#5wk10c

[alia-fcb-blog]

“Isolation”:

1. "I knew that it meant "happy,” like when I’m reading about the Apollo space missions, or when I am still awake at three or four in the morning and I can walk up and down the street and pretend that I am the only person in the world.”

This is an example of isolation, where Christopher talks about what it is like being happy for him. His interpretation of happiness is quite different than others. Happiness for him is being isolated from everyone in the world. 2. “It was nice in the police cell.”

This is another example of isolation in the book. Being in a police cell is not normally likable by people, but interestingly it is for Christopher. This shows how much Christopher enjoys being alone. 3. “I didn’t speak to anyone and for the whole afternoon I sat in the corner of the Library groaning with my head pressed into the join between the two walls and this made me feel calm and safe.”

Christopher was having one of his black days. He was feeling anxious so he thought that groaning and pressing his head into the join would help him calm down and feel safe. There is definitely a contradiction here. Christopher enjoys being isolated from everyone, yet he can't take complete care of himself on his own. Even though Christopher enjoys being alone, he needs someone to take care of him and provide him guidance in his life. Christopher doesn't like it when someone touches him. He doesn't mind touching animals but he doesn't like touching people. This correlates highly with the fact that Christopher has Aspergers’ Syndrome. It shows his lack of the ability to communicate with people, since their emotions are very complex. He finds it easy for himself to communicate with animals considering they have limited emotions that he can easily understand.

[bushramemon]

A major theme in the book is Isolation. Provide three examples of this throughout the book and also respond to the following: Christopher prefers to be alone, but knows he’s unable take care of himself on his own. Is there a contradiction here? AND why is Christopher okay touching animals, but not humans?

One example of isolation in the book is when Christopher is arrested and is left alone in the jail cell. An interesting fact about Christopher’s arrest was that Christopher actually liked it, he says, “It was nice in the police cell.”(Chapter 23)

Another example of isolation is when Christopher is mostly left to be on his own. This is mainly because it’s just him and his father at home since their mother has moved out. Also Christopher isn’t very good in social situations and so prefers it that way. This is proved when Christopher implies that he likes being on his own because he says, “I do not like strangers because I do not like people I have never met before. They are hard to understand.” (Chapter 67)

The third example of isolation is when Christopher hides out in the shed. As he is alone, this is an example of isolation, “I went round the back of the shed and I squeezed into the gap between the wall of the shed and the fence, behind the big black plastic tub for collecting rainwater. Then I sat down and I felt a bit safer.”(Chapter 167)

“Christopher prefers to be alone, but knows he’s unable take care of himself on his own.”  

There is a contradiction over here because even though Christopher sometimes realizes that he can’t take care of himself on his own, he doesn’t KNOW it. There are many instances that prove this. An example of such an instance would be when Christopher decides that he can travel on his own all the way to London to go and live with his mother. He does not realize the consequences of his actions neither does he realize that he does not know how to properly handle most of the situations that arise during his journey. When he tries to handle said situations, he finds himself inadequately prepared to do so.

Why is Christopher okay touching animals, but not humans?

Christopher's OK touching animals but not humans because he feels threatened by humans while he thinks that animals are quite safe. This is implied in the book when he tells us that humans are confusing – “I find people confusing” (Chapter 29) – because of their body language which he finds difficult to comprehend. Another reason he finds humans confusing is because they use metaphors - another thing he finds difficult to understand.

On the other hand animals are easier for him to comprehend and therefore he doesn't feel threatened by them. This is because we often feel threatened by what we cannot comprehend – and understanding animals is a lot easier than understanding humans as animals don’t experience the same complexity of emotions, motivations, body language, behavior, social situations, etc. as humans do. Animals’ motives and intentions are very clear to us and so they cannot do something that we don’t already know them to be capable of doing – no behavior of an animal can ambush us. This is because animals are so much easier to figure out and that’s why Christopher is comparatively more comfortable with them than he is with humans. So quod erat demonstrandum (thus it is proved) that Christopher’s okay with touching animals but not humans because animals are a lot easier to understand and so are less threatening and more approachable.

[kixtonmoodly-blog]

I S O L A T I O N

1. “It was nice in the police cell.”

2. “I knew that it meant "happy" like when I'm reading about the Apollo space missions, or when I am still awake at three or four in the morning and I can walk up and down the street and pretend that I am the only person in the world.”

3. “Sometimes when I want to be on my own I get into the airing cupboard in the bathroom and slide in beside the boiler and pull the door behind me and sit there and think for hours and it makes me feel very calm.”

