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What is the Turing test? How do the results of this test support Christopher's thoughts on the human brain?
What are your thoughts on Christopher's explanation of how the brain works? Does it make sense? What is confusing? What is enlightening about it?
Christopher spends nearly the entire chapter explaining the inner-workings of the brain, but he explains feelings/emotions in one sentence. Why?
Why is Christopher so detailed about his father doing the laundry? Why is he doubling by 2s?
The mystery of Wellington's death is solved. Is Christopher right to be scared of his father?
What does Christopher's initial attempt at running away behind the house tell you about him? Look at the details.
What point seems to be underneath Christopher's discussion of the naming of Orion? Why does he end this discussion by stating, "And that is the truth"?
110 comments:
The anecdote about the smarties shows us more about how Christopher views minds as computers. When he discovered that the smarties container actually had pencil in it,he thought that the information was automatically shared with others like an update will affect a whole network of computers. The Turing test is a test of a machine's ability to exhibit intelligent behavior that is comparable to a human's. This reminds me of how Christopher tries to interact with people; it clearly isn't natural for him to carry on casual interactions, but it is something that he has been adapted to -much like a computer being programmed. Christopher's explanation of how the brain works is really confusing to me, and his use of different vocabulary is probably the hardest for me to comprehend. From homunculus to saccades and all these cryptic descriptions of the flicking between pictures in our heads, I have a hard time keeping up with what his point is. The enlightening part is when he explains how we miss a lot because when we flick our eyes from one point to another, we are blind. It is like our brain is on auto pilot and just fills in the information with what we expect to see there. It makes me wonder how much we miss in those milliseconds between keeping our eyes focused. The fact that Christopher ran away to his own back yard makes me think of myself as a child. I used to go and sit on the pile of rocks at the end of the driveway whenever my parents got upset at me. It was because no matter how scary my parents became, the world outside our property was always scarier. I can see Christopher viewing the world this way too. Even though he did walk around his street asking about Wellington, it was different because he was able to run away back to his home, but now he has no where safe to go if things get hairy. He is afraid of committing to running away because he knows that for a while there will be no one to run to.
I believe that Christopher being scared of his father is a reasonable reaction. Christopher doesn't trust many people, but he did trust his father. Learning that someone can break your trust so easily must have hurt Christopher in unimaginable ways. Christopher's father also did something horrible. He was angry and he took that anger out on the dog. To Christopher that suggests that his father could also hurt him, which is not much of a stretch. Christopher's father has hit him in the past.
Finally, the truth is revealed that Christopher's Father is the killer. yes, this is a surprise but honestly doesn't feel like a reveal of any kind. It's clear that the history of the Mother has had an effect on him and so the killing is unreasonable, but understandable. So when the question comes up if Christopher should be afraid, for the time being I would say yes. Some argue that the Father has been stable for years and handled Christopher well, but the truth is he is not seeing that he has lost his temper more often and just recently murdered Mrs. Shears' dog. Honestly he has the capability of handling Christopher just fine, but protective measures may need to be taken. This section in particular focused on the small details and it must have showed how intense this part of the story is for Christopher. The thing that really stands out is his reaction being not able to move. It makes it clear that Christopher becomes a little more human being so troubled as he is.
Christopher’s fear of his father seems reasonable. Christopher trusted his father who lied about his mother. However part of Christopher’s fear seems unreasonable. His dad killed a dog not a human. Christopher views dags as equals to human, but this is not true. The fear of his father is going to kill him seems extreme. Christopher does have the right to fear of being hit, but not being killed. Christopher’s escape plan behind the house seems sloppy. He made took what he could carry on his trip out of the house. Also he didn't travel very far. He wants to escape his father, but he only runs behind the house. It shows Christopher is afraid to leave everything he has known behind.
Christopher explains the brain with such detail, but sums up emotion in a few sentences because he doesn’t understand emotions well. In the beginning of the book, Christopher is able to identify two emotions: happy and sad. When other emotions, like confusion or anger, were drawn and labeled Christopher still couldn’t identify the emotions with people. He categorizes emotions as frivolous because he only comprehends two of them. If he could feel and understand every single emotion he might understand their importance in our brain chemistry and our decision making process. With Christopher’s in depth description of the brain and small notes about emotion, I wonder if he has any empathy at all. I know he feels happy and sad at times, but I don’t think he is able to relate to the emotional struggles of others. I feel so bad that Christopher is unable to experience emotions the way we do because it seems to be such a boing way to live.
Christopher should never have to be scared of his father. It’s obvious that his father loves him very much and tries to protect Christopher, but what I think doesn’t always work for Christopher. Because Christopher doesn’t understand other people’s emotions, he doesn’t see that the murder of Wellington as a crime of passion. He sees it as cold-blooded murder. In Christopher’s logic, if his father could murder once he can do it again. Adding to Christopher’s unsettled emotional state is the revelation that his father has lied to his about his mother’s death. His dad is now liar as well as a murderer! Christopher has been taught that these are horrible traits that can send you off to jail, and now his father has committed them. In Christopher’s logic it makes sense to be afraid of his father.
Considering the fact that dogs are living beings as well as humans, Christopher has the right to be scared. However, he does not give his father a chance to talk about it, therefore partially fearing him far more than need be. His father would never be able to bring himself to kill his son, let alone hurt him on purpose. Christopher's dad lied to him about Wellington's death, so that could transfer to him as his father being untrustworthy. No matter who you are, murder is a frightful thing, so Christopher would feel as any other person would feel if they were in such a situation.
Although Christopher should not be afraid of his father it is understandable. Christopher’s father had always loved him very much and has always tried his best to protect him from the harsh world that they live in, but along the way he has had some downfalls. The first problem that Christopher had run into that would make him afraid of his father would be his rising temper. Since the “death” of his wife, Ed has become very short tempered which leads to him often raising his voice and cursing at Christopher. Another reason Christopher has the right to be afraid of his father is because his father has become physical with Christopher. Although this has a huge effect on Christopher and how he feels about his father finding out that his father had killed Wellington takes the cake. The murder of Wellington was that of a violent, terrible person, which gives Christopher all the right to be afraid of his father.
Finally, the truth is revealed that Christopher's Father is the killer. yes, this is a surprise but honestly doesn't feel like a reveal of any kind. It's clear that the history of the Mother has had an effect on him and so the killing is unreasonable, but understandable. So when the question comes up if Christopher should be afraid, for the time being I would say yes. Some argue that the Father has been stable for years and handled Christopher well, but the truth is he is not seeing that he has lost his temper more often and just recently murdered Mrs. Shears' dog. Honestly he has the capability of handling Christopher just fine, but protective measures may need to be taken. This section in particular focused on the small details and it must have showed how intense this part of the story is for Christopher. The thing that really stands out is his reaction being not able to move. It makes it clear that Christopher becomes a little more human being so troubled as he is.
Christopher doesn't trust many people, but one person he did trust was his father. After he figures out his father is the one who killed Wellington, Christopher becomes scared of his father. This seems like a normal reaction because one of the only people he trusts, ended up being the killer he was looking for. A dog is a living thing and Christopher realizes that which is why I think Christopher becomes scared of his dad. Even though we know how much his dad loves him and wouldn't hurt him, Christopher doesn't know that because he can't identify emotions. Christopher just thinks about his father lying to him and killing Wellington. Knowing he can't trust his father anymore makes Christopher scared of what he can do next because he thinks he knows his father.
First of all, I strongly believe that Christopher has a reason for being afraid of his father, given that he murdered the neighborhood dog and pretended like he hadn't. The fact that Christopher's had killed Wellington shows that he has a violent side, which make me fear that he could harm Christopher if needed. Also, Christopher can't connect completely with his emotions, so he is unsure if his father is safe to be around. Secondly, Christopher often does math in his head because it helps him clear things up and relax. He finds bliss in things that are definite and have a precise answer.
