Christopher Boone Analysis

Have you ever felt nervous or scared trying out new things? Christopher John Francis Boone is a fifteen-year-old boy with an Autism spectrum condition, who is going to move in with his mother; which at first he presumed was dead. His reasoning for moving in with his mother is to run away from his father, who killed his neighbor’s dog and lied to him about his mother’s death. Christopher has never traveled by himself, he always relied on his parents or teachers for when he has troubles or concerns. Therefore, for him to be traveling on a train by himself was a new and frightening experience. Mark Haddon, the author, explains how Christopher’s toneF is anxious by using syntax, diction and imagery. Since Christopher is mainly straightforward
Since Christopher is direct and frank, it would make sense to have simple word choices to describe Christopher’s setting. As said in the passage “I looked at my watch and I waited for 17 minutes, but when I want to go for a wee I have to go really quickly, which is why I like to be at home or at school and I always go for a wee before I get on the bus, which is why I leaked a bit and wet my trousers.” Christopher is explaining how he needs to use the bathroom and how he wouldn’t go in looking for a bathroom because of the unfamiliar environment. With the simple diction, Haddon shows how Christopher is already stressed out and doesn’t need complex diction that would lead him to over-analyze the situation,. Since people with this type of disability usually tend to over -analyze, by using simple diction it more comforting than using complex diction that would stress them out even more. Also when describing something that gives him joy Haddon uses simple diction. When Christopher describes how the shelf he was in made him feel safe because if was a small and dark place that had no one else in it but him. It just shows how using simple word choices is easy for Christopher when in a stressful
When Christopher was getting up to use the bathroom, he didn’t want to look at the people on the train, so he “closed [his] eyes so that [his] eyelids were just little slits so [he] couldn't see the other people on the train.” This gives the reader a visual image that Christopher is trying his best to face his fears and the least he could do is to just barely close his eyelids. Since he loathed crowded places, he tried to find a way for him looking at them. Because he was already in an quite stressful situation, he didn’t need over stress himself by looking at other people he don’t know. The amount weight he is caring is overwhelming for him and by just explaining how it cause him discomfort to walk down the aisle of the train cart explains how much he anxious he is. Also Haddon furthermore explains how Christopher hates to use a bathroom that is not from his house, which further conveys how much stress he is