Journal 1
In the novel, it starts off with the main character Christopher John Francis Boone, who finds Mrs. Shears dog, dead on her lawn. Christopher is a very smart autistic 15-year-old boy who in incapable of lying. Mrs. Shears then finds Christopher hugging her dog and calls the police. From then on, Christopher is determined to find out who killed Wellington (the dog) after being let off with a warning from hitting the police officer. I find that so far this book is original with its chapters being only prime numbers, its narrator with his thoughts and confusion on illogical things like humor, and the little diagrams shown. Also i find it interesting that for now, he keeps mentioning a Siobhan and all we know is that they go to the same school. But somehow she always knows exactly what to do or how to talk for him to understand. Every few chapters, Christopher talks about his mother, and how she passed away. When Christopher's father came to pick him up from the police station, I liked how because Christopher doesn't like hugs they have their own way of showing they love each other by making their fingers and thumbs fan out and touch. It makes me wonder how they came up with it, and how they decided that it would mean what it means. But, despite being told by his father to keep his nose out of other people's business, Christopher is determined to find out who killed Wellington and I'm afraid it might cause some trouble.
Journal 2
In this section of the book Christopher is still trying to figure out who killed Mrs. Shears' dog, Wellington. Christopher seems to be having a lot of Black Days too (four yellow cars). And despite his father banning him from mentioning Mr. Shears, Christopher figures 'well he never said anything about outside of the house' so when he runs into Mrs. Alexander at the shop, he mentions him and Mrs. Alexander explains to Christopher that his mother and Mr. Shears were having an affair. That explains why Christopher's father hates Mr. Shears therefore causing the ban on his being mentioned. He is also still continuing with his white lies. When he goes to talk to Siobhan I find it interesting the way he shows no emotion towards the news of his mothers unfaithfulness just because his 'Mother is dead. And because Mr. Shears isn't around anymore.' so he would be feeling 'sad about something that isn't real and doesn't exist. And that would be stupid.' Another interesting thing is the way he uses his memory as a film and rewinds, fast forwards and pauses like when he remembered his mother disappearing in the water. When Christopher's father found his book, he got very angry and eventually he grabbed Christopher which doesn't sit well with him. One thing led to another and all of a sudden there was blood and a pain in his head. So, whilst still trying to investigate the murder of Wellington, it seems Christopher has discovered a few mysteries he hadn't planned on. Not that it's a big deal to him.
Journal 3
In this part of the novel Christopher has just found a letter when he was looking for his book that his father had hidden. The letter was from his mother talking about her new job and apartment that she’s moved into with a man named Roger who I’m guessing is Mr. Shears. She also says she hasn't received any letters from Christopher and that she loves him very much. On the envelope it said ‘16th of October 1997’ which was eighteen months after his mother had died. We can see now that his mother is in fact still alive unlike what his father told him. In the rest of her letters she explains more about how she felt before she left. Shegave a few examples like at the store when Christopher acted up, or at supper once when he broke her toes by throwing the cutting board. Christopher’s father never really pitied her though. I can understand why his father thought she was selfish but, if Christopher really is calmer around his father than with hismother, then I think it’s better for him. That way, it will prevent him from having more outbursts. As he read more letters he started getting sick because it finally hit him and eventually he passed out. His father then found him and theletters and started to cry. After, his father confessed to killing Wellington when he attacked him after an argument him and Mrs. Shears had. Christopher was absolutely appalled and loses all trust in his father. He then decided to stayin the garden. Clearly, in this section of the book many issues we once knew in the beginning, had completely turned around, making things difficult between Christopher and his father.
Journal 4
Now looking at the final section of the book, a lot happens. Christopher decides to go to London to see his mother. The whole process of getting to London was very stressful for him but he got there, and he found his mother. When he got there, his father came and begged him to come back but he didn’t want to. Now with Roger, things started getting out of hand so Christopher and his mother ended up coming back to his father’s house. Luckily for Christopher he got to write his A-Level exam even though his mother postponed it to next year. So after being asked to move out of his father’s house, he and his mother moved into a room in a brick house that he’s not very fond of. Meanwhile, his father is trying to regain Christopher’s trust so he buys him a two-month-old golden retriever that Christopher names Sandy. Christopher ends up making some life goals he thinks are all obtainable because he went to London all by himself, he figured out who killed Wellington, he found his mother, he was brave and he wrote a book. I really liked this book because it was very different and even though the format of the book was a little weird it did show realistic problems in life and that it is possible, with time, to repair or recover from these problems. It also shows that people with disabilities can strive and prove themselves to be more.
The End.
Questions:
1)What do we now know that we did not think we would know before?
2)How does his mother's absence impact Christopher's life?
3)How does independency affect Christopher in the book?
4)What does this book say about family?
5)How does anger play a part in the book?
6)What does the book say about autism?
7)What does the book say about loss?
8)How does ambition affect the book?
9)How does trust play a part in the book?
10)What could be a general theme statement throughout the book?
Answers:
1)We found out that Christopher's mother was not dead and she had an affair.
2)Christopher needed to go to London and search for his missing piece, which was his mother.
3)Even though he's not comfortable and he struggled doing it, he still tried to be independent to get to London
4)That there are always problems, some more serious than others, but we can still recover or move on from.
5)In many different parts of the book, Christopher's father is overcome with anger causing him to yell and get abusive
6)Christopher's autism causes him to see things differently. It also causes him not to understand certain things. And a constant need for a certain order.
7)In the book there were a few different forms of 'loss' like in the beginning with Christopher 'losing' his mother or for his father, he actually loses her to another man.
8)Christopher is very ambitious when he wanted to get an A on his A-Level exams and when he set his goals.
9)After finding out that his father lied to him, Christopher lost all trust in him. And later in the book, he tries to regain Christopher's trust.
10)Things aren't always what they appear to be.
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