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There is clearly significance to the fact that Christopher adds this appendix to his story. What can you discern from this in terms of symbolic meaning? What does Christopher solve besides this math problem?
49 comments:
I didn't think there was a significance. I just thought he'd want to add more information than what was necessary since we were nearing the end of the book by the time the appendix was mentioned. He wanted to show he could solve the math problem but he also wanted to show that he could solve other things and overcomes his fears. Besides that, it didn't seem very significant.
In a way, it reminds me of the footnotes. You don't actually need to know that the author had gone somewhere with his mother and that's why he explained something, but it's still good to read. That's somewhat like an appendix.
I thought Christopher just added this problem to the end of the book to prove he could do it. He passed a super hard test and wanted to brag, and I don't blame him. Besides this math problem, Christopher solved the importance of relationships, honesty, and trust, and that he could do anything he really wanted to. He solved the mystery of Wellington, he solved the problem of getting to his mom's without ever having been there before, he solved the problem of being afraid of his dad but coming to terms with his mistakes anyways and he definitely realized the importance of friendship (risking his life to save Toby).
This book was definitely enjoyable and I will be checking out more books from Mark Haddon.
Christopher added this problem because one, he is extremely good at math, and two he found it extrememly interesting. It's added in the appendix because Sibohan told him that sometimes not everyone thinks what he thinks is interesting, so you add it in the appendix. I don't believe he meant it to have any symbolic meaning.
I didn't think there was a symbolic nature to this problem, it was just very Christopher to have it thrown in the appendix. However, if I was to try and discern some other meaning out of it I would say it's a triangle. Triangle's have three sides. There are three members of Christopher's family. Maybe the right angle represents that Christopher's parents are going to have to work together to raise him. I don't see what other meaning there would be.
I do not see much significance, but more of a realization, or a stepping stone to being happy. In my opinion, he completes the problem, but all the while proving to everyone that he did it and got as far as he did. He solved so many problems, and decided to put this one at the very end after he did very well on the Maths Test. I don't see any other meaning to this problem other than the fact that he did get to where he wanted to be after so much trouble and time and experience was put into it.
I don't believe there was a point to adding the appendix. The only thing I can think of is that Christopher wanted to use this final math problem as a finish line. Since he loves math in general, I just thought it was added because it makes him happy and there's a definite answer to it. Christopher loves things that have facts behind them and he had an equation to prove the answer.
Throughout the book we can easily notice the close relationship between Christopher and Siobhan. Therefore, Christopher often trusts the things Siobhan tells him. Near the end of the book when Christopher is debating whether or not to show a difficult math problem, he remembers that Siobhan tells him that people don’t want to read the answers to a math problem and that he should put it in the Appendix. Although he was told that many people will not find his math problem interesting, he still wants to include it into his novel for a couple of reasons. I believe that there is a significance to the appendix because he wants to prove to everyone that he was able to pass with an A grade. This may seem very non important to us, but to Christopher it is extraordinary because he rose above his peers and proved to himself and others that he deserved to take the test. To me this was symbolic because it is another way of showing that he believed he can do anything and like Christopher states “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” (Haddon 221). And he proved the following in the Appendix.
I thought this was.. Odd, weird. I dunno. Odd. It was odd. It was so pointless, in my opinion. Sam brought up the fact that it was somewhat like like footnotes, which I actually enjoy reading. It gives you a deeper understanding for why the author wrote what they had, or done what they had done with the characters. I think the reason Christopher has added an appendix to the end of his book is to show that he is capable of doing things like math and that there is more to him than what meets the eye.
I think the appendix in this book is another thing that Christopher does to make himself special. For example, Christopher numbers the chapters of the book by prime numbers. It is as if Christopher added the appendix for fun or to show off that he can do complex math. Perhaps Christopher is trying to prove to someone that he is capable of doing complex math.
I don't really get why Christopher felt the need to add the appendix. I mean, I get that he likes math and he can do it. Maybe it made him feel comfortable because its something he can do and think about. I can't figure out what he meant at the end, it seems like there is a meaning behind it but I don't know what it is or could mean. Have fun I guess? Its his book.
