I don't like Oskar. That's the reality of it. He's always whining and crying. I find it annoying how he can't move on. And yes, everyone's story is different and maybe he loved his dad more than he let on, but I still dislike him. He spends all his time in his little man-cave listening to the same messages over and over again. I bet he can recite, word for word each message by knowledge. And for him to think that anyone will give him sympathy is like asking a porcupine to talk. It just doesn't happen. Which leads me to my next idea. This story ends with a tragic truth: life is a jack-in-a-box waiting to jump out at you. Also, life is meant to be disappointing. That is why Oskar needs to wake up. Which leads to my next point. COA is all about learning. And it starts when you are born and ends when you are dead.
Oskar learned that life is full of disappointments. The key wasn't left for him! It didn't even belong to his dad. That's a disappointment in my opinion. And I know that Oskar dedicated so much of his time to his little entourage/journey to find the key. And that's okay. But that's why he needed the key to belong to someone else. He needed it. Just like so many everyday people need to smell the smoke and wake up. People need to realize that their life is made on the foundation of their mistakes. Thats the point of trying things over. Just like Oskar listens to his dad's messages over and over again. To learn from his mistakes. To teach his vulnerability a lesson.
That leads to my next point. COA is all about the learning experience. Life is meant to strain your mind about the unknown. Why do children want to be fire fighters? Things that even adults think they know, but really don't. Life was the beginning of learning. Learning was the beginning of life. All is one, and one is All. Oskar needed to learn from his mistakes like I said. He needed to think about what he was doing and how he was doing it. He did things like no other 9 year-old, and with pride. But for him to think that arrogance and pride are different, then he is far beyond wrong. Everyone and anyone can be arrogant. That is the way life is. Life is COA. Life is learning. Mistakes are learning. Surviving is learning. Living is Learning.
We live to learn. Oskar experienced what no 9 year-old should. But it happened. And he needed to roughen up and move on. But he dwelled in the land of mistakes and ended up in an emotional overload of woe and despair. He needed the time to recuperate from this issue and event, but he chose not to. And that is why he was sad. And that is why he felt like everything was wrong with his life. He was in serious need of something, someone, to tell him he needed an emotional alarm clock. He wanted and needed a disappointment to make himself aware of the ultimate lesson--living is learning.