I think Christopher has every right to be afraid of his father. Everyone has mistakes, and everyone is human, including his father. But killing a dog does not justify this. I think Christopher should still love his father for all that he has done for him. His father cooks for him, cleans for him, pays for him, and entertains him. Christopher should realize that his father is going through a very difficult period in his life. But altogether, I believe that Christopher has a right to be frightened of Ed.
Christopher ends his Orion discussion with, "And that is the truth," because he likes everything to have answers and familiarity. Christopher hates doubt. In accordance to this manner, he thinks very logically and has little belief in what he can not see. Christopher only believes in the hard, proven facts. That is why he likes science and math so much. There is always an answer and an explanation to a problem. That comforts him. He can not know if there were ever Greek gods or goddesses that constellations depict, but he can know, proven from research, that those constellations are made from stars that are billions of miles away.
One section of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime reminded me of when the aliens put Billy Pilgrim into a zoo in Slaughterhouse Five. Christopher says “… and human beings are just an animal and they will evolve into another animal, and that animal will be cleverer and it will put human beings into a zoo, like we put chimpanzees and gorillas into a zoo” (Haddon 165). This made me realize that in Slaughterhouse Five, the aliens were the evolving animal and that is why Billy was in the cage. It is crazy to think that just like some say we evolved from monkeys, something will evolve from human beings, and be a more intelligent race. Thousands of years from now, we could become the animals (If we aren’t already). It’s crazy to think that one day others could be watching us brush our teeth and watch T.V. just like we watch chimps swing from ropes.
When talking about the brain, Christopher only used one sentence to explain feelings and emotion because those are things he doesn’t understand. Christopher likes to know how things work and he likes definite answers. He enjoys math because in math there is always one explanation. However, with things such as English, there are many open-ended questions and answers. It becomes too much for him to process. It is explained further when he brings up the drawings of the expressions. It’s difficult for him to distinguish characteristics of emotions. Therefore, he knows a lot of information about the brain itself and how it works, but when it comes to things like feelings, he can only comprehend so much.
Christopher is definitely right to be afraid of his father now. His dad killed Wellington. People who kill animals like that are probably insane.. His dad could quite possibly hurt Christopher too. I think another reason Christopher was afraid of his dad was because he completely lied about his mom too. It'd be so frustrating to find out in a matter of hours that 1) your dad killed a dog that you really liked 2) your mom is not dead 3) your mom has been trying to contact you with letters for years 4) your dad is a total liar.
I'd be terrified too.
Christopher takes so long to explain how the brain works because its what he understands. He spends so little time talking about feelings and such because he doesn't quite understand them. Christopher does not feel things as specific as we might. For example, earlier when he said he could feel :) and :( but not the more complex emotions. It makes sense that Christopher would be scared of his father because he hurt someone, but also that he lied. Christopher does not lie and so it confuses and frightens him when he finds out someone else did. He hides behind the house at first because he is too scared of his father to stay in the house, but he is also scared of running away because he likes to stay places where he is comfortable.
It is very clear that the narrator of this novel has some form of Autism, or a type of Autism also knows as Asperger syndrome. We all have a remote idea of what this disorder is, but I thought I should go into detail about Asperger Syndrome. The disorder was founded in 1944 by an Austrian doctor named Hans Asperger. He described the patients who had this disease as children who lacked social communication and showed limited empathy toward peers. From just these two symptoms we can describe Christopher as having Asperger Syndrome because he is constantly afraid of people he does not know well, and lacks the ability to have a normal conversation. Also, he is unable to empathize with other people because he cannot put himself in another person’s shoes. He mentions that unless an event has happened to him he is unable to understand what someone would be going through. Christopher also mentions that he rarely gets sad because what happens in the past is over with. He moves on quickly and is unable to feel empathy due to Asperger Syndrome. In addition, Asperger Syndrome describes someone who has repetitive patterns and behaviors. This explains how Christopher decides what color cars in a row will make it a good or bad day. Another behavior he has because of the disorder is choosing what colors he will not eat/touch etc.
• The cause of Asperger Syndrome is unknown and there is no known genetic pathology.
• Prevention includes: communication specialist, counseling working on problems over time – not technically preventable, but manageable
• Seen more in boys
i'm surprised Christopher made it this far on his own since he's only gone as far as the store at the end of his street. I guess since he's 15 everyone around assumed he could get on the trains on his own. It was smart of him to hide in the shelving next to the bathrooms and that he stayed there even after the cop left but still, he didn't know where the train was going or if he missed his stop. Also I find it odd that no one reported Christopher hiding in the shelf.
The whole time I was rooting for Christopher to make it to London.
Finally the mystery of Wellington’s death is solved! I can see how Christopher is scared of his father now because of the way he thinks. He thinks of his dad as a murderer because he sees dogs and people as one in the same. They’re both as important and are equal in his eyes. He not only sees his father as a murderer he also sees him as a liar. First it was the lies about his mother and now it’s the murder of a dog. No wonder Christopher is confused about his father; I would be too if I was in this situation. I was surprised when Christopher initially ran away to his back yard, and managed to go unfound. Good for him for hiding himself!
Christopher's comparison between animals and humans reminded me of Slaughterhouse Five when Billy Pilgrim explained how humans are the only animals that keep track of time. Christopher says, "And people are different from animals because they can have pictures on the screens in their heads of things which they are not looking at...And that is why a dog can go to the vet and have a really big operation...but if it sees a cat it forgets that it has pins sticking out of its leg and chases after the cat. But when a person has an operation it has a picture in its head of the hurt carrying on for months and months" (p.117). In short, humans have a personal awareness of their surroundings unlike any other animal. Humans mark time, they analyze their feelings, and they recognize pain. Many people classify humans' awareness as having a conscience. According to Christopher, our awareness and feelings are just due to pictures on screens in our heads, but why then don't other animals or computers have those pictures in their heads? I do agree with Christopher though that people always think there is something special about what they can't see. We can't see how the inside of our brain works, so it must be special and complicated, hence the idea of a conscience.
The point I believe that Christopher is trying to draw from the discussion of Orion is that anything can be anything depending on how you see it. Just because someone believes that something is one way, doesn't necessarily mean that that is the only way it can be viewed. He believes that giving a grouping of stars a name and shape is pointless, because it can be whatever the star-gazer chooses it to be. "Orion is...Betelgeuse and Bellatrix...and they are nuclear explosions...and that is the truth".(126)Christopher has solid evidence on what the stars are named, as well as what stars are; their shape is according to people's perspectives, making them opinions and not facts.
The anecdote about the smarties shows how Christopher didn't understand that other people had brains by when he found out that the container held a pencil he thought that if his mother was asked what it held she would say a pencil instead of smarties as Christopher had first guessed. It was interesting to read this because this is how very little children perceive the world. They too think that they are the only ones with a brain, but the difference is that Christopher learned his lesson at one point where as children learn it as they age. Now where as I can relate to that section fairly easily, I found it harder when it came to his explanation of how the brain works. It was confusing to think of my brain and understanding of the world as seeing something on a screen in my head and another part of my brain looking at the screen and deciding what I see. However, it was neat to look at it all in this way and gave me a new perspective because it is partly true. I can see things that aren't really there just by thinking of it, like the Garden of the Gods. I can picture the red rocks jutting into the sky, scaling the sides and looking out without it having to be happing in front of me. All I need to do is think of the memory and it's a bit like replaying it on a computer screen to watch over again; so in this way I agree with Christopher's explanation, but it a scientific way I do not.