I'm going to take a shot at what the last figure might mean. The whole point of trigonometry is using information you already have to learn information about the rest of the problem. Maybe that's how Christopher sees the world. It's using two known numbers (or parts to any world problem) to figure out an unknown variable (or a simple solution). He uses everything around him to understand some of the unknowns of the world. We think of things in one giant picture, where he thinks in separate parts. Therefore, it's easier to use those separate parts to create a whole.
Or maybe..... is it possible he added this to the book so that people would look at it thinking "hmmm I wonder what this means." Which is exactly what people are doing. Clever...
I think the appendix is put in, because Christopher likes to show how he can solve problems. As in the train station, he took small steps at a time to finally reach the intended goal. I like how Shyla puts it, that trigonometry is using small pieces of information in order to solve a problem. This can also relate to Christopher's love of being a detective. They take the same approach to solving a mystery; discovering clues in order to put together the entire picture. I think there's meaning behind the ultimatum of the math problem as well. It is concluded that the triangle is a right-angle but it does not have sides which can be written in the specified form. This might be a long shot as far as theories go, but it seems that this might have some meaning to Christopher's family. Although they're a family, their relation to each other doesn't always fit the form.
Christopher adds the appendix because he can show us fully the logic puzzles, math problems, and maps he figures out in the novel. He finds comfort in their order and logic and uses them to help him figure out other, bigger problems in the book. The problems in the appendix give Christopher the tools he needs to find the solutions in problems that involve too many variables for him to reach a clear solution. He often uses this strategy when he finds out new information that he hasn't figured out yet, or after a particularly confusing event. For instance at the train station in Swindon he thinks of Conway's Soldiers to pass a really scary time for him. He uses a map when he searches his father’s neighborhood for Wellington’s murderer, in the train station, and another time while he was looking for his mother’s apartment in London. All in all, Christopher is a very clever boy who, despite his disability, will go far in life with the help of his problem solving skills.
I think Christopher added this to the appendix to show the logic behind his math problems and also just to show us he could do it. Siobhan told Christopher not to put math problems in the book because not everyone is interested in math, so he stuck it in the appendix. Christopher probably added the problem to show how he could get the A grade on his math test too. Christopher gets comfort out of the order in math and uses it daily to solve real life problems. Christopher also added it because he wanted to prove that he could do anything. The math in the appendix shows the steps he takes in everyday problems and also symbolizes his pride. He is very proud at the end of the book because he made it to London on his own, solved the Wellington mystery, and wrote a book. He wants to display his pride with the math problem because he can do anything, and getting an A grade is one of the many things he can do.
The structure of the problem is as follows: this thing is true. Prove that the opposite is false. Christopher goes to great lengths to do this. Now, let's replace math stuff with real world stuff. Christopher has autism. This is true. The opposite of that: Autism has Christopher, or Christopher is defined by his autism. We find out that this is false. He has gone to great lengths to show us that he can do pretty crazy things even with this limiter. He went to another city on his own! He's barely been outside his hometown! Christopher has proved to us that he is not going to let his autism hold him back. That might be what this appendix is talking about.
I believe that there really was no meaning to the math problem. Christopher is good at math so he probably just added it into the appendix because he liked it. Besides this math problem, Christopher solves many things that were a mystery to him. He solved the struggle of trusting his father, and what trust means to him. He also solved what relationships mean too. He figured out the different aspects of each relationship that he had with people. He also physically solved how to navigate his way through London by himself, which I thought was impressive.
I don't believe that there is any special significance of the appendix. I think that Christopher added it because at the end of his book he was happy because he knew that now after solving the mystery, finding mother, and writing a book, he could do anything. And because he was finally happy about his future in math and being able to eventually go to college and become a scientist he added a math problem to finish off his book with the thing that makes him the happiest.
As many people have said above, there was not a significance in adding the appendix. I agree with Sam in saying that it seemed more like footnotes. However, the appendix did show that Christopher enjoyed math and relates everything to it. As Shyla said, trigonometry is gathering small pieces of information to solve a bigger problem. So we know that Christopher enjoys math and being a detective.
Christopher revolves everything around math because it is the one thing that he excels at. That is very relatable for the audience because as humans we look for the easiest path, which contains what we excel in.
