QUESTION 1[B]
How effective is Haddon in making the world we live in a challenging place for Christopher in the novel?
• How Haddon helps the reader see our world from the perspective of a teenager afflicted with autism – Christopher interprets our world through his own lenses
• That Haddon makes Christopher consciously aware that he and his schoolmates belong to another category of people, different from ordinary people
• That unlike ordinary people, Haddon points out to us that Christopher needs a lot of effort to process moods / feelings / facial expressions / language – figurative especially dealing with metaphorical expressions / good or negative intentions, remarks from others / coping with new people, situations, encounters, problems and so on / also inability to accept lies or being lied to merely considering all the things which could have mattered if that a lie is being told to him is a nightmarish experience for him / that he has to cope with signs and symbols invented by the world of normal people / nonverbal communication amongst them
• Haddon isolates Christopher by making him seemly anti-social / a loner – to normal people as well as people who belong in his lot. Haddon makes Christopher confess that he is comfortable only with instructions given to him by his teacher, Siobhan.
• Haddon makes it so difficult for Christopher to pursue what he cherishes most – to be left alone to run his life the way he wants
• Haddon makes Christopher fear normal people – he dislikes and shuns crowds and public places – narrows down his ability to interact and associate himself with others and yet forces Christopher to conduct investigations into Wellington’s murder with his neighbours / lands him in remand cell / makes his relationship with his father tension-filled / also makes him tell white lies to Ed Boone / makes him play central role in marital row between Ed and Judy / makes him take the journey of his lifetime from Swindon to London / makes him think about annihilation of human kind through meteor attack or viral infection / makes him think of staying far far away from normal people / makes him want to be so very much alone only to be with himself. Haddon creates in Christopher, a loner who seems in need of attention from normal people but also at the same time, cannot handle interactions with normal people effectively.
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