To me the fact that Christopher is afraid of his father is a very reasonable and understandable. The fact that Christopher's father had killed an innocent dog that was simply in his was while in a blind rage shows to Christopher that his father is capable of killing him out of fury, too. His father was someone he trusted, and his trust was broken when he lied to Christopher about the dogs death. Christopher isn't capable of understanding a humans wide variety of emotions, and to him it must be confusing to go through something like that because to him the dog was innocent, and therefor he should not have died. Very black and white.
I think the way Christopher comprehends the human brain and thinks of it and the way it functions is interesting to me. I honestly can't wrap my (ha!) brain around it. I can't understand that our brain controls us, and that one thing goes to another thing... Like our thoughts go from one part of our brain to another and in my head I always think of it as a chain, or something of that sort. His comprehension of the human brain is so vastly different than his understanding of the human emotions.
Christopher begins to run away towards the end of this section, but it shows that he is scared of his fears because he doesn't leave his house, just hides in his garden. Christopher may be afraid of his Father, but that doesn't mean he has gained the courage to leave the house and face his true fears and find his Mother or any place to live. He consistently writes "And that is the truth" in this section because he is reassuring both himself and the reader that he stays focused, especially after his incident when he learns that his Mother is still alive and living in London. He is still the same just as always in the end of this section, and that is the truth.
Christopher has every right to be afraid of his father. I know if my Dad killed a dog on purpose I would be quite frightened, and with Christopher being who he is being scared of his Dad was probably much worse in his mind. When Christopher’s father was telling Christopher he’d never hurt him I thought that Christopher saw his father like Jack Nicholson’s character in The Shining. When His character sits with his son and tells him he’d never hurt him, but it was so creepy that the audience knew that was a lie. I think when Christopher runs away behind the house it tells the reader that Christopher is seriously scared of his dad but he is hesitant to leave his home. Christopher isn’t the type to run away from home but he will if he is forced to.
Although Christopher really should not be afraid of his father in his mind and how he looks at people it makes sense that he is. Christopher is all about being kind and telling the truth and his father went against both of these things. Christopher views humans and animals as the same in respect to importance in life which makes the act even worse in Christopher's mind. It makes him think that his father is an evil person with no regard for others. What Christopher's father did was wrong and scary so it is easy to understand why Christopher is so afraid of him. Christopher didn't trust many people but his father was someone he did trust. Being truthful was very important to Christopher and if someone wasn't truthful with him he didn't feel safe around them. So on top of Christopher being horrified that his father killed Wellington he also lied and betrayed Christopher's trust. Although Christopher's father loves him and would never hurt him it is understandable that Christopher is afraid of him because of how he looks at things.
I couldn't see why Christopher shouldn't be scared of his father, but at the same time, I'm thinking about what is going through his father's mind. I don't think he would harm his own child in the way he did the dog. I believe he is aware of his temper and aggression and is still fearful of hurting Christopher; he sees Christopher as extremely fragile, much like anyone would. Being aware of your own thoughts and behaviors are what help influence future decisions. Which is why I believe Christopher isn't in any danger and shouldn't be fearful.
I would like to respond to Sam Greely's comment, but I'm not sure how to directly. I think Christopher can be empathetic and can understand and relate to the emotions of others. It may be more difficult but I believe he has the same feelings as anyone else might, he just isn't as in tune with them. He has a hard time describing or comprehending them, much like confused teenage boys who haven't fully developed the capability to process them. Christopher has all the same emotions, he just looks at them differently, they affect him differently, it's all in the brain. It doesn't mean he feels any less emotions than a normal person.
Christopher is similar to his mom in the fact that he runs away when things are too much to handle. I think that is interesting because he can't really blame his mother when he is similar to her. Christopher shuts down when things get overwhelming. When he found out that his mother is alive and his dad killed Wellington, he does the only thing he can do, and that is run away (or at least his dad thinks, Christopher is technically still at home...). Christopher needs to feel safe and rethink everything he knows about his family. He can't run away to a neighbor because they are "strangers," so he goes behind his house. Although Christopher is mentally handicapped and needs some help, he does fairly good on his own. Christopher sits outside and looks at the stars and takes care of Toby and calms down. It shows that he maturing and becoming less fearful of the unknown.
The Smarties demonstration was interesting because Christopher didn’t know that other people had minds when he was younger, and he approached it as a puzzle. He describes the human brain as a computer, with a person inside of it looking at the screens (your eyes) and the brain shuts off every time your eyes adjust. An EEG shows the brain waves and how there’s ups and downs, so maybe the brain does shut off or slow down when your eyes adjust. In his description of the computer brain, he puts feelings and emotions into one sentence because people with autism have difficulty understanding feelings so they don’t find them important. Christopher’s way of relaxing and calming down is doubling 2s, like some people go running or read a book. I completely understand why Christopher doesn’t trust his father because he lied about his mother dying and killing a dog.
When he ‘runs away’ to behind his shed, I thought Christopher might secretly be wanting to be found because he should’ve went someone farther away than his backyard. I was surprised when Christopher went talking to his neighbors and teachers about running away because those people would have told his father where he was planning on going. Also, I was surprised when he asked strangers for directions because he doesn’t like talking to new people, and trusting them to give you the correct directions. When the train station sign went out of view, I was surprised that he kept walking around in circles when he could’ve navigated himself based on what direction the sign was in, and at one point he turned right and kept walking around when the station was just to his left.
When the mystery of Wellington's death is solved, I think that it is reasonable of someone like Christopher to be scared of his father. Even when he thought his mother was dead, his father was the only person who was consistently there for him. Christopher may have told him white lies, but for the most part he and his father were completely open with one another. Being in Christopher's state of mind, it is understandable that he was frightened and confused about the information that his father revealed. Christopher should know that his father would never hurt him, but with this new information in his mind, it could lead his logic to the conclusion that his father could hurt him. Everyone has breaking points, and that is what his father had when he killed Wellington. But Christopher is his son, and he loves him so much. He would never harm Christopher, but I can understand Christopher being frightened.
Christopher's initial attempt at running away tells me that he is terrified of change. He can hardly get away from his real home so he sleeps behind his shed. That's not running away, it's practically like camping out. The things that he takes also have significant meanings: Toby, his pet and source of comfort; his special food box, a source of essential items and also a comfort box because it's all of his favorite foods; coats, a way of keeping warm and staying alive. He is very focused on keeping himself alive by taking things that are necessary to survive, but he is also concentrated on feeling comforted and like he still has part of his routine with him. Being the way that he is, he needs a sort of order to keep himself going. By taking Toby and his favorite foods, it is his own little way of not being so scared. It is obvious that Christopher is terrified, and his attempt to run away and sleeping behind his shed is just showing baby steps to his eventual bravery.
Christopher has the right to be scared because the one person who he thought he could trust lied to him and now kept a very big secret from him. That one person who he could trust and that betrayed him was his father who also killed Wellington. Once Christopher knows that his father kills Wellington he immediately becomes frightened of his father and decides he doesn’t think it’s safe to stay with his father anymore. Christopher becomes scared because he was trying to find out who killed Wellington for a long time and he realizes that even though Wellington was only a dog is was a living breathing creature and he is afraid his dad might murder him next. Christopher’s father loves him more than anything and would never do anything to hurt him, but Christopher doesn’t realize that because he is too focused on what his father did and what he might do next if Christopher stays in the house any longer.