I do not think that there was a point to adding the appendix. I did not like it either. But with Christopher's love and slight obsession with math I could see them adding it to say that all "problems" could be solved? Especially since it soothes him and he is able to think clearly through math. I personally can barely think when math is involved. Back to the appendix, I believe it was there to leave us in thought to try and find a deeper meaning behind it all. Find out what is our "math".
I think that he was trying to use two parts of already known information to find or solve the rest of the problem. I mean in order to solve a trigonometry problem you have to use the two parts of information already given to you to get the third part! It might be easier for Christopher to separate things into parts that way he can put it all together to make some sort of understanding as a whole. I'm not a math person myself but I thought this was kind of interesting! Maybe there was a point that was trying to be made by ending the book with something that made Christopher happy like being able to go to college and becoming a scientist!
I debated for a while if there was really any significance to the appendix at all. My conclusion was no. I think he just wanted to show exactly how smart he really was. It was probably just something that Christopher was thinking about or had been thinking about during the novel that he decided to add it. However, it be symbolic of being a problem solver. He solved many of the problems that were happening during the extent of this novel and maybe the math problem was just an addition to his problem solving expertise. We may never know.
Yeah I really saw no significance. But i'm assuming by the fact that you asked what the significance was there happens to be one. So some speculations I can throw out are: one, he really wanted to take his math test towards the end of the book after everything he went through and doing school work and simple mathematics made him feel comfortable. I mean it is only the Pythagorean theorem so I don't believe it was that challenging for him to brag about it by adding it to the story. Or maybe since there are many different sides to solving triangles by using Pythagorean's theorem that it summed up plausible outcomes in his story. If you think about it there are different sides to the story like on a triangle, different angles and different outcomes for different match ups. Maybe it means nothing and i'm full of it and know nothing. But there are many ways we can sit and guess why he put that in there but i'm assuming you have the answer Mr. Earl, either that or you tricked us into using our brains more than usual over the summer haha.
Now there might be some sort of deep meaning behind the math at the end of the book that's going over my head, because in all honesty, I have trouble catching things like that sometimes. But I have a hunch that it's only there because it's something that Christopher's character would've done. Maybe in his head it's a reminder of other things that we wouldn't understand. Like how certain songs bring us memories. Math might be his way to remember things? I don't know, it's just a thought.
Perhaps Christopher thought that he solved a lot of questions in his life over this time period? Maybe he believes he solved something greater than he thought?
I did not see any significance to his problem. I believe that Christopher added all that stuff to prove that he was capable of doing things on his own such as: solving the case of Wellington, traveling to his mothers house alone and passed the advanced math test. Throughout the novel we know that Christopher has autism, and he continues to prove to the reader that he is able to do anything that he puts his mind to.
With the appendix in mind, I’d like to talk about the way Christopher ended the book: QED. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I didn’t know that QED was an abbreviation of the Latin phrase, “quod erat demonstrandum.” This phrase translates to “which had to be demonstrated,” and it is used after proving an argument. Early Greek mathematicians placed this abbreviation at the end of proofs to symbolize the completion. Christopher actually states it himself; he thought the appendix had to be done. He felt compelled to complete this proof. Whether he meant the mathematical proof or his story as a whole, we can only guess. I’d like to think that Christopher’s QED means a bit more than completing a proof. I think he knows that writing this book was something he had to do… something that positively expanded his understanding of the world he lives in, even if he doesn’t realize this. Obviously, he completed the case of Wellington’s murder, found out what really happened to his mother, and figured out how to get to his mother’s home. QED (which had to be demonstrated). He proved that his three-sided family was not what it was assumed to be, showing that his family is greater than nothing and not as perfectly right-angled as some families.
Christopher probably added an appendix at the end of the book 1) because he is comfortable with math, as it is all facts 2) showcase his talents and 3) show that despite whatever disabilities he may have, he is special. Math is a huge part of who he is, and since this is a book written by him about him, it is only fitting that it ends with something he truly loves. Novels usually end with one last line to provide closure, but math is Christopher's closure. It's what gives him a sense of relief -- to make him feel like everything is going to be okay. Math is concrete and definite, just like an ending.
