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April 01, 2006
"Is the dog done yet?" Haddon up to p.119
Note: for those of you who are logically inclined and want to get to the point of all this rambling go straight to * area.
“I do not think you would stick a garden fork into a dog after it had died for some other reason, like cancer, for example, or a road accident.” (Haddon 1).
Since my dog passed away on Friday, I was laughing and crying from the beginning of this novel. This quote made me think of a dog being like a baked potato, poke it with a fork, see if it’s done (I know this is morbid humor, but that’s just how I think). I couldn’t put it down. He writes with humor and when he talked about facial expressions, I looked around at all the dorky faces people in the computer lab were making (I know, I’m a dork too) and wondered if their faces really had anything to do with how they were feeling. Maybe they were just making the “I’m concentrating so hard, I look constipated” face and I shouldn’t analyze. ;) Anyhow, it said that Haddon worked with autistic children who have unusual talents and Christopher certainly does. I noticed also that British Lit (if you call Bridget Jones’ Diary and Roald Dahl books literature, which I do thank you very much, Dr. J!) is much more liberal with toilet humor and curses as well as more vivid descriptions of rather disgusting characters and scene. Can you tell I’m thrilled to not have to digest yet another stale, crusty “Classic” that many others seems to gobble up? No more in-depth analysis of Huckleberry Finn, life is good! Terms like “proper” and “meters” are sprinkled throughout to remind you of setting and I love the way Christopher describes the number of holes in Mr. Jeavons’ shoes since he is so skilled and interested in math.
“…Some dogs were cleverer and more interesting than some people.” (Haddon 6)
Amen, brother! Molly (my dog) was and probably still is smarter than most humans. If people like Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson can be called savvy business women, my dog could’ve have easily been the protagonist of a book, or perhaps have her own talk show, “The Hunt for Rabbits and Fixed Males.” I’m not as crazy a dog person as cat people are with their cats, but I guess this is just my funny way of paying homage to my Molly. What is up with people that wear cat sweaters and have mini-vans with “My Siamese is Smarter than your Honor Student,” anyway (true, the cat probably is and I hate overly proud parents of ANY species)? The same goes for dog people, but I guess my question for everyone is, on a silly note, how much smarter are we really?
*Finally, (I’ve made you work your ass off for it) here’s my thesis: I don’t know if Christopher is autistic or just super-smart in ways that I’m not, but he seems to reveal one trait that we all have. That is, we like logical explanations for things and when we don’t always get them, we can get rather irate. Agree or disagree? Please respond.
“I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.” (Haddon 12)
Posted by ErinWaite at April 1, 2006 12:47 PM
Comments
First off, I want to apologize about Molly! I don't know what I'll do when my 9 year old golden retriever, Cider, passes away.
You & I definitely felt the same about the book! I read this last summer because it was required reading for us frehsman, and got it done during a plane ride to San Diego. I couldn't put it down, and am glad we have to read it again because I haven't found time to read it again. You're first reactions were a lot like mine! Christopher thinks so differently than us it's so interesting to read this because you're actually in his head and thinking how someone with his problem does. I also really enjoyed this because he pointed out and talked about so many different things (like the prime number thing) that I never would have known or realized anyone actually thought about. I think you're really going to enjoy reading the rest!
Posted by: AmandaNichols at April 2, 2006 07:15 PM
Thanks Amanda! I'm having alot of fun with this already and it makes it easier to relate to someone with disabilities because of it. I think some people are so intelligent that it makes them mental even if they aren't born that way.
Posted by: Erin at April 3, 2006 01:49 PM