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Ella Kaspersky
Oskar Novak works on Floor 17, in the asset management branch of Jonathan Alkaitis’s business. Although he is knowingly complicit in the Ponzi scheme, he offers the cryptic statement that “it is possible to know and not know something” during his cross-examination in court, perhaps as a weak attempt to justify his moral failing of going along with the scheme. Like Alkaitis, Oskar daydreams about alternative realities. For example, he imagines a world in which, when Harvey first bribed him to backdate a trade, he refused, reported the fraudulent activity to the authorities, and did not take part in Alkaitis’s crimes. In reality, though, Oskar accepts Harvey’s offer of a bonus in exchange for backdating the trade and keeping silent about it, and he becomes complicit in Alkaitis’s scheme. Oskar is one of the few staffers who explicitly demonstrate remorse for their actions. On the evening before Alkaitis’s arrest, after the office holiday party, Oskar follows Vincent home to Alkaitis’s empty Manhattan apartment and they have a one-night stand. Oskar will serve prison time for his involvement in the scheme, and he’ll eventually develop a substance abuse problem.
Oskar Novak Quotes in The Glass Hotel
The The Glass Hotel quotes below are all either spoken by Oskar Novak or refer to Oskar Novak. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 10: The Office Chorus
Quotes
“It’s possible to both know and not know something.”
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Chapter 11: Winter
Quotes
“I mean, here’s the question,” Joelle said, “and I’d be genuinely interested to hear your thoughts: How did he know we’d do it? Would anyone do something like this, given enough money, or is there something special about us? Did he look at me one day and just think, That woman seems conveniently lacking in a moral center, that person seems well suited to participate in a—"
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Chapter 12: The Counterlife
Quotes
You can know that you’re guilty of an enormous crime, that you stole an immense amount of money from multiple people and that this caused destitution for some of them and suicide for others, you can know all this and yet still somehow feel you’ve been wronged when your judgment arrives.
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Oskar Novak Quotes in The Glass Hotel
The The Glass Hotel quotes below are all either spoken by Oskar Novak or refer to Oskar Novak. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 10: The Office Chorus
Quotes
“It’s possible to both know and not know something.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11: Winter
Quotes
“I mean, here’s the question,” Joelle said, “and I’d be genuinely interested to hear your thoughts: How did he know we’d do it? Would anyone do something like this, given enough money, or is there something special about us? Did he look at me one day and just think, That woman seems conveniently lacking in a moral center, that person seems well suited to participate in a—"
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12: The Counterlife
Quotes
You can know that you’re guilty of an enormous crime, that you stole an immense amount of money from multiple people and that this caused destitution for some of them and suicide for others, you can know all this and yet still somehow feel you’ve been wronged when your judgment arrives.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
