The character in Jonathan Safran Foer's "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" embarks on a task that symbolizes both loss and resilience. She collects posters and tools, such as a stapler and staples, to put up reminders or messages, which reflect her emotional journey. The act of filling a suitcase represents an effort to carry memories and emotions, but it becomes overwhelming as it reduces a profound love into mere physical items.

This contrast between tangible objects and intangible feelings illustrates the struggle of coping with grief. The author encapsulates the essence of how love can become distilled into something as simple and fragile as staples. It evokes a sense of melancholy, highlighting the difficulty in reconciling deep emotional experiences with the reality of their physical manifestations.