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!

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Topic 5 Father and son

Christopher lives with his father, and throughout the novel there are several incidents where conflict arises between them, but also where love is directly or indirectly shown. Bring up an example from the text an comment on it. Try also to give a response to someone else.

23 comments:

  1. One of the conflicts between them arises when Christopher’s father has to come and pick him up at the police station. His father tells him that he has to keep his nose out of other people’s business. Christopher doesn’t quite understand why he can’t find out who killed Wellington, and that’s the reason why both of them get upset.

    “He held up his right hand and spread his fingers out in a fan. I held up my left hand and spread my fingers out in a fan and we made our fingers and thumbs touch each other”. This is an abridgement from the novel when Christopher’s father arrives at the police station. Christopher does not like people touching him, so they do what's described instead. It means that they love each other – a moment where love is indirectly shown.

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    1. I agree with you here, Ane. I also think this is one of the parts in the book so far, where you see their indirect love towards each other the best.

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    2. I really agree with you guys! It's definitely this part that show their indirect love towards each other the best. And I have to say that I think it's my favorite part as well! I like that we get to see that they have their own special way to connect with each other, and also to express that they love each other.

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  2. A good example of Christopher and his father showing their love, is when his father has to pick him up from police station, and they meet in the corridor. His father held up his right hand and spreads his fingers like a fan. Christopher held up his left hand, and spreads his fingers like a fan too. Then, they make their thumbs and fingers touch each other. This, according to Christopher, means that his father loves him.

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    1. I agree with you. This part in the book really displays Christopher's father's love for his son.

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  3. A conflict between Christopher and his father is that Christopher wants to find out who killed Wellington, but his father won't let him. He says "keep your nose out of others business," and tries to stop Christopher when he does the straight opposite.

    Christopher cares about Wellington and wants to be a detective and goes around in the neighbourhood to asks if anyone knows who killed Wellington. This makes both his father and the neighbours angry, but still Christopher won't stop his detective work.

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  4. Christopher lives with his father, in the belief that his mother died of a heart attach a few years earlier. His father is strongly against the book Christopher is writing, and confiscates it and hides it away in this bedroom wardrobe.

    A conflickt between Christopher and his father is that he want`s to solve the mystery of the dog Wellington`s death. His father won`t let him write the book. He meand Christopher should keep his nose out of others business.

    -Sara.

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  5. Christopher wakes up in the middle of the night after he was at the police station. He saw his dad sitting on the sofa watching snooker on the television and drinking whisky. He was crying, so Christopher asked if he was sad about Wellington. Then his father answered "Yes, Christopher, you could say that. You could very well say that." Christopher decided to leave his father alone, because he wants to be alone when he is sad. This is an example of where he shows love indirectly. Christopher obviously cares about the feelings of his father.

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  6. A conflict between Christopher and his father is when his father comes home from work one day and he finds Christopher's book and reads it. His father figures that Christopher had been talking to Mrs Alexander, and she had told Christopher that his mum had had an affair with Mr. Shears. His dad is angry because he had told Christopher to stop investigating the death of Wellington and to not mention Mr. Shears' name in their house. His father starts swearing and shouting at Christopher. The conflict/fight ends with his father grabbing hold of Christopher and Christopher hitting his father.

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  7. The father and Christopher had a little fight in the car on their way home from the police station. Christopher is telling his dad that he is going to find out who killed Wellington.
    The father tells Christopher to try to keep his nose out of other people's business. So when Christopher says that he wonders if the police will find out who killed the dog and punish the murder, the father exploded and began to shout. Christopher could tell that he was angry, because of the shouting.

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  8. When Christopher’s father finds Christopher’s book, he gets really angry. Afterwards he apologizes, he seems upset. To make Christopher happy again, he decides to take him to the zoo. They have a long chat about the conflict, and the father assures Christopher that he loves him. He says it several times, and they become friends again. I think this moment really shows their love for each other.

