Student Question
Why didn't Oskar pick up the phone during his father's last call on 9/11, and why does he ask Williams Black for forgiveness?
Quick answer:
There are many reasons why Oskar didn't answer the phone. Perhaps the grand plan for the story couldn't support such explicit communication. Prior to 9/11, Oskar and his dad mostly communicated through puzzles, missions, and stories. It was indirect. Such a direct conversation might have been too traumatic for Oskar. As for William Black, when Oskar asks him for forgiveness, maybe he's really asking his own dad for forgiveness.
To answer your first question, you might want to think about how Oskar not answering the phone is crucial to the mystery and puzzle of the story. Think about what would happen if Oskar did answer the phone. Think about if they did have a conversation. How would such clear, direct communication be against the ethos or spirit of the story? Before Oskar's dad dies, he prefers to communicate with his son not through direct communication but through puzzles, assignments, and stories.
One could argue that Oskar not answering the phone is predetermined. It's a part of the grand plan for the story. Oskar and his dad communicate best when they're not communicating directly. Maybe Oskar’s dad would have told him about the key and the vase and there’d be no need for a story.
Another reason is that not answering the phone could be a form of self-protection. Perhaps...
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Oskar, even if he can’t articulate it, somehow knew that talking to his dad during his final moments alive would be too much for him to bear. Oskar is a precocious, sensitive child. It's not unreasonable to suggest that such a phone call could cause severe trauma.
Think about how Oskar hides the messages from his mom. He says,
I could never let Mom hear the messages, because protecting her is one of my most important raisons d'être.
Maybe that's true. Yet maybe Oskar is also talking about himself. Maybe he wished he never heard the messages. If even the messages bother him, think about what actually talking to his dying dad would do to him.
As you're already aware, William Black connects to Oskar and his dad because the blue vase Black sold to Oskar's dad had the key to the safety deposit box. In that safety deposit box are the letters Black's dad writes to him. We might make a link between the letters from Black's dad to Black and the phone messages from Oskar's dad to Oskar.
Perhaps Oskar felt like he had something in common with Black, which is why he shares the messages with him. When he asks for Black's forgiveness, we might wonder if Oskar sees Black as a kind of father figure or father substitute. Maybe Oskar's really asking his own father for forgiveness. Forgiveness for what, though? Maybe forgiveness for not having the poise or emotional fortitude to speak to his beloved father during his final living moments.