Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. What is the significance of the title?

Question

I just read this book for my honors english class and I need some help.

What is the significance of the title?

What is the significance of the main characters?

Answer 1

I have not read this book, but here are a few sites I found that may be of some help to you for your work with it.  

http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/read...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Sa...

http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?in...

http://www.mcnallyrobinson.com/editorial...

Answer 2

The title's significance is stated at one point or another in the book - Oskar says that the jet flying into the side of the Trade Towers was extremely loud (he could hear it even at school) and incredibly close (not only physically, because it was relatively close to his school and apartment, but also close in an emotional sense because it was his one and only father that was killed in that event).

I don't quite get what you mean by "what is the significance of the main characters".  They're significant because the author cares about them and so do we.  If you need a more elaborate answer regarding the significance of the characters, you'll have to explain that bit a little more because I don't quite get what you mean. Sorry.