By leaving this picture in the appendix, Christopher is able to prove how intelligent he is when it comes to mathematics. He passed a test that, to someone like him, was almost supposed to be impossible. Christopher wants to show he has that intelligence and feels proud of himself, which, he should. It is also mentioned that Siobhan wanted him to add it to the appendix as well. She states that that is a place where he can put things like this. Usually in an appendix, information is provided to help validate or provide more information in a novel. While Christopher knows a lot of things, he knows a lot about math and maybe this is why he chose to add this to the back of the book. I do not truly believe there is any real significance for Christopher other than the fact that he wanted to put it there for the sole reason of proving how smart he is.
Mallory mentioned above that the reason why she believed that the appendix was added to the story was to prove that he could do it. And I agree. Even in the last paragraph of the story, Christopher starts it with "And I know that I can do this...". Towards the end of the story, Christopher mentions that Siobhan says not to think about the future and only to think about the good times in the past and the present because he was nervous about his future if he didn't end up taking his math test. So once he received his results on the test, I think that Christopher found a sense of security in himself and solved his future and he was able to plan out his future because he already succeeded so much that he would have never had the courage to do before. "I am going to take A-level physics and get an A grade... 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." (pg 221).
I did not understand the significance of this math problem. Initially I thought of it as him trusting his teacher's advice on how to write a book since he never had. Also to keep us from having to read through a quite lengthy solution for a math problem. It certainly is quite complicated. I would be interested to learn the significance behind it.
I'm not going to follow the topic for this one but just talk about how I liked the end of the book. I really liked the ending of this book. It seemed to be a happy ending, and who doesn't like happy endings? I loved the last line "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 this means I can do anything." I found the end of the book inspiring and maybe it was just because I read it on my way to a cross country meet but still. I liked how everything seemed to be starting to work out for Christopher and he has everything planned out. I think it was a good ending to a good book.
I definitely think that there is significance behind the appendix. There is meaning behind every single thing that Christopher puts into this novel. I agree with everyone else in the idea that Christopher likes to explain how he took steps to solve a problem. (I’m sure he has no trouble showing work when it comes to his math homework) Also, I like how Shyla puts it, that trigonometry involves numerous pieces of information in order to solve a problem. Just in the train station and subway, Christopher explains his lack of understanding so he watches others, puts together solutions in his head, then acts them out in person. Also, the entire focus of the beginning of the story is Christopher taking several steps to figure out the Wellington murder. Christopher lives his daily life by taking multiple clues, and putting them together to solve a basic problem.
Throughout the book I skimmed the math because it was usually a little confusing, and this was no exception. As many other people have said there doesn’t seem to be any symbolic meaning. The whole book was so blunt and straightforward that I find it difficult to look deeper. However, after thinking about it I think I understand why Christopher put it there. It shows that he will complete what he puts his mind to, and that includes the math problem and the book. Also, I thought it was symbolic that Siobhan was the one who mentioned to include it in the appendix because she was a strong minor character throughout the whole story. She was like Christopher’s rock.
I believe the real significance behind the appendix is the completion of the novel, just as Christopher’s life was completed when he was reunited with his mother in the end. Not only does Christopher finish writing his book, solving the math problem, and solving the case of Wellington, he also solves the completion of his childhood. Once he had finished his A-level math test, and his father had apologized to him with a puppy, it seemed like Christopher was in a happy mindset toward the end of the novel. Since Christopher went to all this trouble to write a mystery novel, he uncovered so much more of his life that he didn’t know about. The appendix in the end of the novel is also just another way of Christopher's style of writing, adding in as much detail as possible.
I saw significance in the appendix and what I believe it was is the completion of the novel. Don't get me wrong, I have a hard time believing this and don't completely see the symbolization but reading through my peers comments a lot of them seem to agree. The story was so straightforward that I didn't find myself even starting to think about what the appendix symbolized when I saw it. I like and agree what everyone's saying though, how it just shows that Christopher is driven to complete everything that he really wants to. Everything seemed to look up toward the end of the book, his fathers apology was really moving to me. Everything seemed to wrap up, and come to an end, and the appendix almost showed that in a different way.
I believe the significance in the appendix is that Christopher can do anything that he puts his mind too. He mentioned close to the end that the appendix is like an extra chapters for readers to read, so I thought of this as a form of foreshadowing. Christopher finished his novel and could have left it without an appendix, but Siobhan always told Christopher to try to think of the happy things and focus on those. Christopher can always find happiness and fun in maths, so he wrote out his favorite math problem from his A level math exam. It's what made him express his happiness.
