The Curious Reader

Here is a song I feel Christopher would be able to relate to. Some the lyrics won’t, but the main jest of the song encompasses what Christopher may be going through. Other than that, it is a song I feel he’d enjoy. 

Source:

Relationships

A prezi displaying the relationships all connected through Christopher embarking the tough truths he has found out about his family. Click  the title “Relationships” to be directed to the prezi. 

“Then I stopped reading the letter because I felt sick. Mother had not had a heart attack. Mother has not died. Mother had been alive the whole time. And father had lied about this.” I began this journal with this quote as I feel it encompasses the whole meaning of break of trust for Christopher as he unravels what secrets his father has been keeping away from him. We learn that Christopher’s mother has been alive the whole time and has moved to London with Mr. Shears for the reason that she couldn’t take care of Christopher as well as his father, but it isn’t this that makes Christopher feel “sick”. The fact that his father lied to him made him puke all over his sheets, and caused him to be very confused. As I was reading this, I wouldn’t blame Christopher either. I mean, if I’d found out my father lied about my mother’s death I would be extremely perplexed and upset. So, without a doubt I feel for Christopher’s reaction to the news. When reacting to this news we see Christopher react in ways we haven’t seen before. For example, when he stops reading the letters the text states that Christopher’s brain doesn’t work properly, his stomach begins to hurt, he feels giddy, he begins groaning, and he begins puking. In any case where you encounter disturbing news where you begin to feel sick it is expected that you won’t react without becoming upset. We learn in this section that this is the way Christopher acts when he is faced with tough news. I too have gone through such events as Christopher where I had been faced with tough issues. My grandfather had passed away two years ago and I remember how sick I’d gotten because I just couldn’t handle the news at all, so I can definitely relate to how Christopher is feeling right now. Is this the worst of what Christopher had to deal with? Sadly not. With a father and son chat, Christopher also learns his father murdered Wellington out of inner frustration and conflict his father was dealing with between Mrs. Shears and himself. The fact of the matter is by this point I felt extreme emotion reading this as the author really knows how to get a reader intrigued. I felt a rush of emotion as I felt sorry for Christopher having to learn about all this in a short amount of time.  Something I also found interesting was the way the author started out the chapter of 151 with the following, “Lots of things are mysteries. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t an answer to them”, and to which I only noticed after reading the events that occurred after did I realize that had a symbolic meaning to the horrific news Christopher finds out about his mother, his father being the murderer of Wellington, and how he pieces together the events that he has just found out about. In a matter of short period of time we see how Christopher feels about all of this, and slowly but surely we know it isn’t something he takes very well. All things happen for a reason, and hopefully Christopher will realize this soon.

Just a simple All About Me video of Christopher. Nice and simple, just the way Christopher would’ve done it. Please be advised that you may have to wait for the video to load, before playing to allow it to play smoothly. 

Something that I’ve noticed while reading this novel is the fact that we forget the fact that Christopher even has autism because of the fact that he’s so intelligent. I’ve read this novel without even thinking about what medical condition he is in. The author has done a great job in developing a personality for Christopher showcasing his exceptionality while still maintaining and representing key behaviours that many kids diagnosed with autism face. For example, we see Christopher’s weaknesses to handling stressful moments and conflict when he is told that his mother is still alive and his father has killed Wellington. We see his weakness as he begins to puke, groan (which is a very common trait of autistic children when they become annoyed), and begins to scream and shout. We also see Christopher’s daily routine when he visits Siobhan on a daily basis to help him learn about how to handle everyday situations. One of the most important strengths that I feel stand out in the novel is the fact that Christopher is so intelligent. This is not the type of intelligent that gets you high marks in school, but the type of intelligent which allows you to see the world in a different way than others, which brings so much more sophistication in the way that Christopher thinks. I’ve only come across two people in my life who think like this. One being Hazel from the book The Fault in our Stars, and my grandmother. Looking back from the Autism documentary I watched in class it mentioned how some autistic children or teenagers are very independent and in their own world, and I think Christopher fits that description in terms of his intellect and how he sees the world differently which makes him quite the special person. I feel as though the author Mark Haddon did an exceptional job at creating a balance between autistic behaviours and behaviours that can be similar between people with and without autism. For example, we notice that one of Christopher’s habits is to judge his day based on the colour car he sees. If sees a red car it means it is a good day and if a yellow car it is a bad day, this of course is very common in kids with autism who create a connection between inanimate objects to base their emotions or what they want to do. Another habit Christopher has is the fact that he won’t eat food that is yellow or brown. When I think back to our classroom poll where we were asked if we would base our judgement on eating a food based on its colour most replied with a yes; so Christopher relates to us in this way. Another of Christopher’s habits is he has to know exactly what time it is on his watch.  So, it comes to the conclusion that the author did a great job in creating a believable character in terms of Christopher’s individuality and similarities to other autistic children and just other kids in general. We see many of Christopher’s hobbies while reading the book and I connect it to my life in the way that Christopher shares the same hobbies of many people such as solving puzzles that involve scientific and mathematical logic, solving mysteries, writing, and reading. All in all, Christopher is more than an amazing person who really does have that unique charm to his personality, and if only he were real; so I could visit him.

Here is a visual map/scene so to say of the crime scene that Christopher finds himself in, and what started his independence to finding out who murdered Wellington.