Emotions are a vast concept that can interpreted differently by everyone. For Christopher, studying other people’s faces and emotions are based on facts. The word sad, for example, could be broken up into more complex and defining words. Although, the fact still remains, sad is one of the main emotions; “...and I knew that [the picture] meant ‘sad,’ which is what I felt when I found the dead dog”(2). Through this, it was mentioned that Siobhan, a person whose relation to Christopher is not 100% clear, was the one who introduced him to different types of emotions. As a reader, we are reading in a perspective of an autistic boy. He does not need to explain himself to anyone, that is not his intention. Even so, we are given clear proof that he …show more content…
In this case, the word ‘understand’ is used in the context of, ‘to apply and incorporate.’ At least that is what the author, Mark Haddon, is expressing. Although, he has failed to even realize the error with how he describes Christopher. Yes, to apply and incorporate means to take prior knowledge and adapt to the situation, but Christopher has shown examples of this. He does show emotions, and understands them. To be fair, when analyzed by the reader, he only shows clear understanding of emotions towards his own situation, and finds it hard to recognize other people’s expressions. “...and [the stranger] held up both his hands with his fingers stretched out in a fan [like mother and father did]…[I thought] he wanted to say he loved me…I didn’t know who he was”(171). Christopher is feeling distraught and uneasy during his journey to find his mother. He is exposed to different types of people. Despite being new to certain environments, he keeps close to his own emotions for support. “ [the large amount of words] frightened me so I closed my eyes again and I counted slowly to 50… I stood there… and I held on to [my knife] tight”(170). Here, Christopher understands that he is uneasy, and finds ways to calm himself. This is his form of a defense mechanism. He has applied fear into his situation and incorporated ways to calm him down. This is how his mind works. An input of fear, and an expected output of being at ease with his new
In books the author relies on words, experiences of the character and others accounts to show emotion. In movies there are more ways to inflict emotion; through images, facial expression, dialogue, and music. Not only did these different works of art show emotion in different ways but they also made audiences feel different things. The tone of the book was a much darker one than that of the movie. Jon Krakauer included stories of McCandless childhood, struggles, and last days alive to show the darker parts of his journey. Some examples of this are; telling readers right away that McCandless is dead, his father's secret family, months that his family and friends spent worrying about him, ways he could have easily avoided his death and so on. None of these experiences described in the book make readers feel an overwhelming sense of happiness of joy. Krakauer focused more on telling the exact facts of Chris McCandless’ life no matter if it made people feel sad. Sean Penn on the other hand, painted a much happier and romantic telling of Chris’s story. Showing him and Tracey bonding, illegally paddling down the Colorado River looking free and happy, or creating amazing bonds with the people he meets along the way. The few sad parts in the movie that are shown are his parents and Carine worrying about him and his death, which is countered with the
is a murderer. When this occurs, Christopher begins to feel afraid, the only emotion he is capable of experiencing.
...m causes him to struggle with many things that a normal person would not have a hard time with. If following someone without autism readers would not be able to see the difficulties for an autistic. This scene, or the entire book, would not be nearly as captivating. Christopher’s role throughout the story is not only to narrate but also to pull readers into the life of an autistic.
Whilst the concept of autism and what it means to be autistic is still widely unrecognised by many, Mark Haddon’s use of conventions of prose fiction and language amplifies the distinctive qualities of the text. Haddon exemplifies key themes such as the struggle to become independent, the nature of difference and the disorder of life through the strategic placement of literary devices.
This paper will examine Robert C. Solomon's Emotions and Choices article, to best identify what anger is, and to what extent a rational human being is responsible for their anger. Firstly, Solomon's argument must be described. A quick summation of Solomon's argument can be found in the following four points: Emotions are judgements, emotions are chosen, emotions serve a purpose, and emotions are rational.1 To quote Solomon, he explains that “Emotions are not occurrences, and do not happen to us. They ... may be chosen like an action.”2
The other emotion highly present from the beginning is that of the attitude of Robert. We are introduced to what appears to be a quick witted and pleasant man, especially considering the recent death of his wi...
