The Concluding Sentence

As a result of this quote, I sometimes wish that I could live a life free of some of the wide range of emotions that I am lucky to have:

“And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery of Who Killed Wellington? And I found my mother and I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything” (page 221).

Since Christopher doesn’t get caught up in all of the everyday drama that surrounds him he is content with a lot of the smaller steps that he manages to make.  Despite his inability to accurately portray love or anguish Christopher still has the ability to feel proud of what he has accomplished.   In this way he contains just as much of the innate human “aliveness” as anyone else, he just focuses in on it in very different ways.  That is what makes us complex.  The feelings that we let affect us, and that shape the ontological view of our own lives, is ultimately what determines the way we live, interact, etc.  So while humans are machines of sorts, they are all programmed in extremely different ways.

Religion

“People believe in God because the world is very complicated and they think it is very unlikely that anything as complicated as a flying squirrel or the human eye or a brain could happen by chance.  But they should think logically and if they thought logically they would see that they can only ask this question because it has already happened and they exist.  And there are billions of planets where there is no life, but there is no one on those planets with brains to notice” (page 164).

Do people with mental disorders, such as Christopher’s, often experience this lack of religious beliefs?  Are religious beliefs defied by logic?  The point of view of Christopher is an incredibly interesting one with which to approach the idea of faith and to credit or discredit various parts of it.  I can’t help but wonder if Christopher’s inability to believe in “God” is a result of his cognitive disorder or if it is a product of his upbringing.  I was amused when he cited “flying squirrel[s]”, the “human eye” and “a brain” as things that couldn’t happen by chance in the mind of most and it reminded me of the sarcastic way in which this organization approaches the issue of religion *wave cursor over space following semicolon to find link* : http://www.subgenius.com/

Even though Christopher probably doesn’t mean to address the issue with sarcasm, since it’s not in his general range of emotions, it still heavily reminds me of many organizations that point out the lack of logic in religion.

Insight into Autism

On page 155 of “the curious incident” Christopher lists out a timetable of his daily routine.  He is incredibly specific, citing things such as “8:43 AM: Go past tropical fish shop”.  One of my really good friends, Ethan, is autistic and this concise schedule reminds me a lot of him.  It provides great insight into how many individuals who are autistic like to schedule their day.  This idea of a “routine” fits in well with the idea of humans operating systematically that I discussed in my first blog post.  This is also a perfect example of the type of clinical education this novel can provide that is discussed here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2929.2005.02126.x/full

That is one thing that I find particularly appealing about the novel—it is an enjoyable fictional read, providing valid entertainment.  However, at the same time it can teach the reader a lot about the day-to-day lifestyles of many individuals around the globe.  It provides a deeper understanding of the thought process of someone who has autism, thus making their lives less mysterious to me. 

Directly after typing what I just said I chuckled out loud.  Why do I find it so amazing that this novel gives the perspective of someone who has autism?  Shouldn’t any perspective other than my own have the result of making that individual’s brain less mysterious?  In reality, none of us think in exactly the same way.  How strange humanity is that we like to focus in on the radical differences when very interesting subtle differences exist between us all.  We are so psychologically convinced that the majority of us would have the same general reactions that novels popularizing extreme reactions, such as those from individuals with autism, are seen as revolutionary.

Memory

“I don’t know what happened then because there is a gap in my memory, like a bit of the tape had been erased” (page 113). 

Memory really is like a bit of tape.  It is interesting that we all find our memories to be so reliable, as if they are definite and can in no way be altered.  In arguments I often find myself using the logic that I am right because I remember it happening that way—however, who’s to say that is a compelling argument at all?  This novel has made me wonder if I would be more content with the way my memory currently functions or if I would rather have it be encyclopedia-esque like Christopher’s memories.  There are times when both serve a positive purpose: my manner of remembering is good for nostalgia’s sake yet Christopher’s serves very practical purposes. 

This focus on memory brings to mind the eerie thought that humanity does not in fact know anything for sure.  Where does one place their confidence if there is no way of being sure of things?  This book is continuously revealing deeper questions to me that one does not normally think about.

