The theory of "other" or otherness states that people attempt to define themselves not by who or what they are, but by to who and what they are I am not. Defining oneself through the other, however, can be problematic as, by definition, this appears to limit organic individuality, deriving meaning only by establishing comparisons. In both Fight Club and Very Loud and Incredibly Close, the main characters are searching for some kind of healing or catharsis, and both find solace in investigating the "other" and how otherness plays a role in self-identification. However, both texts treat the “other” slightly differently: in Fight Club, otherness as a coping mechanism is completely rejected and the “other” is embraced as the self, turning the concept of the “other” into a necessary means to achieve an end. , while in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, the “other” is something to be avoided altogether because it does not allow for individuality. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Edward Norton's character in Fight Club, hereafter referred to simply as the narrator, is seeking relief from his callous, consumer-driven life, finally finding such relief when he embraces "the other" he has created for himself. In Tyler Durden the narrator personifies everything he is not. As the narrator begins to discover that Tyler is not a real person but rather a manifestation of his desires, Tyler informs the narrator of his composition: “All the ways you would like to be, that's me. I have the look you want to look at. I fuck the way you want to fuck. I'm smart, I'm capable. And, most importantly, I am free in everything that you are not” (01:48:45-57). The pronouns in this passage make his otherness even more evident: Tyler and the narrator are still considered separate characters, as evidenced by the opposition between "you" and "me." The sentence structure here also implies a kind of balance between the narrator and Tyler, situating them as perfect opposites and prime candidates for otherness. Tyler claims to surpass the narrator in the arena of looks, love, and even freedom; for everything Tyler does well, the narrator is tragically incompetent. While Tyler may originally function as the narrator's "other," embodying everything the narrator wishes to be but is not, the film's final scenes show the narrator embracing the "other" as himself. That is, the narrator commits the ultimate act of rebellion against the “other” by becoming “the other.” In the penultimate scene of the film, the narrator sees Tyler holding a gun and says, “I can do this. This isn't even real. The gun isn't even in your hand. It's in my hands” (02:04:46-56). The narrator looks down and the gun that was once in Tyler's hand appears in his. When the narrator discovers how to synthesize himself with the character of Tyler, he defies all convention and, instead of contrasting himself with an "other", takes on the character of Tyler. The scene continues as the narrator sticks a gun in his mouth, over the protest of Tyler, who asks "Now why would you want to go blow your head off?" The narrator responds as someone who has rejected otherness as a method of self-identification and has embraced the “other” as himself: “Not my head, Tyler. Our head” (02:07:12-19). By contrasting the pronouns “my” and “our,” the narrator confirms that there is no longer a distinction between him and Tyler, but rather that they are the same person. The narrator's decision to pull the trigger can be read not as an attempt to eradicate the "other", but as an attempt to synthesize himself with the person ofTyler Durden. After all, Tyler falls to the ground with a bullet wound protruding from the back of his skull, while the narrator ends the film with a definitive character change, answering to the name “Mr. Durden” and adopting Tyler's leadership role, a position he had vehemently resisted for most of the film. By identifying with and essentially becoming the self-made “other,” the narrator of the film Fight Club completely rejects conventional notions of otherness and, instead, becomes what he should not be. In the context of Fight Club, the "other" then becomes something to be overcome, an obstacle to true catharsis. Although creating Tyler Durden as his "other" was a necessary action for the narrator, his goal by the end of the film is to combine his own personality with Tyler's because both the narrator and Tyler in themselves represent only half of what the narrator. it must be. Reconciling with his “other,” the narrator becomes fully functioning and capable of showing emotion, as evidenced by his reaching out to Marla as the credit card company buildings collapse before them. The narrator was unable to show true affection to Marla until he reconciled his persona with that of his alter ego, suggesting that overcoming the "other" makes one more complete. Otherness plays a slightly different role in Jonathan Safran Foer's novel Extremely Strong and Incredibly Close. Oskar, the nine-year-old protagonist, is constantly fighting with two "others" throughout the novel: his deceased father and his absent and mute grandfather. In an attempt to reclaim his life and the possibility of a future after his father's untimely death, Oskar resists comparisons made to his father and grandfather because they are associated with abandonment and the past. Yet, again and again, Oskar's mother and grandmother compare him to unavailable men: "Mom?" "YES?" “It doesn't make me feel good when you say something I do reminds you of dad.” "OH. I'm sorry. Do I do this often?" "You always do." “I understand why it wouldn't be good.” “And Grandma always says that the things I do remind her of Grandpa. It makes me feel weird, because they're gone. And it also makes me feel special." (43)The comparison with his father is painful for Oskar, because it makes him feel “strange” and “not special”, even if he does not actively try to be different from his father or grandfather and, therefore, does not embrace the idea of the "other." Oskar, on the other hand, completely rejects otherness because he does not want to define himself in relation to either his father or his grandfather. Oskar rather tries to find catharsis by developing his own identity unaffected by the influence of an external comparison. Oskar, who tries so hard to project the past into the future, believes that reminding others of the past is not a source of comfort, but of frustration and tension. Oskar may rebel against this comparison, insisting that it is not like the deceased father or the absent grandfather and, in doing so, invokes the identity of the "other". However, he neither accepts nor rejects the comparison, but wants to define himself without the help of otherness because with otherness comes expectations. Oskar's main goal in the text is to overcome the tragedy represented by his father's death, and any kind of comparison, whether based on similarity or contrast, serves as an obstacle to his recovery. As Oskar wanders the city looking for the “Black” who knew his father, he meets Ruth Black, who compares Oskar to her dead husband: “'He loved the next thing that would change his life. And he was always coming up with wonderful, crazy ideas. A bit like you,' he said, giving me some heavy boots, because why couldn't I remember myself? (252). Although Ruth's description of her husband is extremely positive, Oskar resists.