The Turing Test is a technique that’s used to see if a computer is able to think like a human. The test is named after Alan Turing, an English mathematician who was a pioneer of artificial intelligence in the 1940’s and 1950’s, and is the man who devised the original version of the test. The test is designed to show if a computer has artificial intelligence by being able to mimic human responses under specific conditions. In the Turing test if the human being conducting the test is unable to consistently determine whether an answer is given by a computer or by another human being, then the computer passed the test. Christopher probably relates to the test because his disease which makes it seem like he has no emotion or that the emotions he shows aren't real like ours. But, Christopher explains to us that in actuality the mind is just like a complicated computer, it could show us that Christopher’s mind isn't different from ours at all, and he feels just as deeply as we do, just a little differently.
I would say that the smarties anecdote shows that Christopher thinks just because he knows something, that everyone else knows it too. He saw the smarties box so he assumed that smarties would be inside, which is a smart accusation. Once he found out pencils were actually in the box, he was a bit confused. When he was asked what he thought his mother would say, he told his teacher that she would say pencils, since that is what is in there. He doesn't realize that other people may think the same way and they may guess there are smarties in the box as well. He thinks since he now knows they are pencils, that everyone else knows as well and that other people can't think for themselves.
I think Christopher has every right to be upset with his father. Although he did not murder a person, he still brutally killed his neighbors dog. Before, Christopher said he knew his dad loves him because he would never lie to him. Christopher's mind works differently than everyone else's. Once his trust is broken, it is very hard to get it back. He was a huge dog lover and he didn't like violence or lying. His father went against everything Christopher feels strongly about. Granted I don't think running away to London is a great idea, I can see why Christopher is afraid of his father. I think his father was very sincere with his apology, but saying you're sorry doesn't always cut it. I think Christopher should sit down and talk to him about everything and request to see or talk to his mom. Christopher shouldn't be scared of his father forever. He may be upset for a while, but I think he should forgive him eventually.
Christopher should never have to be scared of his own father. His father loves him so much, but Christopher thinks that since he killed Wellington he could kill again. Christopher's way of looking at this makes sense, but he can't see that his dad killed Wellington out of spite and jealousy. Christopher's dad would never do that to him, but he doesn't understand emotions well enough to see that. Christopher "runs away" in his own back yard, which shows he's still scared to leave everything he knows behind. I feel that chistopher's dad should have handled this situation better. Telling Christopher that he was lying about his moms death was confusing and hard for Christopher, but then telling him right afterward that he also killed Wellington was just unreasonable. Christopher had lost all of his trust for his dad in just a few minutes and no longer felt safe in his care. Christopher's dad should have gone about the situation more rationally and thought it through first.
I find Christopher's thoughts on the brain super interesting. I love his utter indifference to humanity and how much "better" it is to the rest of the world. He just thinks of things without many biases. I do agree with him that there are lots of details to the brain that make it more machine-like than we care to believe. I also find his almost haphazard description of emotions very intriguing. It shows his lack of understanding about them. To him, emotions are just a special kind of thought, and not something that affects your entire being.
The Turing test is a test devised by Alan Turing during the 1950s. It is a test where some sort of artificial intelligence tries to get a panel of judges to believe that it is a human being. If a certain percentage of judges believe it to be human, said a.i. has passed the test. Only one a.i. has done so, and is was in the past year, but it did it with many caveats, so many people don't even count it.
As far as Christopher's talking about laundry, he has a weird fascination with clothes anyway. Whenever he describes someone, it is always by their clothing, not by their face or body. Maybe it's easier for him to see items rather than beings.
I do think Christopher has some right to be scared by his father for killing Wellington. Maybe he's taking it too far, but I would be put on edge. Especially the reason: Christopher's father said that he killed Wellington in a blind rage. He didn't really realize what he was doing. If that can happen around a dog, it can happen around Christopher. We already saw it kind of happen before.
Throughout this section of the novel, it becomes even clearer how the brain of Christopher works. For starters, the way that Christopher spends so much time on the thoughts of the brain compared to his one sentence on emotions. By showing Christopher’s interest in brain activity and logistics, the author shows that Christopher is someone who often sets aside emotions in order to focus more on what he deems more important: leading to his issue of not being able to properly display emotions. This problem with displaying emotions can also be seen in the form of his emotional breakdown when he learns of his mother’s existence. Also, Christopher often thinks of mathematics when his emotions start to reach a “boil” so to speak. This same reason is the reason why Christopher counts by 2’s: in order to calm himself down. In chapter 167, it is shown that Christopher’s brain’s ability to calculate is noticeably hampered when he is under various emotional stresses.
I think that Christopher is definitely scared of his father, and he should be. After what he does with the did, Christopher becomes terrified and imagines that his father could do that to him too. I would be afraid too. I think it's odd that Christopher only describes a person by what they're wearing. He says what type of clothes and what color they are wearing, but he never describes the person's other physical attributes. The first time I see a person, I notice their smile or eyes.
I think that the anecdote about the smarties that Julie demonstrated showed that Christopher does not understand that just because he knows something, it doesn't mean that others know the same thing too. He can't think through another persons perspective and realize that if his parents would have entered the room they would have not already seen what was in the tube like Christopher had, but instead answered smarties the same way Christopher did when he was first asked.
I think Christopher is right to be afraid of his father. He just found out that his father killed Wellington just because he and Mrs. Shears got in a fight. What if Christopher and his dad ever get in a fight? Does Christopher have to be afraid that his dad could kill something or someone else? If I was Christopher, I would be very afraid of Father. When Christopher sneaks out of the house and goes behind the shed, he takes a knife with him. That says to me that he has learned to protect himself with weapons from his father. He is learning the wrong way to go about protecting himself from his father.
Christopher does have a right to be afraid of his father. Christoher is very simple-minded, so he see's things in all black and white. To know that his father lied to him about his mother sending letters and then find out that he also killed wellington would make me a little leary of him. His mother went behind their backs with Mr.Shears and what if in Chritophers mind he thinks that when he was going behind hsi fathers back to solve the mystery that his father wont be able to control his anger around him. I agree with Kassidy when she talks about how he takes the knife with him. He has always trusted and looked up to his father so he may think that the way to protect himself is by using weapons and the idea of Christopher "protecting" himself like that is also terrifying.
Christopher has always remembered people by surroundings or clothing, especially when he encounters strangers. That's why he was so detailed when talking about his dad doing the laundry.
His attepmt to run away made me realize that he feels he can't handle too much placed upon him and he can't stand change. In the begining when the police officer yelled at him, he just freaked out like it was too much for his mind to handle. So in that situation he put his hands over his ears and closed his eyes and layed his head on the grass. In a way when he did that, he was tryign to escape the police officer, so it's kind of like his attempt to run away, everything just got too much for him.
I think Christopher has a right be afraid of his father. I could only imagine what it would like to find out your father had committed murder. Also adding the fact that Christopher just found out his mother is alive, it is a lot for Christopher to take in at once. Christopher is clearly a very smart kid. I think he hid behind the house because he knew his father wouldn't think to look too closely back there and it would be easy to run if his father did see him. Christopher thinks about what someone will think before that person even thinks about it. As I continue reading, he still shocks me with all of his knowledge.
Christopher spends almost the entire chapter explaining the inner workings of the brain, but explains emotion in one sentence. This is for one obvious reason. He is very educated about how the logical and rational parts of the brain work. He knows almost everything there is to know about how logical thinkers think, because he is one. On the other hand, he doesn't know much about human emotion and feeling. This is why he doesn't have much conversational skills. This is also why he doesn't understand how people are feeling, even when they make it obvious. He can't say more than a sentence about human emotion, because he doesn't know much about the matter.
Christopher is obviously very upset when he hears that his father killed Wellington. This is the second time he has caught his father lying to him. Both times were on a rather large scale. Although his father murdered Wellington, I do not think that Christopher has anything to worry about. He has lived with his father all his life, and his he should know that he has nothing to be afraid of. His father also felt extremely terrible about the whole thing, and apologized for it. For these reasons, Christopher has nothing to be afraid of.
