Mother's "Death"
Where is mother living? How does Christopher get there?
London. He takes the train station.
Turn to your knowledge organizer, choose two strengths of someone with ASD and relate them to Christopher's navigation of the train station.
-ability in recognizing patterns : "train coming, train going, train stopped..."
-intellectual ability : doing math in his head
-attention to detail : the man with the diamond socks
Name 2 stylistic choices used by Mark Haddon.
repetition, unreliable narration, nonlinear narration, metacognition
What sparks Christopher's initial fear towards Father?
Father admits to killing Wellington
What is a similie?
A similie is a comparison using like or as.
Refer to page 113, who is calling Christopher's name here? Why can he only imagine his name written in his mother's handwriting?
Father. He can only imagine his name in mother's handwriting because he just found the letter from his mother with her name written.
Name three specific strengths of Christopher.
What is an epistolary novel? Where do we see this in our novel? Why is this beneficial to readers when their narrator is unreliable?
A novel told through letters
Mother's letters
Reveals mother's perspective without Christopher's influence
Turn to your knowledge organizer. Choose two challenges someone with ASD might have. Apply these to Christopher's journey to London.
difficulty with conversation - threatens the stranger lady with his Swiss Army Knife
nonverbal communication - does not understand mother
hypersensitivities to touch/sound - man with the diamond socks and train station noise
Who encourages Christopher to include an appendix? Why?
Siobhan because readers don't want to read math answers in the book they are reading.
Why was mother cross when her and Christopher were at the mall (107) and in the John Lewis store (201)?
Why might the following quote bring Christopher comfort?
"And I timed the distance between stations all the way to Willesden Junction and all the times between stations were multiples of 15 seconds..." (pp. 185-186).
...because he is able to recognize a pattern.
Who is "she" here? What is Christopher's focus?
Why is this an example of Christopher's unreliability?
"Then she stopped talking and she put her hand over her mouth and she stood up and went out of the room. And I started feeling a pain in my chest...because I thought I wasn't going to be able to go back to Swindon." (pg. 205)
mother, Christopher wants to take his A levels
Christopher struggles with nonverbal communication
What is the significance of Christopher and Father's five finger gesture earlier in the novel?
Think of an earlier occurrence where this gesture is used.
It shows they love each other.
The police station
Select a similie from page 177 and describe how Christopher is feeling?
And then more people came into the little station and it became fuller and then the roaring began again and I closed my eyes and I sweated and felt sick and I felt the feeling like a balloon inside my chest and it was so big I found it hard to breathe. And then the people went away on the train and the little station was empty again. And then it filled up with people and another train came with the same roaring. And it was exactly like having flu that time because I wanted it to stop, like you can just pull the plug of a computer out of the wall if it crashes, because I wanted to go to sleep so that I wouldn’t have to think because the only thing I could think was how much it hurt because there was no room for anything else in my head, but I couldn’t go to sleep and I just had to sit there and there was nothing to do except to wait and to hurt. (pg.177)
Christopher is feeling sick because of the influx of people in the train station.
"I felt the feeling like a balloon in my chest."
"I wanted it to stop, like you can just pull the plug of a computer out of the wall."
After Christopher finds out mother is not dead, how is he feel towards father? What are two UNCONVENTIONAL reactions from Christopher from this page? (122)
-not completing the five-finger gesture
-letting father touch him
Name four Christopher traits of Christopher. How does this relate to him as a character?
precise, logical, literal, impassive
This proves that Christopher uses logic and facts over everything else.
Originally, Christopher wants to be an astronaut. What happens to ruin this childhood dream and why is this loss of innocence?
However, at the end of the novel, Christopher reveals wanting to move towns for university (college). What happens before this and what does this reveal about Christopher's growth as a character?
Christopher realizes the world is cruel and he doesn't want to be far from home after finding out mother is alive.
Christopher successfully made it to London, and this reveals Christopher has order back in his life.
Who stops Christopher in the train station? Why is Christopher in a 2.5 hour trance? What is he doing? (148)
*use "sensory overload" and "copes" in your response
The police officer stops Christopher. He is in a trance because of the sensory overload of the train station. He is doing math in his head to cope.
What is sensory overload? Where does Christopher experience this? List THREE ways he copes with this.
1. Too many sensory inputs at once
2. Train station
3. Groans, squints his eyes, stands still, does math in his head
How is Christopher's inability to understand mother's nonverbal communication an example of Christopher's unreliability?
Christopher cannot give readers the entire picture if he does not understand the entire picture.
On page 181, Christopher feels better about the noises the trains create because the signs ensure everything had a _____ & a ______. How does this connect to someone with ASD?
order and plan
Someone with ASD might experience anxiety, and having order and a plan might make them feel better
What figurative language is used in this passage, and what does it reveal about Christopher?
"And then more people came into the little station and it became fuller and then the roaring began again and I closed my eyes and I sweated and felt sick and I felt the feeling like a balloon inside my chest and it was so big I found it hard to breathe. And then the people went away on the train and the little station was empty again. And then it filled up with people and another train came with the same roaring. And it was exactly like having flu that time because I wanted it to stop, like you can just pull the plug of a computer out of the wall if it crashes, because I wanted to go to sleep so that I wouldn’t have to think because the only thing I could think was how much it hurt because there was no room for anything else in my head, but I couldn’t go to sleep and I just had to sit there and there was nothing to do except to wait and to hurt. (pg.177)
Similies, run-on sentences
These reveal Christopher is very hurt and experiencing difficult emotions
Consider a time when Christopher does not complete the five-finger gesture with father. What does this signify? Why is this different to times we have seen the gesture before?
After finding mother's letters, Christopher does not complete the gesture because he no longer loves father. This is different because Christopher usually completes the gesture.
Why doesn't Christopher like France?
Christopher does not like France because when he went on holiday with mother and father, there was no timetable.