It was a struggle for me to understand the significance of the appendix because nothing really led me to believe that it would be symbolic. However, I could see that Christopher would like this specific problem to the appendix becasue it shows his desire to complete things orderly, and by the rules, or the formula in this case. I also think is shows that in life there is always an unknown, but you just have to go through a little bit of hard work just to figure things out.
I do not see much significance to this problem; it was just a step to being happy. I think the appendix in this book is just another thing that makes Christopher special. It makes him feel comfortable for who he is as a person. It shows that he can do complex math. Maybe Christopher is trying to prove to all of us that he has a purpose and is just a normal person who has found their love and place in society. He can problem solve and succeed in life and that his autism is not holding him back in life.
I feel like Chris just added it in there to prove to people that he could actually do it. Who doesn't like to brag when they solve something hard. Chris loves math so it makes sense to me on why it would be back there. The only significant thing of the problem is that he completed it.
By adding the math problem into the appendix I feel that this was Christopher's way of showing the reader what it was that he connected to. I understand that he thought he deserved to be able to take the test, I also understand that he received an A but I don't believe he put the problem in the appendix to show off or brag. I believe he put it back there to make the reader think about it . As a reader it made me think about Siobahn telling him that things he finds interesting may not be interesting to others so you can put it Into the appendix. I feel like he puts it into the appendix to show the reader that throughout the book that was one of the most important and significant things to him. I feel that it's a way for him to connect to the readers that understand him because if we find it interesting then we can relate to him.
I definitely believe that there is significance behind the appendix. There was a reason and meaning behind every detail that "Christopher" describes to us in this novel. I agree with most people in the fact that Christopher likes to explain how he took steps to solve a problem. For example in the train station and subway, Christopher describes his lack of understanding others so he watches others. Christopher puts together solutions in his head and then carries them out. The whole idea in the beginning of the novel is Christopher taking several steps to figure out the dog murder. Christopher functions his life by taking multiple clues and putting them together to solve a task or problem.
I think the main reason he added this is because Siobhan told him to. Otherwise it would have been just though out the book. It is just things that most people wouldn't have want to read in the book. But things that Christopher found important so he just put them in where he was told. It was just to prove to readers that he could do the math problems that he talked about through the entire book.
I feel as though that the math at the end of the book is just him adding something he loves and is good at. He wanted to show how smart he is. I mean he did write the book and it is about himself. Christopher is a problem solver. Throughout the novel he solved many problems, and by him adding the math at the end kind of made sense. He was just solving another problem. (And showcasing how smart he is and that he can actually do it) The math was a closure to the story, leaving the readers guessing and putting thought into it.
I do not believe that the math Christopher added on had any symbolic meaning. Christopher's mind only works in one way, and that is problem solving. It is what he loves to do and the one thing that he is very skilled at, so he added the problem on because it is fun to him and gives him a little confidence boost. In the real world, everyone has their own special talent. Whether it be a sport or art or bagging groceries, we all have our niche and we feel comforted when we are in it, and that is why I believe Christopher added on the appendix.
Christopher seemed to always enjoy mathematics and the appendix signifies that Christopher can achieve anything he puts his mind to. This whole novel was a journey that Christopher took us to find his true self and to find his true talent. He defied the odds and got an A on the test and so adding this appendix to the story shows many qualities like, perseverance, intelligent, hard working, cinfident that are secretly written in this image.
Christopher seemed to always enjoy mathematics and the appendix signifies that Christopher can achieve anything he puts his mind to. This whole novel was a journey that Christopher took us to find his true self and to find his true talent. He defied the odds and got an A on the test and so adding this appendix to the story shows many qualities like, perseverance, intelligent, hard working, cinfident that are secretly written in this image.
I think it's just put in the appendix because he remembered that no one would want to actually read the answer to a math problem. Or that's at least what Siobhan had told him, and he trusts her completely. Though, I think he found the math problem nessicary to prove he could do it. There was some doubt about him taking the math test, and this proved he really could do it, and handle it quite well. But the problem it's self is symbolic. In trig, you have only so much information, and to find out what you want, you have to manipulate and use the information you have to begin with. I feel like that could be applied to his detective work, and finding his mother.
Sorry this is late.
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