If I were Christopher I would be scared of his father too. I mean after knowing him for years and years, growing up with him and then one day find out he killed Wellington that would give anyone the right to be scared. Now that he found out he killed the neighborhood dog he does not know what his father is capable of. He does not know whether he can trust him still or not, or even be sure if he is the same person he used to be. I felt that at first he was just conflicted on how to feel or what to believe but after he ran away behind the house it really told me that he is scared of his dad, i mean he brought a knife with him to protect himself from his father. This also think that maybe he does not like change so it is just easier for him to run from it then to deal with it.
Christopher's discussion of the naming of Orion told me a lot about how he thinks. The way he thinks can be described rather easily. He just simply thinks too much. He was going through all of the names that Orion looks like. Most people would just accept that name and not think much of it. But not Christopher. He has to "logically" analyze these names and images in his head to find a whole list of names to replace the name Orion.
I wish that I could go inside Christophers mind and really see how his brain works. Christopher views minds like they are a computer. A computer will adapt to the users needs or repetitive usage, whether it be apps or updates. Just like a computer Christopher once talking to someone for a while will become less awkward and more natural within the conversation. But for his explanation to how the brain works I do not get because of the strong vocabulary he uses, but I can tell that he sees that brain as a very complex computer for the most part.
I think Christopher being scared of his father is what I expected. Having someone you trust lie to you about something you've been trying to figure out for a while would be crushing. Especially to someone like Christopher, who has trouble comprehending things. His father killed Wellington in a blind rage, the exact same thing could happen to Christopher. This is what Christopher is scared of, his father becoming angry and accidentally hurting him. I don't think it is likely to happen but the possibility is there and that is all the Christopher can think of.
When Wellingtons death is solved I think Christopher had a much bigger overreaction than he should've had. It is understandable for Christopher to be very upset with his father but it was way to much thinking that his father was going to kill him. Christopher was being very irrational and seemed to be acting on shock from the secrets he had just learned. If Christopher would just sit down and think logically I think he would realize his father loved him and no way would hurt him. Even though what Christopher's fatter did was wrong he is the one who choose not to leave Christopher and has thought of Christopher's best interests.
Christopher prides himself for being a logical person. Being as stoic as he is, Christopher does not understand emotions, let alone his father’s crime of passion. Similar to many other opinions on this post, I find it logical that Christopher is scared of his father. Christopher only has a few people in his life that he could trust, and his father denied him a safe, trusting adult figure. Christopher sees Wellington’s murder as a type of “gateway” – if he murdered once, he can murder again. Also, Christopher loves dogs and their easily-read personalities. Christopher sees this as an extra bit of betrayal. In Christopher’s state of mind, it’s easily reasonable to react by hiding out behind the shed. Another person may have tried to understand, have thought nothing of the incident, or have found a better way to “escape.” Yet, this is Christopher, and I find that having a fear of a father who killed a dog with a pitchfork as a justified reaction.
When Julie demonstrates with Smarties , Christopher isn’t able to grasp the concept that other people don’t have the same exact information as him. From what I understood while reading, Christopher seems to think that once he is given information he thinks everyone else knows the same information. Christopher knows that the red pencil is in the Smarties tube, but if his mother walked in she would think that there would be Smarties in the tube not a red pencil because no one told her there was something different in the tube. Christopher’s explanation of how the brain works is amazing, clearly he has put some time and effort into understanding the way people think which is amazing because his first teacher didn’t think that he would ever be able to understand that other peoples’ minds worked on their own. I really liked his explanation about a dog having surgery and not remembering that it was in pain when it saw a cat and chasing after it because dogs don’t have that pain “picture” in their head like a human would. The experiment on How the Mind Works was very complicated and confusing, it amazes me that someone was able to think of that experiment.
I have to admit I was a bit shocked when I learned that Christopher’s father was the killer of Wellington. This revelation definitely made his father less likable to me because I love animals. However, I do not think that Christopher’s reaction was really justifiable. I can understand him being upset, disappointed, hurt, or angry, but being completely terrified to the point of running away was a bit over the top to me. I know that Christopher has a social disability and therefore cannot understand other people’s actions and emotions very well, so I was not surprised that he behaved in some dramatic way. I just wish that he could’ve understood his father’s motives and reasoning better so they could have talked about it and came up with a solution rather than Christopher freaking everyone out by running away.
When things get too crazy or are too much to handle I feel like Christopher just up and leaves. This could possibly be a trait that he picked up from his mom! After he found out that his mother was alive and his dad killed Wellington, he felt threatened and needed to find safety. He felt as though people were hiding things from him and he needed time to think about his "family". At this point in the novel when he eventually calms down and takes care of Toby it shows that he is slowly maturing and becoming less threatened/fearful of the unknown! He might be handicapped but he does a pretty good job of taking care of himself and being on his own!
After reading that Christopher's father killed Wellington, I had to put the book down and walk away and drink some coffee. I had suspected that it was him at some point, but I had dismissed the idea. He'd seemed so caring and patient with Christopher, it didn't occur to me that there could be a more hostile side to him. Which is a ridiculous thought on my part; everyone is different on a new angle. I don't, however, believe that Christopher should fear his father. He loves his son, he did not love Wellington. Christopher was unpredictable in a predictable way. It was almost always possible to tell what he would do in any given situation. Wellington was an uncontrollable spastic animal. There is little to no risk of Christopher being murdered by his father, simply because he loves him too much to ever harm him like that.
Christopher puts all of his trust into his dad as a kid with only one parent would do. When he finds out about Wellington his trust with his dad is completely crushed. He hit Chris before so he thinks that his dads violence can reach the extent of hurting him like that. His dad did more than just hurt him emotionally by crushing his trust like that.
Christopher has some rather viable reasons to not trust his father at this point. I mean his father did kill wellington, that's a bit of a skeleton in the closet scenario to me. Mistreatment of small animals or just lesser beings in general are signs of a serial killer. Granted i give his father the benefit of the doubt on lying to him about his mother. But the fact that he would kill a dog over an argument makes me think he is unstable enough to possibly harm his son. could be drastic, could be viewed by him as harmless. Still Christopher's move by grabbing the knife was justifiable. Christopher has had a pretty bad assortment of revelations in a short time about what his father has lied to him about. Once i found out about the letters his dad kept from him I figured that since his mom still cared for him his decision may have been pretty hasty and not for the best. But originally i feel like best case scenario Christopher shouldn't have to look down at his mom.
Christopher is still a little skeptical of his dad when Christopher gives in great detail how his dad is doing the laundry. His head is still a little confused about his mother, and he is still feeling a little sick. He doubles 2's in his head to calm himself down and get his head going again. When he finds out that his father killed Wellington, Christopher uses his logical, reason-based way of thinking to rule that his father is a threat to his life. I don't think he is right to be scared. In his way of thinking about it, it makes sense that his father is could be dangerous, but most people would see it a different way. Christopher's father is frustrated about what happened between his wife and him and what happened between Mrs. Shears and him. The man's life fell apart at the seems and when he thought he could stitch it back together he was denied. His actions were purely fueled by emotion with no forethought about what he was doing. He tried to do his best and in Christopher's eyes, it's not good enough.
Christopher has every right to be afraid of his father. Mistreatment of small animals is usually the sign of mental instability. A recent FBI study dove into this topic, stating that people who have a history of abusing small house pets are more likely to have a track record of murder and rape. In a closed psychiatric test on animal abusers, almost all of them had some form of mental illness, one who had already killed a small boy. So yes, Christopher had every right to be afraid.
