Sunday, April 26, 2009

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, cycle 22 pages 75-90

In this section of the book, Christopher finds himself not damaged from the news that his mother had an affair with Mr. Shears. He begins to write his book about his investigation. The inspiration he gains from reading Sherlock Holmes, he uses to fuel his writing. One day his father comes home to find Christopher’s book unattended. He reads to learn that Christopher has disobeyed his wishes. He confronts Christopher, but Christopher is confused because he thought he wasn’t breaking any of his father’s guidelines. Punishing Christopher and out of anger, his father slams him against the wall, causing minor injuries. Christopher was more confused than upset by his father’s actions. After all of the chaos, Christopher discovers his book in the trash. The next day, his father apologizes and takes Christopher to the zoo.
Jaundice is “also called icterus. Pathology. yellow discoloration of the skin, whites of the eyes, etc., due to an increase of bile pigments in the blood, often symptomatic of certain diseases, as hepatitis.” Hemorrhage is a profuse discharge of blood, as from a ruptured blood vessel; bleeding. Nephritis is inflammation of the kidneys, esp. in Bright's disease.
Why does Christopher not have an open mind about things?
I believe that this is because Christopher’s mental disability makes him somewhat of a computer. He refers to his mind like a video recorder because he can recall memories unlike anyone else. He uses these memories to help him judge how to handle everyday activities.
Why doesn’t Christopher’s father confront Mr. Shears about the affair with his wife?
I believe this is because he doesn’t want Christopher to get further confused. He shields Christopher from this early on so that it doesn’t taint Christopher’s view on his mother. Since she is dead now, Christopher doesn’t care because he believes the dead are dead, and their thought doesn’t matter.

3 comments:

Bryant said...

You summaries are good and detailed. Would you recommend this book to others?

Cole W. said...

I like how you compared the way he thinks and functions to a computer. Because of his mental disabilities he doesn't understand emotions well and is somewhat like a computer, so that is a very good comparison. Why do you think Christopher's dad gets so angry with him? Do you think it would be hard to live with someone with mental disabilities like Christopher?

Cody said...

Yes, this book has a good plot and has many surprises. I think the dad is just frustrated with all of the events that happened like losing his wife.