Lettre 1
« Je te préviens tout de suite : j’ai horreur d’écrire. »
First of all we see that Oscar addresses God in a very familiar manner. There
is no pretence and no formality, which makes his writing more authentic. It
is more authentic not only because it is more real, but also because it is
more realistic as it is what we would expect from a 10-year-old child.
The phrase « j’ai horreur d’écrire » is very striking because it shows us
that at the beginning of the novel, Oscar is feeling afraid of expressing
himself. The fact that he accepts to resort to writing to express his
innermost feelings is symbolic of the fact that it is at that point that he
actually starts to live. Writing is going to become synonymous with living.
This is because we start to live when we start to truly appreciate life, and
such an appreciation comes about with reflection, which can in turn come
about through writing.
We can immediately see a paradox because Oscar is saying on one hand
that he doesn’t believe God exists, yet on the other hand he is writing to
him and is asking for his help: « Or j’ai besoin que tu t’intéresses. »
From the first letter we are shown that silence is actually worse than death.
The fact that Dr. Düsseldorf doesn’t speak to Oscar when he examines him
and looks discouraged makes Oscar feel even more miserable and guilty
too: « Plus le docteur Düsseldorf se tait avec son œil désolé, plus je
me sens coupable. »
The way Oscar is feeling is very realistic from a ten-year-old’s point of view.
He is feeling so confused and upset by how they are behaving around him.
He needs their support more than ever, and instead, they prefer avoiding
him as well as the subject.
The way he perceives things, the way he reasons and the way he speaks
shows that he is still 10 years old. Although it is very upsetting to see a boy
at such a young age nearing his inevitable death, there are also several
moments in the novel where, thanks to humour, we get to smile and laugh.
It is precisely because we are seeing things from a ten-year-old’s
perspective that we get to smile and laugh so often. An example is when
we are first introduced to Mamie-Rose and Oscar asks her about her age.
First of all, in her efforts to build a special relationship with Oscar to win his
trust, she tells him that he mustn’t tell anyone how old she really is and
that it is their secret. Moreover, Oscar asks her if she has expired, just like
yoghurt, and such a comparison brings a wide smile to our faces as we can
really imagine a ten-year-old asking such questions or drawing such funny
comparisons: « Vous êtes périmée? […] Comme un yaourt? »
Mireille Balzan
St. Aloysius’ College Sixth Form
Mamie-Rose tells Oscar that when she was younger, she was a wrestler and
her nickname in the ring was l’Étrangleuse du Languedoc. Apart from the
fact that these tales send us into fits of laughter, they are also an excellent
way for Mamie-Rose to better reach out to Oscar to get him to trust her.
She wants Oscar to see her as a strong person whose strength comes from
God and that if he trusts her, then he should believe her when she says
that God exists and that He is the one to fill her with great strength. Would
a strong wrestler like Mamie-Rose believe in Father Christmas? Of course
not. But the fact that she believes in God convinces Oscar to actually believe
her and to take her advice of starting to write letters to God.
Oscar is so much in awe of Mamie-Rose when he hears her tales about
herself as a wrestler, he actually feels like he is in the ring himself, defeating
opponents one would have thought are impossible to beat: « J’ai
l’impression que c’est moi. Je deviens le plus fort. Je me venge. »
Mamie-Rose decides to be honest with Oscar when he asks her questions
other people shun away from. The fact that she doesn’t avoid Oscar and
answers his questions truthfully, Oscar feels he can trust her. Moreover,
she doesn’t dismiss the way he is feeling. On the contrary, she
acknowledges how he’s feeling and encourages him not to let everything
bottled-up inside. She coaxes him into venting his emotions by writing to
God about how he’s feeling. Unless he lets out the anger there is inside him,
he won’t be able to make space for new, more positive thoughts. Failing to
create such space would result in him not being able to grow, spiritually
speaking: « Tu vas devenir une décharge à vieilles pensées qui puent si tu
ne parles pas. »
Mamie-Rose explains that in his letters to God, he can only ask for one wish
every day, and that these wishes have to be spiritual and not materialistic.
Thanks to her way of empowering him and guiding him, Oscar will go on a
journey in order for him to grow spiritually and feel at peace as his end is
drawing near.
We notice from the ending of his first letter to God and from his question to
God that he is still very much at the beginning of this journey as he is still
unable to think selflessly and still needs to learn about God’s ways of
making His presence felt: « est-ce que je vais guérir? Tu réponds oui ou
non. »
Mireille Balzan
St. Aloysius’ College Sixth Form