-- Obviously, Christopher enjoys being alone. As told in the examples above, it gives him a sense of happiness and calmness. It might be easier for him when he is by himself, because the only person that can judge him, is himself.

Q1: Christopher prefers to be alone, but knows he’s unable take care of himself on his own. Is there a contradiction here?

-- When Christopher is alone, it makes his life a little more sane and comfortable. I think he enjoys being alone because he doesn’t have to deal with emotions and expressing them. And other people doing the same. Even though being by himself is definitely more enjoyable for him, it does contradict his inability to take care of himself. If can’t take care of himself, being alone cannot last long. It wont be long until he will need help.

Q2: Why is Christopher okay touching animals, but not humans?

-- Christopher has Asperges syndrome. Two of the symptoms are not liking touching and lacking to understand complex emotions. Humans have complex emotions. Touching them could mean many various things and you touching them might mean various things. For instance, one can touch another in sympathy for a certain circumstance or in anger for a particular problem. Christopher is not quite certain how to distinguish between the two well. Therefore, he likes dogs and doesn’t mind physical contact with them because he believes that they have simple emotions.

[mahraalsuwaidiblog1]

Isolation :

I)“There were lots of people on the train, and I didn’t like that, because I don’t like lots of people I don’t know and I hate it even more if I am stuck in a room with lots of people I don’t know, and a train is like a room and you can’t get out of it when it’s moving. And it made me think of when I had to come home in the car from school one day because the bus had broken down and Mother came and picked me up and Mrs. Peters asked Mother if she could take Jack and Polly home because their mothers couldn’t come and pick them up, and Mother said yes. But I started screaming in the car because there were too many people in it and Jack and Polly weren’t in my class and Jack bangs his head on things and makes a noise like an animal, and I tried to get out of the car, but it was still going along and I fell out onto the road and I had to have stitches in my head and they had to shave the hair off and it took 5 months for it to grow back to the way it was before.” 

In this quote Christopher     shows that he loves being alone and he thinks being alone makes him feel     better. Basiclly christopher tells us through the story how much he hates     stranger's ,its obvious who wants to stay in a room with a whole bunch of     people  for like 3-4 hours .

(II) " And it was like standing on a cliff in a really strong wind because it made me feel giddy and sick because there were lots of people walking into and out of the tunnel and it was really echoey and there was only one way to go and that was down the tunnel, and it smelled of toilets and cigarettes. So I stood against the wall and held on to the edge of a sign that said Customers seeking access to car park please use assistance phone opposite, right of the ticket office to make sure that I didn’t fall over and go into a crouch on the ground. And I wanted to go home but I was frightened of going home and I tried to make a plan of what I should do in my head but there were too many things to look at and too many things to hear. " 

In this qoute christopher had left home     , and he's not used to  the train     ,because probably there is way too many people talking and chatting     ,smokings , and their were different types of smell's in that paticular place     .i think because christopher isn't with an adult and its his first time to     leave his house that's why he dosen't know how to handle stuff in this     situation .

(III) “And when I am in a new place, because I see everything, it is like when a computer is doing too many things at the same time and the central processor unit is blocked up and there isn’t any space left to think about other things. And when I am in a new place and there are lots of people there it is even harder because people are not like cows and flowers and grass and they can talk to you and do things that you don’t expect, so you have to notice everything that is in the place, and also you have to notice things that might happen as well. And sometimes when I am in a new place and there are lots of people there it is like a computer crashing and I have to close my eyes and put my hands over my ears and groan, which is like pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL and shutting down programs and turning the computer off and rebooting so that I can remember what I am doing and where I am meant to be going” .

In this qoute show's that     christopher cant think when it     comes to a place where there is lots of people , and he dosent know     how to express or say that he's kind've confused about what going on in     this place , because to me when Im in a new place id start to think to     myself what is going on here or where should I go , its actually happens     because you are not used to that place and you'ed rather go to a place you     know .

[elr-eem-blog]

Isolation

“It was nice in the police cell.”

What's behind Christopher's warm and fuzzy feelings about the place? Well, it's a combination of a few things Christopher values, including being alone, being in an enclosed space, and being in a familiar situation - since he saw this on T.V before.

“Then, when I've got a degree in Maths, or Physics, or Maths and Physics, I will be able to get a job and earn lots of money and I will be able to pay someone who can look after me and cook my meals and wash my clothes, or I will get a lady to marry me and be my wife and she can look after me so I can have company and not be on my own.”