A Tone of Sadness

When Christopher discovers the box of letters that his mother has been sending to him it is heartbreaking to me.  The thing that makes it the most sad is how Christopher is unwilling to originally stray from his father’s word that his mother had died—he trusts so much in the things that his father tells him that his brain limits the possible explanations that could be made for why the letter he reads is dated 18 months after his mother’s death.  For some reason that I’m not completely sure of this song, along with the music video, has come to my mind multiple times while reading Haddon’s novel (especially at this point in the novel when he finds the letters) *wave your mouse over the blank space below and the link will pop up* :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghPcYqn0p4Y

Christopher is trapped in his head so much and I think he realizes this but doesn’t have a reaction to it—the reason he doesn’t have a reaction is because he functionally can’t.  The overall tone of the novel as a result of this gives the same feel as this song does; you can feel that there is an innate ability to move on in life and there is a constant progression forward but it’s filled with an empty sadness.  Christopher’s life seems to be still-frames since he lives according to the basic and doesn’t clutter his life up with the emotional baggage that most people do.

Senses--Emotions

I found myself oddly moved by this following statement: “…he smelled of something I do not know the name of which Father often smells of when he comes home from work” (page 66).  This point in the novel is a point where I felt a clear confliction between the emotional and the non-emotional.  This, I believe, is a result of my personal experience with the way my own Father smells when coming home from work.  Christopher’s description of that scent is extremely easy for me to understand and relate to since my Daddy, who works at Detroit Edison, has always carried this “work scent” that I can’t quite place my finger on.  For me, this scent triggers an emotional response since it reminds me of when my father would come home from work when I was little and I would be excited to snuggle up on the couch while he read to me.  The scent exists as more than just a scent, but as a reminder of important memories and a symbol of the relationship between me and my Dad. 

It is bizarre to think that to Christopher it is just a smell; while he does correlate it with his father it is not on an emotional but a factual one.  As I found myself expressing shock at this realization I then began to question what it is about the way Christopher views this scent without an emotional attachment that makes it shocking.  The answer that I came up with was simply that I felt bad for Christopher for not being able to experience something that carries such a strong emotional weight (that is also a happy sort of weight).  Familial bonds are fun bonds to have and experience and while Christopher has those bonds, he doesn’t take the same values away from them.  Yet despite all of this, the way Christopher views the scent is in no way incorrect.  In fact, all of his observations as they pertain to the scent are 100% accurate.  It is exactly this that exists within Haddon’s writing that makes his novel so powerful; it allows for a direction comparison between what the reader thinks of situations and the way that Christopher thinks of situations.  In other words: “he makes the situation tragic by suggesting that the very linearity and closed logic of the autistic mind is as believable and valid as the normally non-linear way of thinking that we take for granted” ( http://www.jstor.org/stable/4614734 )

What would life be like if we lived it for only the facts and not the emotions?  It is a strange think for me to wrap my mind around.

To Metaphor or not to Metaphor

 “I find people confusing.  This is for two main reasons…the second main reason is that people often talk using metaphors…I think it should be called a lie” (page 15).

It is interesting to me that this is said by Christopher within the novel since much of the literary criticism towards “the curious incident of the dog in the night-time” is directed at its lack of descriptive language—Christopher directly answers that by calling metaphoric language a lie.  The novel, in many parts, reads like a textbook due to the manner of speaking that Christopher is prone to using.  When it comes to this topic I agree with the article found here: http://www.jstor.org/pss/30047100

The very impact of the work seems to lie in its lack of descriptive language.  It took me a while to get used to the unique style the work was written it but ultimately allowed me to enjoy the novel more than most.  Additionally, it ties in well with this theme that I have noticed where the emotional aspect of humans is what makes them complex.  By breaking down the language that is used to the sheer necessities, Haddon makes the plot feel real but also perceptively different from what most consider the norm.  It displays the more systematic nature of humans; almost what one would associate with the “Id”.