Hi novel readers!

In this blog we can discuss the form and content of Mark Haddon's novel from 2003. Hopefully, we will have many creative an interesting discussions on our way towards a better understanding of the book.

Your personal opinions are very welcome here, but remember to be relevant and argue your points in an adult and proper manner. As a rule I (JT) will post questions and statements for you to answer and reflect upon, but you may also start your own discussions. If you do, remember to be relevant and serious.

Good luck!

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Topic 11: The ending of the novel

We eventually get to know Christopher's mother. Where is your sympathy in the conflict between the two parents? Why? (Don't forget to vote in the poll as well)

16 comments:

  1. Christopher's mother, Judy Boone died two years ago – She got a heart attac, and Christopher didn't visit her at the hospital. One day young Christopher discovers some letters from his mother in his father's room. Christopher realizes that his father was lying and there for makes him sad. He no longer trusts his father and he wants to travel away. He begins his journey to London to find his mother, who is living with Mr. Shears. Judy Boone finds Christopher hard work, and when Christopher and Mr. Shears do not get along, she says she is only just managing to keep it together. At the end of the novel, Judy has moved back to Swindon and Christopher is living with her. Living now with both his father and mother creates conflicts, and the normal day basis is back on track. My sympathy is relaying most to Christopher’s father. Even though he lied to Christopher, he didn’t mean to hurt him. Judy Boone was the one that cheated on Ed and out of nowhere moved to London. And yes, she did write him some letters but for me, that’s not enough.

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  2. My sympathy in the end is with the father, because he has done a lot to show hoe much he loves Christopher, and he only made two mistakes. The father had been very patient with Christopher for years and done so much for him everyday that it is no wonder that he snapped and killed Wellington. He lied about the mother's death because she had been cheating with Mr. Shears, so that is understandable as well (wrong, but understandable).

    When Christopher found out what his father had done, you could clearly see that he did everything he could to show Christopher that he loved him. He even stayed away from him merely because he knew that Christopher did not like to be touched. and he sat outside his room talking, even though he did not answer. That is why I think the father was a good and patient person, that eventually snapped for a brief moment.

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  3. My sympathy in the conflict between the parents is in the end with Christopher's father. I must say that i totally agree with both Sara and Joakim, and I think that Joakim brings up some good examples. All that Christopher's father wanted was not to hurt his son, and therefor he had to lie about Christopher's mother. It's not a good thing lying about that someone's mother (or any family member or friends in general) have passed away, but i will say that it is worse leaving someone without even saying goodbye. Writing some letters can not be compared.

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    Replies
    1. The mother said she wanted to say goodbye, but the father wouldn't let her, he told her to never set a foot into their house again. She also didn't want to lose the relationship with Christopher, she wanted him to come and visit her in London. I'm not trying to defend the mother, I also sympathize with the father. :)

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  4. Well, I also agree with everyone above, and they almost puts up all the good examples about how much Christoper's father cares about Christopher. I totally agree with the comparison Ane made about Christopher's mother and father. It brilliant said that hiding some letters can't be compared with leaving someone!

    After all, we all understand that Christopher's father only lies about Christopher's mother and hides the letters because he loves Christopher. He is so afraid Christopher will leave him, so he finds it better to hide the truth and go the "easy" way out of the conflict, which is understandable.

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  5. Considering that his father only wanted the best
    for Christopher's well being, I feel that I sympathize a bit with the father. Having done nothing but trying to protect Christopher from the ugly truth.
    Like Ane said; It's not a good thing lying about that someone's mother have passed away, but i will say that it is worse leaving someone without even saying goodbye.

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  6. None of Christopher's parents where perfect, and they both did some awful things. What Christopher's father did , to lie and keep his mother out if his life like that, and to say that she was dead, is almost unforgivable. Still I sympathize with him, at least he was there for his son, while his mother abandoned him.

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  7. In the beginning of the book I sympathized with Christopher`s father, because his wife died and he has an ill child. After some reading; I understood that he had lied to Christopher, and it wasn`t one of those tiny lies. It was a big lie about his wife being dead, and the dead dog. Then I started to question whether I sympathized with him or not. I agree with the comments above.
    I still have sympathy for Christopher`s father, because all he did was trying to protect his son from the hurtful truth. He has done so many things for his son, and he loves him with all his heart. The mother left them without saying goodbye, so I understand his decision about not telling his son.

