Many times throughout the novel Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, by Jonathan Safran Foer, characters are unable to express themselves through words. I believe this is why Jonathan Safran Foer includes picture pages, because Oskar feels that this is a good way to show his emotions. This also can be related to the theme of search because Oskar is searching for his father to show how much he loved him and what he truly means/meant to him.
On page 279, Oskar's grandfather is explaining how he followed him throughout New York City and said, "For eight months I followed him and talked to the people he talked to, I tried to learn about him as he tried to learn about you, he was trying to find you, just as you'd tried to find me, it broke my heart into more pieces than my heart was made of, why can't people say what they mean at the time?"(Foer 279)
This last question that he poses is very powerful. I think it shows the complexity of humans and their emotions and how sometimes there are not words to describe how you feel.
From pages 269-271, Oskar's grandfather has returned to the United States and is trying to talk to Oskar's grandmother over the phone. He can not speak, and thus can not put his feelings into words, and tries to use numbers on the keypad. This can represent Oskar's grandfather losing his identity and all that makes him human.
"I'm running out of room, this book is filling up, there couldn't be enough pages, I looked around the apartment this morning for one last time and there was writing everywhere." (132)
Also, earlier in the novel when his grandfather loses Anna he is unable to speak words that sound like her name which eventually progresses into him losing the ability to speak. That is when he comes up with the journal in which he writes phrases that he uses in everyday life and holds them up to show their meaning. Sometimes when you lose something valuable to you, you cannot put into words what it feels like and this is the purpose of the picture pages and the journal.
Bruises can also be related to this central purpose. Oskar bruises himself because it is a way to show how he feels when he doesn't know what to say. The quote on page 172-173, shows how Oskar feels about the bruises he gives himself and how he wants his mom to see them.
Picture Pages they can be the reason Jonathan Safran Foer uses them to show feelings Oskar wants to say but can't get out