Whenever people cried themselves to sleep, the tears would all go to the same place, and in the morning the weatherman could report if the water level of the Reservoir of Tears had gone up or down, and you could know if New York was in heavy boots.
In "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," the author Jonathan Safran Foer presents a poignant image of collective grief. He suggests that when individuals shed tears, they contribute to a shared reservoir of sadness, symbolizing how personal sorrow connects people in a broader emotional landscape. Each night's tears, when combined, influence the state of this reservoir, emphasizing a communal aspect of human experience.
This metaphor illustrates the weight of collective emotions on a larger scale. The weatherman's ability to report on the water level symbolizes how society can gauge the emotional state of a place like New York, particularly during times of loss or despair. It serves as a reminder that individual pain can reflect and shape the communal atmosphere, making it possible to measure the universal experience of sorrow through something as tangible as rising water levels.