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  8. If I had to choose I would chose the father. That is because he was the one taking care of Christopher and stepped up to help and protect him. He lied to his son to protect him from the harsh truth and I think when a father is forced to do that or take the decision to do that he must really love his son. I respect and understand the decision he took, but it doesn’t mean I complete agree with the way it was done or the execution. It must have been a better way to settle things so that Christopher didn’t have to grow up thinking his mom was dead.

    In the end I think the father’s attentions were good and that he didn’t mean to hurt him in any way, even if he did some stupid things.

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  9. My sympathy for the different persons in the book has changed when I got to know them. At the end my mind is very crossed. That’s because I didn’t have any sympathy for the father when he hit Christopher, but I think the sympathy has developed positive over the last pages of the book. I don’t know, but I think it’s very hard to be a father for a person with the Asperger’s syndrome. The father of Christopher hadn’t only this problem. He also had to take care of him at his alone. Christopher’s mother didn’t leave them at a proper way and she only made it more difficult for the father to take care of Christopher because he had to tell him lies about his mother. I’m sure that one day, the father would’ve told Christopher the truth about his mother, so my sympathy for the father doesn’t lessen at this point. Although the mother, who left them and thinks to take Christopher all by her, I feel that my sympathy for the mother starts to lessen at this point. I also feel sorry for his father because I think he didn’t mean to hurt Christopher, so my sympathy is clearly with the father at the end.

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  10. After the conflict between the two parents, I still sympathise with Ed Boone. He is the one left as a single parent, been cheated on and has to take care of a special child like Christopher without any help or no one to talk to. Fair enough, Ed lied to Christopher, but that wasn't in order to hurt him, it was to protect him and to make it easier for Chris to understand. I would doubt that Chris would have understood what was really going on, and seeing as Judy wasn't very good with handeling Chris' behaviour, I think it was better to lie. Yes, Ed hid the letters, but how strange wouldn't it be if Chris got letters from his dead mother? He had to hide them. It still annoys me that Chris still didn't fully forgive him, even after he got him his own dog. However Ed acts more like a parent than Judy, who seem much more frivolous and careless than Ed who always cooked, washed and took part in Chris' life, which Judy never did.

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  11. I think Christopher’s mother is a very weak person. She just accepts that Christopher’s father throw her out of the house and deny her to have contact with Christopher. I find it strange and quite annoying that she is just giving up her son. She could have acquired a lawyer or something and had intercourse with Christopher. But she just ran away. I think that just sending letters is not enough, especially when Christopher doesn’t answer them. I would have fight for my son.

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  12. As my fellow students above, I sympathize with the father. Even though Christopher is a special kid and causes a lot of trouble, Ed is really patient with him. When he uses that much time and effort to help his son it really shows his love to Christopher. I agree with Julie, I think Judy is a weak person. She just gave up her own son, and ran away. Even though she wrote letters, she disappeared from Christopher's and Ed's life. It's understandable that Ed lied to Christopher, because he did it to protect him. I don't think it was a good way of solving the problem, but it's still understandable.

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  13. I think Ed’s behavior is a bit irritating from time to time, but I sympathize mostly with him either way, and I understand the background of his choices. I think his relationship to Christopher would have been better if he had been honest about his mother, but I understand why he’s trying to protect Christopher. The truth would perhaps have been too difficult to handle for his son, because of Christopher’s disease.

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  14. My sympathy is with Christopher’s father. He is the one who is left behind, all alone. He has been cheated on and he has been left as a single parent. He has to take care of Christopher on his own. I feel sorry for the father because he has been struggling to do the right things. He has been forced to make all his choices on his own, and there hasn't been someone there to help him cope with his emotions. He lied to Christopher and he made some bad choices, but he didn’t mean to hurt him. He only did what he did to protect him. He stayed with Christopher and took care of him - he didn't run away from the problems like the mother did. Personally, it isn't understandable for me that the mother leaved Christopher. She cheated on Ed and moved out of nowhere to London. She did write her son some letters, but it doesn't matter - due to the fact that she gave up her one and only son. I look at the mother as a weak person, I think she should’ve put herself together and stepped up for her son.

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  15. I have to say that I also sympathize with Christopher's father. It seems like he tried really hard to protect him, and he had been really patient with him. This of course, doesn't make up for his lies, but I do understand why he did so. Killing Wellington was kind of unnecessary though. I also feel a bit sorry for Christopher's mother, because after all, she said she left them because she wanted to make life easier for Christopher. Although this might be a slightly poor explanation, and as Ane mentioned, writing him letters wasn't going to be enough to save their relationship anyway.

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