Since Christopher seems to prefer being alone whenever he possibly can, we find the last line surprising. But, he practically says that  hiring a maid with getting a wife is the same thing! This makes it pretty clear that he really has no interest living with anyone, but knows he's incapable of living alone.

“Sometimes when I want to be on my own I get into the airing cupboard in the bathroom and slide in beside the boiler and pull the door behind me and sit there and think for hours and it makes me feel very calm.”

Whenever Christopher feels overwhelmed with everything going on around him he crams himself inside a cupboard. A normal person would have talked with someone about their feelings while he prefers being isolated because it makes him feel calm.

In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Christopher is isolated. He doesn't like being around people, really doesn't enjoy talking, and absolutely hates being touched. When he wants to relax, he just crams himself into the smallest space he can fit into, and stays there for a few hours. But at the same time, he's deeply connected to the world around him. He notices his surroundings in more detail than we could ever imagine. In fact, one reason he likes being shut into dark spaces is because he experiences the world around him so intensely that it's simply overwhelming; only with distance can he really relax and process all that information. So in a way, the more isolated he is, the more connected he becomes.

[salamaaljadidi-blog]

News article about someone overcoming adversity

A Canadian-American actor who experienced homelessness as age of 12 year-old when his father lost his job.  He revealed to James Lipton on "inside the actors studio" that when was 15 he had to drop out from school to support his family. His father was an unemployed musician and as the family went from the "lower middle class to poor," they eventually had to start living in a van. He was forced to live in a van.  Carrey didn’t let this stop him from achieving his dream of becoming a comedian. The comparison is that Jim Carrey used to be homeless and he became an extremely successful stand-up comedy and film career, but he didn’t have an easy time making his way to the top. Christopher was born with Asperger's syndrome. He is trying to live his life like the others and find problems and struggles to answer them. The contrast is that both of them were determined  to do whatever they wanted to do without anyone stopping them.

[alia-fcb-blog]

"Violence can be a reasonable response to an unreasonable situation"

I personally completely disagree with this statement. I think that violence is never an acceptable response to any situation even if the situation is absurd. People assume that using violence will end problems.  However, using violence as a response will in fact initiate bigger problems. Violence is never a reasonable response and never should be.

Violence occured in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time. Christopher’s father used violence against Christopher when he found out that he has been writing the book. Father reacted in a wrong way against his son since he used violence, and violence is never the right response. Instead of discussing the matter with Christopher, his father decided to use violence, assuming it will solve the problem. Anger results to violence which is the reason why Christopher’s father used it on his son. People shouldn't let anger cause violence because violence will not solve any problem.

[bushramemon]

Pick one of the following: “Violence can be a reasonable response to an unreasonable situation.” OR “Portraying people with disabilities in entertainment media is unfair.” Argue your view in two paragraphs on one of these topics. Use examples from the book and personal opinions to support your ideas.

“Violence can be a reasonable response to an unreasonable situation.”

I agree with this statement because it says that violence can be reasonable meaning that violence could be appropriate and sensible in an inappropriate and insensible situation. If you think about it then it makes complete sense as violence is reasonable when for example you’re faced with a kidnapper who means only harm to you. You would have no chance at escape if not by using violence. Here violence is justified because it is used as a means of self-defense in a threatening or in other words inappropriate situation.

In fact majority of the people would show assent towards this statement because sometimes violence is the only solution in the face of an unfortunate situation. This is supported by the fact that many countries actually have laws where even killing is justified if the reason behind it is one that’s sensible. For example, in US legal system, all states allow an offender to claim self-defense when accused of a violent crime.  In addition to this we all know that most countries allow the police to use force in arresting criminals if necessary and we are all also aware that the police has strict guidelines behind how much force they may use on said criminal.

The book is ridden with examples in which violence was an unreasonable response to a reasonable situation such as when Christopher’s dad killed Wellington.  The author explicitly states that this was because Christopher’s dad was engulfed by fury and had a lapse in judgment. As lapses in judgment are unreasonable, since a person’s choice can and is dictated by them and them only, Christopher’s dad’s action of killing Wellington was an unreasonable response to a reasonable situation. This point further illustrates that there’s a huge distinction between using violence in an unreasonable and reasonable situation which further supports that violence is reasonable only in unreasonable situations.

[kixtonmoodly-blog]

Violence can be a reasonable response to an unreasonable situation.

