to happen over time. Little memories begin to float away, and is replaced with more meaningful, present knowledge. And eventually, innocence becomes a distant memory itself, like the floating island. We can still look back and see our times of innocence, but we still manage to lose it.
ReplyDelete-liz
I believe that the Sixth Borough is an extended metaphor for Oskar's father, and how Oskar deals with the death. The borough was loved very much by all the people of New York, who could represent Oskar, and they tried to save it from its detachment. The detachment in this case symbolizing the death of Oskar's father. The way the citizens of New York and the S.B. communicate through the cans and string is symbolic of how Oskar still remembers his father through memories. FInally, the fact the Central Park is still in New York is symbolic that Oskar's father left a mark on his son that death can never take away from him. Just like Central Park, the memories and lessons that Oskar's dad left with can never be taken from him, even by death.
ReplyDelete