Here's a link to the article about the study
http://www.examiner.com/article/animal-abuse-indicates-high-risk-of-psychopathic-disorder
Christopher is once again offering a unique perspective to the world around us when he flees to the backyard. While he is observing the stars, he points out Orion, the hunter constellation. What is interesting and different about this is that he imagines how the stars could be connected to from different shapes, and how silly some of the actual ones are compared to what they could be. The underlying point to all this is that some things humans do make little sense, and this creates a façade of understanding, when really we know little to nothing. I find this to be particularly enlightening, because he is right. Constellations have been dictated by our ancestors and we have used them ever since, but why? Because tradition tells us to, even if a more sensible way could be determined? Christopher’s prospective is truly eye-opening and provides an excellent food-for-thought moment for the reader about the inaccuracies or plain silliness of the “status-quo”.
I think Christopher spends so much time explaining the brain because in the light that he views it, he understands it. He spends so little time explaining emotion because he doesnt understand it. In the beginning of the book he explains how he only understands happy and sad. Other less obvious emotions are difficult, maybe even impossible, for him to comprehend. He thinks of the brain as a computer, logical and striaght-foward. This isn't the case with everyone though, only his own brain and because his brain is the only one he knows about, he just assumes that everyone elses are like that. This is similar to the Smarties. After he realizes what is really inside he thinks that everyone else will automatically know what is in it.
Once again, we see Christopher’s lack of comprehension when it comes to emotions. I like to compare his understanding of emotions to that of a colorblind person. Christopher can study how the brain works, read every book, and watch every documentary, but still have no concept on how the emotions actually feel. The same goes for someone who is colorblind. They can know all the color names, where they are on the electromagnetic spectrum, and what they represent in our society, but they would never truly experiencing seeing that color. Another way to use this comparison is that both colors and emotions are hard to describe to those who have never seen or felt respectively. For example you might describe red and being “hot” while blue as being “cold”, but someone who has never seen these colors cannot associate them with those stimuli. You can describe Love as being warm, fuzzy, and nice, and hate as cold, painful, and lonely, but someone like Christopher will not understand, because he or she cannot feel these things. That is why Christopher’s explanation of emotions is so brief; because he has no experience with them.
Christopher is afraid of his father because he killed Wellington. To a normal person this may seem illogical and even ridiculous, but I would rather view this from Christopher’s eyes. Perhaps it’s not the fear that his father WILL kill him, but the uncertainty that he MIGHT. We as readers know his father cares for him, but even “loses his rag” sometimes, and Wellington is one of those cases. However, this act combined with the letters and lying from his father causes a great deal of uncertainty towards him. Christopher has displayed through his love of math that he likes things to have a defined answer and to make logical sense, whereas uncertain things like metaphors or things with multiple meanings cause him discomfort. Therefore, not knowing what his father will do next would be frightening to him, and the uncertainty justifies his fears.
Christopher spends so much time explaining how the brain works because it makes sense to him. It's logical and has a set reason why it does what it does. To him, it's like a machine. When you do one thing, there is a certain reaction that will occur. On the other hand, he spends so little time on emotions because they don't make sense to him. There is no rules to govern emotions. Emotions also make Christopher uncomfortable because he can't identify or relate to them.
Of course Christopher has the right to be scared of his own father. To Christopher, killing the dog is just as bad as killing a human. It's not likely his father would do anything to harm him, but he lied to Christopher's face and repeatedly told him to stop investigating the case of Mrs. Shears's dog. His dad frequently lost his temper when Christopher asked about the dog, which is reason enough for Christopher to be scared of him. He puts all of his trust in his father, and the moment he found out the truth that foundation immediately crumbled.
Christopher has a right to be scared of his father, he killed the dog because he was angered by his wife. If he gets angry enough who knows what he would do, the toll his wife pushed upon him just turned into something he was not able to handle. Just think of the way Wellington was killed, he was killed with a garden fork. That’s not really the most pleasant way to go if you ask me. Also he kept the truth from Christopher for so long and he also lied about his mother. Christopher has every right not to trust him because everything he has been told were lies, he can’t trust anything his father says because for all he knows they could be cover-ups as well. He was told his mother was dead when she really just left her husband, Wellington’s murder was covered up. There is only so much someone can take before they can no longer trust someone.
Christopher discovers that his father killed Wellington. The man who told him he couldn't investigate because it would bother the neighbors. How had he not seen it all along? Christopher has very good reasons to be scared of his father. Christopher clearly values honesty. His father betrayed his trust after reading the letters his mother had written to him every week since she had left. Now he finds out that his father, the only person he can trust, is perpetrator of the crime he has been trying to solve.
Christopher’s opinion of his father is similar to his characterizing of Orion. In one light he is the one who takes care of Christopher because he’s all Christophe has. While on the opposite side his father is a liar and a murdered that he can’t trust anymore. This is much like how he characterizes Orion as a hunter (which is what he actually is) and dinosaur. It is all in the eye of the beholder, only he can really decide who his dad really is to him. It is also his choice on who he thinks his father really is. He has to choose what he believes, caretaker or murder/liar are his two major options. Personally, I think that he will choose to not trust his father.
Christopher spends the majority of the chapter talking about the inner workings of the brain and only mentions human feelings in one sentence because he's not comfortable with them. He explained, even in the very first chapter, that more complex emotions bewildered him. He could easily pick out the smiley faces that represented joy or sadness, but was unable to workout the expressions for confusion or surprise. Scientific facts about how the brain works came easily to him. With facts, there is no gray area. There is only correct and incorrect, nothing else. If there was something that I knew and understood perfectly, I'd be more than happy to show what I know. He's simply more comfortable with facts that he can go on and on about rather than emotions that he can barely muddle through.
Christopher should not be scared of his Father. His Father is just going through a very tough point in his life right now and there is no easy way of explaining it to Christopher. One reason that I believe Christopher freaks out about finding out his Dad is the dog murderer is because maybe he realizes that that dog was someone that was not going to lie to him. Christopher also spent lots of his time trying to figure out that dog case when the whole time it was his own Father. Christopher needs to calm down and let his father explain the whole situation before he makes any decisions to run off anywhere. The thought of Christopher carrying a swiss army knife scares me very much also. Considering the fact that he commonly hits his Father, I be he would have no problem stabbing him. Also, once dead, Christopher would have no parents and not even resent the fact that he just killed someone because it was in the “past”.
I think the reason Christopher takes the majority of the chapter to explain how the brain functions but only a few sentences about emotion is because of the way he thinks. Christopher thinks mainly with a logical mind, and thinks highly of logical ideas and workings. He tends to think emotions are silly or unimportant, and possibly doesn't understand them very well.
I thought the way Christopher described the mind was interesting, and it made some sense in my mind. There were parts I could agree with but other I could not.
I do not think Christopher was right to be scared of his father. In all honesty, his being scared of his dad and running away mindset because of a dog upset me greatly for the rest of the novel. His dad killed a dog not a person, and if he killed a dog that most certainly does not mean he is going to kill his own child. I think Christopher should have taken a moment to think and consider how backwards the idea of his father plotting to murder him because he killed a dog sounded.
I found Christopher’s description of how humans can see things they aren’t looking at rather interesting. When he related it to humans having an operation done versus an animal having an operation done, I found it to be so true! Especially for me, because I like to over react about pain and make it seem like a bigger deal than it really is. The points he brings up about the human mind are so cool, and things that I would’ve never thought about on my own. It wasn’t a surprise to me at all that he barely mentions emotions. At several occasions in the novel we experienced things that a normal person would be very upset about, that didn’t bother him at all (such as his mother dying). I feel like this goes right along with his social anxiety that he gets though, too. Because he gets scared of people, especially those he doesn’t know, he doesn’t know how to relate on an emotional level with the ones he does know, or how to feel when something horrible happens.