... He drew a picture of a robin on a branch in the middle of winter with one difference: he had changed winter to spring, the branches now had foliage. José had always had a knack for nature and its qualities, but because he showed these signs of having a personality and character, was he truly autistic? The answer has never been fully discovered but it is to be believed that he was not, but that he suffered from a traumatic experience around the age of 8, which is when he became officially autistic. Although the book has many stories to tell, all with something in common but yet with a different feature, the point of the book was to not only educate the world about these situations but to also give us real scenarios that we all can relate to in some sort of fashion.
Christopher Boone, the protagonist of this novel, has encountered a lot of hardships dealing with people because of his mental disability. One of his biggest problems he faces is his incompetence to decipher between emotions. In order to make out the more complicated emotions, Christopher “...got Siobhan to draw lots of these faces and then write down next to them exactly what they meant.” He keeps this piece of paper in his pocket and uses it as reference when he has difficulty understanding other people’s emotions. “I like dogs” says Christopher, you always know what a dog is thinking. It has four moods. Happy, sad, cross and concentrating.” (5.2) He also finds it difficult to follow instructions. Since he is a very logical person he needs the directions to be precise and specific. “And this is because when people tell you what to do it is usually confusing and does not make sense.For example, people often say ‘B...
...er 237 where Christopher recounts “Christopher, let me hold your hand. just for once. Just for me. Will you? And i said ‘i dont like people holding my hand.’. Through the implementation of truncated sentences, Judy’s yearning and longing for Christopher’s affection is exemplified. This enables the responder to acknowledge the highly emotional state in which she is in. The setting of Christopher and his mother being alone in the bathroom also aids to the emotional, intimate and highly sensitive nature of their conversation. Despite how affected Christopher may be in realising his mother is alive he is unable to recognise the plea in his mothers voice and fails to reciprocate the smallest morsel of physical affection towards her due to his desperation to keep things orderly and un-changing, therefore exposing the complicated nature of communication between the two.
The man that the boy grew into, however, is fully capable of recognizing and expressing such a sentiment. Joyce’s point-of-view strategy thereby allows the reader to examine the feelings of his young protagonists while experiencing those feelings in all their immediate, overwhelming pain.
“Where could anybody be without organizing their own thoughts”(Slater 1)? Imagine living in a world where one could not communicate with anyone around them on a truly rational level, even though the individual is completely rational. Imagine feeling so frightened by life, that one escapes to an Alternate reality, where they become catatonic, or even take on forms of different personalities to deal with everyday situations. Try not being able to communicate through one’s own words, only repeating what others have said in order to get along in life. This is what living with Autism is like. Autism, through the book definition is a “complex developmental disability…that appears during the first three years of life…the result of a neurological disorder that affects the brain.”(ASOA 1). Autism is often accompanied by Multiple Personality Disorder, which helps the person escape to a world, or situation where they can feel, “so called” normal. Multiple Personality Disorder is curable, and Autism is treatable, so with counseling and socialization with others, patients can be functiong members of society. Both disorders have to be treated, and worked at which is a form of re-socialization.
...ic at the same time which is uncomfortable and confusing...It is like three people trying to talk to you at the same time about different things'. Christopher turns into a wonderful narrator through this device as he introduces us to a syndrome which we find alters all perspective of a person's life. Laughter, something many of us take for granted, sadly isn't really experienced by Christopher, another reason as to why readers would empathize with him, as the only enjoyment he would attain out of life would be on the notions of Mathematics and Science.
In the beginning of the story, Christopher explains how close him and his father are as they only have each other. Christopher's dad has hidden things from him his whole life,
He believe that their “second disability”, meaning the struggles they face socially, should be changed completely. In his book there is a focus on people with an autism spectrum disorder, those diagnosed often find themselves stigmatized as all being the same and often isolated from the rest of society (Psychology Today, 2016). This often means that they are not as evolved in many ways, they are forced to halt their growth in areas like intelligence and emotional
...to grow and increase yearly, one can imagine the effect on society these rates already have, and can possibly have with continued growth. It will not be long before autism becomes the normal society. That is a concern will should all share as creatures of earth. All families that are faced with autism will find happiness with the life shared with an autistic individual. Sadly, these individuals face bullying, and social rejection. They deal with health care rejections, and limited services available into adulthood. A future unknown. Although these individuals are different, that doesn’t mean they are less. As humanity, we need to treat everyone as an equal part of this important reality we call existence. Autistic individuals are the quietest souls, but that may only be because we haven’t learned to pay attention. Autism speaks, so isn’t it time to listen (htt1)?