Question

Read this excerpt from Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

The average person falls asleep in seven minutes, but I couldn’t sleep, not after hours, and it made my boots lighter to be around his things, and to touch stuff that he had touched, and to make the hangers hang a little straighter, even though I knew it didn’t matter.

How does the narration affect Oskar’s credibility in this excerpt?
His insomnia renders him sleep deprived and confused.
His efforts to heal render him earnest and genuine.
His straightening of the hangers makes him seem meticulous.
His hopeless resignation makes him seem desperate.

Answer 1

His efforts to heal render him earnest and genuine — the actions (touching his father’s things, straightening hangers) read as sincere attempts to cope and connect, not signs of confusion or mere fastidiousness.