I thought it was interesting how Christopher describes his fear as being “mathematically constant”. He is somewhat proving that his emotions are not increasing nor decreasing, but at least he is stating something about his emotions. Besides for the fact that I am now starting realize Christopher’s puking problem, he also explains how he calms his nerves by counting multiples of two. I guess everyone has some way of calming themselves down and this just happens to be Christopher’s unique mathematical way. It makes sense when you think that in a case where he is confused, he does the one thing that doesn’t cause him confusion, math. This may be a unique method that I try myself when confused or frustrated in school. I feel as though Christopher has a tough time calming himself just as his Mother does. The apple does not fall far from the tree.
I do believe Christopher is right to be scared of his Father because what his Father did is considered murder whether it be a human being or not. Wellington was killed by Christopher's Father in a cruel and sick manner so I do believe Christopher should be fearsome. Wellington's murder makes it obvious that Christopher's Father has anger problems, and he shouldn't have taken it out on Mrs. Shear's pet. The whole situation just goes to show that you should never underestimate what people are capable of. I can fully comprehend why Christopher was worried that his Father could potentially take his aggression out on him so he made the right decision to try and get away from the house for a little while.
In this section of the novel, Christopher finally figures out that his own father killed Wellington. I believe that it was unjust for Christopher’s father to kill a dog out of something that seemed like sheer jealousy toward Mrs. Shear’s affection of the dog. After Christopher found out about both the dog and the lies about his mother being dead, I don’t blame him for not trusting his dad anymore. Telling Christopher that his mother was dead is not something that he should have done just because she ran off with another man, as she is still Christopher’s mother. After Christopher learns of this, he plans to run away, but the only place he can think of is his own backyard, as if he will never get caught in his own backyard. This just goes to show how confusing things can get for Christopher when times are tough.
Yes I believe Christopher has the right to be scared of his father because his father lied to him. Their relationship was based on trust and his father wrecked it. I do believe Christopher took it too far, however, and did reckless things. He didn’t need to go to London alone and not tell his father. Even though Christopher’s father did kill Wellington, he’s not the murderer Christopher thinks he is. Christopher put it in his head that his father is a mass murderer and over thought everything, when in fact it was rather just a spur of the moment decision and he accidentally released his anger on the dog. If I were Christopher I would be more hurt and betrayed than scared, but he thinks in a very different way than I do so I understand why he reacted in such a dramatic way.
i think that in this part autism shows us a lot more about itself, we see an irrational fear of his father. earlier he struck him and he wasn't afraid yet in this part we see him kill a dog and Chris associates this murder with his father being dangerous psychopath.i find this funny or ironic maybe. i think Chris running away is actual irony because it is the least expected thing from Chris. he is afraid of new places and something not in his routine. yet he is willing to do something completely different from what he normally does, break routine and break bad, in response to his fathers murders. i also love that Orion is changed into a dinosaur. because it actually does look like a dinosaur more than a warrior. and i am going to refer to it as such from now on.
Like it was stated, Christopher has a very large explanation on how the brain works but when it comes to feeling and emotions all he has to say is one sentence. This is a prime example of who Christopher is. As we have learned, Christopher is all about using logic and emotion isn't very high on his importance list. Throughout the entire book we have read Christopher using his logic about the world to help him make decisions, find loopholes, and create explanations, but only on rare occasions does his emotions ever come into play. Although this is true, I still believe that Christopher has a lot of feeling and emotions he just chooses not to use them as they cloud judgement.
I can't imagine what Christopher is feeling when he finds all those letters from him mother. If i were in his shoes i'm sure i would do something very similar and try to get as far away as possible from my father also. When he reads those letter, i would imagine that his whole word is probably unraveling from his fingertips, poor kid. And i also do not think it was the time and place for Christopher's father to also tell him that he murdered Wellington. No explanation or apology could ever make up for what the father did to Christopher. When Christopher starts thinking about his father's ultimate ability to kill him, (even though we know he wouldn't) i would understand why Christopher was thinking that and why he felt the need to leave home. And i also think that the father is kinda dumb for leaving Christopher alone after something like that happened to him... When Christopher starts talking about start constellation, i automatically lose interest. The information he tells us is fascinating but almost too much detail for me. Then when he starts ranting about a certain topic i almost get frustrated because i feel like i'm wasting my time reading someone's rants about nothing while i could be actually reading a good novel. Sorry to all the fans, but this book makes me frustrated and i don't like it very much. Oh well..
Christopher has achieved his investigation job he gave himself. He found out that it was none other than his father who has killed Wellington. Christopher however, doesn't understand that his father did this out of anger towards Mr. Shears. Christopher's father had every right to be angry for his wife leaving him for another man. But this doesn't mean that he is a dangerous man for killing a dog. For this instance anyways. Christopher should not have gone as far as running away from home just to get away from his father. I expected Christopher to react just by not speaking to his father for a while. Personally I thought that was a bit far.
After Christopher finds out that his father killed Wellington I think he has every right to be scared. Personally I think having the nerve to kill an animal means someone is very messed up. Unless the animal is attacking and being a threat. Why would a person kill something innocent? In Christopher’s mind he thinks that if his dad suddenly had the urge to kill Wellington then why wouldn’t he one day have the urge to kill Christopher. Finding out this information probably scared Christopher not only because of that reason, but because he liked dogs a lot. Why would his father hurt something that he likes? I think it’s even worse when someone you love hurts something you love.
I think it's very reasonable to believe that Christopher has every reason to not be 100% trustful of his father. There's a lot of people in this world, and the ones who mistreat and abuse those smaller and more defenseless then them, in this case animals, are the ones who truly are the most messed-up in the head. Lying to Christopher about his mother is one thing, and it's somewhat understandable, but to kill a dog over an argument? That's inexcusable. With everything that's going on with Christopher, I think him grabbing the knife is more than justifiable. When seeing that Christopher's mom still cared for him I thought his decision would be instant and based purely on emotions. The whole scenario that he is in is horrible at this point.
We finally discover in this chapter who the real killer is Christopher's father. This actually through me off guard and I did not expect this at all only because I had suspected a few other characters. We know that he has been effected by the mothers past so the killing I guess could be said predictable or maybe reasonable, if you can find some sanity in that. One of the questions was should Christopher be afraid? Well honestly everybody is going to say different things which is whats great about reading and writing is you can be in control and for now I would say no Christopher should not be afraid. Christopher's father has taken care of him for all these years now and just because an incident like this occurs does not mean his father can not be trusted. Some might say that he should be afraid because of his outburst and yelling and strict behavior lately but maybe all it is, is Christopher's fathers built up anxiety and frustration of being a single parent with an autistic child. This section focused on the littler details and has shown how intense this part of the story is for young Christopher. We see again similarly like in the beginning of the story Christopher's reaction h is stunned and just frozen with what could just be shock.
The anecdote with the smarties shows us that Christopher's interpretation of the human mind is a computer. When he finds out a pencil is in the container, he believes this information is automatically distributed across everyone's minds like an update across a network of computers. His descriptions of flicking through images in our heads isn't exactly easy to follow. His mention of being unable to see things clearly when our focus shifts from one point of interest to another is quite fascinating though. Even though this has been psychologically proven years ago, it is still quite shocking to think about. Something you may have taken for granted all your life may be a false perception.
Christopher most definitely has a right to be afraid of his father. He learns that his father had killed Wellington simply because he had gotten in a fight with Mrs. Shear. I think anyone has the right to be leary of someone with volatile anger problems. What if his father were to ever get in an even worse fight? Christopher can't help but fear the worst. Once he runs away behind the barn it shows that is fearful of what his father will do, and he is willing to defend himself. I coudn't imagine having such a fear of my father that I felt the need to protect myself.