Person

I have to disagree with the person that said this. Violence is a negative means of getting what you want or satisfy some sort need. VIOLENCE COULD NEVER HELP ANYONE. No matter how unreasonable or senseless a situation is, it is never okay to deliberately physically endanger another. A reasonable response is not punching someone in the face or mentally torturing them. Violence can only make a situation worse. Violence is just a result of being to angry or protective, but that is no excuse for harming someone else to satisfy yourself or to feel fulfilled.Violence is a form of greed because its selfish to think that physical fights are beneficial. For example: In the book we see that after Christopher’s father finds out that Christopher has been writing the book about the mystery of Wellington’s death. As soon as Christopher’s dad finds this out, he goes full on crazy. They were both surprised, but obviously Christopher’s father was angrier. They fought over the book and at the end of the day, they were both physically hurt, and Christopher suffered memory loss for those moments. His father was injured and felt really bad after it all happened.

Another example are the wars going on around the world in different countries about different things. One country might be wrong or both might be at fault,but both of them get violent. In an ideal world, there would be world peace because the violence will be silenced. Everyone would be at peace and no houses or population will be ruined. To conclude, I strongly believe that violence truly helps no one in anyway. It doesn’t benefit anyone. Many people might argue that violence is a useful way to get their way, but people that think violence is even a remote option, then those people are “unreasonable”.

[mahraalsuwaidiblog1]

“Violence can be reasonable response to an unreasonable situation “

I think that violent is wrong no matter what the situation is ,because I believe that violent is unacceptable because I think that when people act violent , others get hurt in a way or another .for example when christopher's father found about the book (about investigating wellington's death )he abused him , I thought to myself that you'ed hurt you r one and only child for helping others , its really unacceptable if it was for that reason .violency dosen't help solve a problem or an issue it rather sow another problem .another example if you were walking in the street and you found a person hurting the other ,when the police came the two people got into trouble and were judged for what the did , while the person getting hurt didn’t do anything ,however if they got the witness who saw the incident would obviously notice who's wrong .

[elr-eem-blog]

“Violence can be a reasonable response to an unreasonable situation.”

I completely disagree with this quote. Violence is never the answer, no matter what a person does. There are many other options than actually resorting to violence. Think of what you you’d gain before acting on your anger. Practically nothing is gained after being violent.

Violence is not the answer ,but it is an option

There is no reason for being violent. It doesn’t change the other person’s opinion. It doesn’t make you a better person. The only time you should use violence is in self defense and protection of others, Otherwise it is completely unreasonable.

[shammaqamzi-blog]

Violence can be a reasonable response to an unreasonable situation.

I think I disagree with this statement. I think that there is always a peaceful resolution. People have different interpretations of what an "unreasonable situation" is. I believe that violence only makes the situation worse, or in this case, even more "unreasonable." There is no reason for violence. ever.

[itsmerawathii]

Isolation is the major theme in “The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night Time”.

Isolation is used in the book as a theme. The following are examples:

1. Christopher choses to walk in the middle of night alone.

2. Christopher choses to travel to London to live with his mother Judy Boone.

3. Christopher hates to be touched.

There is contradiction. Christopher hate to be touched by humans but not animals. Because he really gets annoyed. He hate physical by others like when the policeman hit him he hit him back.

[salamaaljadidi-blog]

“Portraying people with disabilities in entertainment media is unfair.”

Disabled people  were not on our moral radar screen. Nevertheless, stereotypes of the physically disabled are among the most enduring in our society. In popular entertainment disabled people has been depicted at various times as victims, evils, and wicked, bitter and a burden to family, friends, and society. For example, in the book , Christopher is portrayed as elitist, violent, and lacking empathy. The way the author chooses to portray Christopher makes me worry that some people will assume that harmful treatment toward autistic people is okay, or even deserved. Even in the best case scenario, this book does not give an inexperienced reader any sense of how an autistic person could be an interesting conversation partner, or a friend, or a kind person. Christopher thinks everyone is less intelligent than him: He praises his own intelligence on multiple occasions, while describing all the other disabled kids at his school as “stupid” and simultaneously trivializing their disabilities by saying that everyone has difficulty learning some things. Christopher looks down on non-disabled people as well, saying that “most people are almost blind and they don’t see most things and there is lots of spare capacity in their heads and it is filled with things which aren’t connected and are silly”. mark haddon may be trying to show the reader that Christopher sees non-autistic people in the same way they often see him in the novel; regardless, the effect is that Christopher looks intolerant and dismissive