True. I should have said so in my earlier posting. Not daring was part of Oskar's troubles, of course.PeteMork wrote: I don't think these two theories are mutually exclusive. It's very likely Oskar normally didn't dare to hit back. After all, there were three of them confronting him most of the time.
In the novel Oskar was even more active. He actually hit Lacke, in his temple with the corner of the Rubik's cube he brought to give Eli, thereby saving Eli's life. And a couple of moments later, when Oskar met Lacke's gaze as Eli was chewing on Lacke's neck, Oskar silently asked Lacke to forgive him.PeteMork wrote:At the same time I don't think he wanted to hurt people either, as evidenced by his handing Jonny his sock. In the short term, Eli's advice worked; in the long term of course, it didn't. Hindsight is always 20-20.
But the important thing is, Eli advice, as successful as it seemed to be, didn't change him; didn't make him braver or meaner. This is supported by the way he tossed the sheathed knife away while Eli was killing Lacke. He didn't want any part of the violence he was witnessing. But at the same time, he knew he was partly responsible for Lacke's death because he pulled his knife and shouted at him, thereby alerting Eli to the danger she was in.
In other words he never learned the lesson Eli was trying to teach him. He didn't have the seed in him, in spite of his fantasies. (Or I would like to think he didn't.)
So Oskar didn't have it in him.