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  9. Christopher's father gets really angry when he finds Christopher's book. The day after he apologizes, and tells him that he didn't mean to do it. Afterwards he makes Christopher wash his cut on his cheek, to make sure that it isn't infected. The father also gets him to put on a plaster to avoid bleeding. This obviously means that the father cares about him, and I also think this is an example where love is indirectly shown, Later in the book, I can find an example where love is directly shown. When they're at a café, the father says, "I love you very much Christopher. Don't ever forget that". I like that the father actually directly tells that he loves his son. I feel like it's important for Christopher to hear that from his father.

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  10. I think that their love for eachother is shown when Christopher's father finds him reading the letter from his mother. Christopher lets his father touch him and lift him into the bathroom without screaming, hitting or fighting. As trust is one of the things he holds highest when it comes to love, I think this incident displays his affection for his father in that he would only let his guard down this much with someone he really trusted.

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    1. ... and followingly also loves.

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    2. I agree with what you say here, Ingvild. This was the first thing I thought of where the love they share is really shown.

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    3. I agree! Christopher puts his anger and dissapointment (about his father hiding this from him) away because he loves his father.

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  11. I addition to the incidents mentioned above, father also shows love through everyday actions. For instance, father makes food for Christopher, in the special way he wants.

    Small conflicts arose between Christopher and father around the murder mystery. I thought the reason father didn't want Christopher to do detective work was because he didn't want him to get hurt,but later in the book we figure out the real reason.

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  12. I agree with what is already written. The way Christopher and his father have found their own way to say that they care for each other by holding up their hand and touch each others fingers is a grat example for how they are showing their love.

    A more indirectly way Christophers father show his love for Christopher is that he is patient with him (at least most of the time), he don't shout at him to much, and he holdes out all of his son's "crazynes".

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  13. I think the way Christopher and his dad connect is fascinating and unique. I think it is cute that Christopher is willing to make contact with his father, although he hates to touch people and other people touching him. The way they say “I Love You” is by spreading their fingers and lifting them so only their fingertips touch. That is the direct way they use to show their love for each other.
    The indirect ways that prove that they love each other is that Christopher doesn’t want to disappoint his father by trying to do everything he says, but he still finds a way around it, but he at least try’s. Christopher’s father shows his love to Christopher by making food he likes and “can” eat and accept his needs and trying to protect him from all the dangerous and disappointing things in life.

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  14. I can’t remember somewhere in the book where they show love, but isn’t mentioned. I think the best example in the book where they show love over each other, is after the fight between them. They fight and Christopher gets a sore on the cheek. This action doesn’t show much love between them, but what happens afterwards, is the place where they really shows love. Even if Christopher doesn’t like to grabbed or touched, he lets his father carry him out to the bathroom so they could mend him together. I think this show a lot of love between them, because Christopher trusts his dad enough to let his dad grab him and carry him out to the bathroom. The father also shows love, because he cares so much about Christopher and doesn’t want his wound to be infected or something like that. This is the place where they show the most directly love for each other.

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  15. One of the conflicts between Christopher and his father takes place at the police station when Christopher’s father is telling Christopher to not find out about the death of the dog Wellington, and because Christopher doesn’t understand why he can’t find out who killed the dog, his father got upset.
    An example of the love shared between Christopher and his father is when Christopher meets his father at the police station. Christopher doesn’t like being touched and hugged so instead they hold up their hands and touch each other instead. “He held up his right hand and spread his fingers out in a fan. I held up my left hand and spread my fingers out in a fan and we made our fingers and thumbs touch each other.” I know many of my classmates have mentioned this action before me, but I think this example shows how much they actually love each other.

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  16. There is a moment after Christopher's dad picked him up at the police station where love is indirectly shown. Since Christopher doesn't like people touching him he and his dad has "compromised" on a high- five. Or as Christopher would say: "We stretched our fingers out in a fan and let our hands meet", this is an abridgement from the book.
    -marius

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  17. This quote from the novel: “He held up his right hand and spread his fingers out in a fan. I held up my left hand and spread my fingers out in a fan and we made our fingers and thumbs touch each other.” is what I think of as the easiest way to spot Christopher and his father's love for each other. This show's that his father knows him well enough not to hug him, because Christopher is not exactly a fan of physical contact. However, they still have worked out a way to show that they care for each other. Even though Christopher and his father sometimes are fighting, in the end they always find a way of saying sorry.

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