I do not believe Christopher should be afraid of his father; however, I can understand why he is. His father killed may have killed a dog, but all his other actions prove that he is a good father willing to put himself in danger to keep his son safe. He wasn't hiding the letters out of anger towards Christopher's mother, he did it because he wanted to protect Christopher. I can definitely see why Christopher would be afraid though. His father was one of very few people he could actually trust; however, his father kept his mother and the death of Wellington a secret from him. This showed him just how easy it is to destroy trust. His father has gotten angry and even hit him before. I can fully understand why he wouldn't trust his father.
I believe Christopher describes how his father does the laundry down to the last detail because part of his personality is paying attention to detail and remembering every single thing that happened. I also think he paid so much attention to what his father was doing because that would mean he knew what he was doing exactly and since he isn’t trusting his father at this point it would be a good way to keep track of him and figure out what to do if he felt threatened. According to Christopher he is doubling twos because he is trying to calm himself down. He just found out a lot of information that has majorly affected his life. He also found out that his father had been lying about two things that he really cared for and he hates lying. In order for him to not get sick or have a groaning episode he tries counting to stay calm. I don’t think Christopher should be afraid of his father, but I don’t think he should trust him anymore. To not tell Christopher he killed the dog is one thing, but to keep the fact that his mother was still alive is a completely different story. According to his father it sounds like killing Wellington was an act of self-defense, which I believe is a valid thing. I feel bad that Christopher thinks he has to run away from his father because he doesn’t feel safe. Christopher’s initial attempt at running away shows that Christopher is not ready for change and does not feel comfortable anywhere else especially when he explains that he likes having a set schedule and not being away from his home.
I liked Christopher's explanation of how the brain works because it was specific and it made sense for the most part. I did get a little confused by it when he started talking about the homunculus but after I read it a few times it clicked for me. He was very logical about his whole explanation which is part of what made me like it because I like logic, but not as much as Christopher of course. I also thought it was a clever and insightful way to put it so it stuck out in my mind and gave me something to think about. I've decided that I agree with Christopher's thoughts, even though I don't like that human minds are comparable to computers. He had a pretty solid argument by bringing actual experiments into it. Another thing was that as I was reading it, he covered everything I thought of that would disprove what he was saying. Although I was a little skeptical with the bit about emotions because I know he doesn't understand those very well and his points during that part didn't seem as strong as the other parts. I also appreciated the new information I got from this section of the book. It's really strange to know that your brain and eyes shut off frequently even if it is for a fraction of a second.
The anecdote about the smarties shows that Christopher doesn't understand that other people have minds because he thought his mother would get the question right since he already knew the trick. I found this part interesting because even though he says he doesn't have difficulty with this concept anymore, it still shows up in his inability to make connections regarding emotions. This is why he spends so much time talking about the inner workings of the mind and then only gives a few sentences to the topic of emotions. He understands what makes the mind work much better than emotions because emotions aren't logical facts. He can't get his brain to wrap around emotions that are more complicated than happy or sad. This is not because he doesn't have emotions it's because he doesn't know how to process them. The biggest example of this is when he threw up after he found out the truth about his mother. Another example is when he describes feeling actual pain when he gets upset.
Christopher can spend ages explaining the inner-workings of a brain because it's something very easy for him to understand. It's all a matter of facts, logic, and comprehension. The brain nothing but a computer, and he likes that. Emotions, on the other hand, are unpredictable and hard to read. There are no solid concrete facts about them, and they often blend together all at once. It's hard to look at someone's face and decipher what he or she is feeling. To Christopher, they're an unnecessary part of life and he would rather focus on things he thinks are more important.
First off, Christopher being scared of his father is expected. His father isn’t the nicest man in the world and he often is very irrational. Christopher does not trust many people in his life, and it is very understandable, after all that he has been through. The way that his father got so angry and took it out on his dog was not acceptable and it must have heart Christopher in many ways. That damaged Christopher’s trust in not only his father, but in everyone around him in general. Christopher now remains skeptical of anybody he comes across. He not treated right and you really just feel for him after all he’s been through.
I don't think Christopher should be scared of his dad because he hasn't before hand done anything extremely violent towards him. But I do think that he should of confess to him earlier because along with the fact Christopher just realize that his father lied and his mother is alive. I think he just has so many realizations and secrets came into light that he snapped. I also feel for him because he also cares very much for dogs more than people themselves. If i was in that situation though I would rather live with the father then the mother because I know from first hand experience staying with a person with a fire hot temper isn't the best living space to grow. Even though the dad has done some terrible things he did do want he thought was best for Christopher. I can see where the dad came from because the mom was selfish and only think about herself when she left and expected it to be all ok with everybody.
Christopher explains feelings/emotions in one sentence because he doesn't understand them. He is very good with how the mind works however, when it comes to emotions he just doesn't know them. Christopher has never really experienced any emotions and even has a hard time when others are happy, mad, or sad. Its like a regular person trying to explain something they have never learned about.
Christopher's viewpoint on the brain is so much more intricate and detailed than ours. Although he is very advanced in logic and detail, he falls behind the crowd when it comes to emotions and picking up other people's emotions. It is very difficult for Christopher to identify specific emotions such as anger or loneliness but he can identify more broad and basic ones such as happy or sad. It is very difficult to connect with people without emotion. I believe the main root of all relationships and interactions you have with people are because of the emotional bond you share with one another. It is a certain chemistry that can not be shared by ones who are on opposite sides of the spectrum. Happy people tend to attract happy friends.
As far as Christopher's explanation of the brain goes it was hard for me to understand, his vocabulary and cryptic ways of wording different things was extremely incomprehensible. I believe he describes his feelings and emotions in one sentence because it is difficult for him to express his feelings and emotions. He also sees the world in a more realistic way compared to others, he values logic and reasoning over everything else. I understand why Christopher describes everything in one sentence though, it leaves me feeling sorry for him in a way because he is unable to relate to emotions. Since he cannot relate to emotions he makes his life revolve around logic rather then other people.
Chris is too analytical of things. He thinks and thinks and thinks about things and I honestly believe that is his Achilles heel. Most people would see the name Orion and just let it slide but not Chris. He thinks about names that are close to it pictures images in his head of it and just won't let it go.
Finally, it is revealed to the reader that Christopher's father had killed Wellington. Christopher had just found the letters from his mother and had read them. He was in a fragile state and then his father proceeded to tell him about the murder, because he was fragile i feel that the timing was completely inappropriate. At this time the reader realizes the magnitude of how cynical Christopher's father can be. Throughout the book I had noticed his father becoming increasingly more unstable but once I learned that he was the murderer I also learned that he was truly lost all along and it wasn't a gradual thing. I understand why Christopher was afraid at this time but I also struggle because he hadn't been afraid through anything else up until this point. When he runs away I really understood the capacity of his irrational fear because Christopher is afraid of new places and people but he was more afraid of his father. I believe he makes the choice to leave based solely on his irrational fear and he uses zero logical sense for once throughout the book.
Christopher's trust issues were clear from the beginning of the novel. But it was clear that he trusted his father, so when his father broke this trust, it was a reasonable reaction on Christopher's part. I think it was right for Christopher to react the way he did- his father's actions were unnecessary and wrong, leaving room for Christopher to fear him. It was not uncalled for.
I'm also extremely shocked to have found out that it was Christopher's father who killed the dog. I mean, when I found out, it all made sense. The affair, his wife's leaving, etc. I just saw Christopher's father as someone who was the "good guy" through out the book. He was always - or at least tried to be - compassionate with Christopher and looked out for the best for his son. But he acted out on a wild surge of emotions and killed a dog that had no wrong doing.
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