Well,
we're at page 170. If anyone who hadn't started this book from the
beginning tried to start from this point, they'd be greeted to (I kid
you not!) a load of gibberish. This is in fact an explanation of
what Christopher's brain saw as he tried to take in the signs around
him at the train station. I guess I should back up!
It's
been revealed that the murderer of Wellington is in fact Ed,
Christopher's father. Christopher no longer feels safe at home, and
as such, has decided to run away to his mother's. He took one of the
most recent letters from her and (easily) memorizes the address. This
turns out to be quite a complex (and stressful) journey for
Christopher, who isn't accustomed to the busier downtown
parts of the city or the people in them.
This
is definitely one of the more interesting parts of the book, and a
more exciting section to read.
Christopher's
methods of dealing with the stress are actually quite logical, and
made me realize how bright he truly is. He relates the train station
timetable with his own daily routine schedule. I can even relate to
Christopher's “calming” math routines, as I know the quadratic
formula ([-(b)±√
(b)^2-4(a)(c)]/2(a)) thanks to the last math unit.
Touching
on the people he encounters, they really do treat him horribly. They
swear, they spit, and take no regard for what he may be going
through. This might infer that Christopher looks fairly normal on the
outside. Another example that suggests this is that the police
officer is surprised at some of Christopher's responses (“You
aren't kidding, are you,”).
I
wouldn't call this part of the book dark, however. I'm not saying
it's completely depressing, but it's no happy fairy tale. It makes
you more so feel hopeful for Christopher on his journey. He is bound
to encounter the police and his father again, so we shall see how
that pans out.
I'd say that everything is getting dark at this point. There hasn't been much humor since Ed admitted to killing Wellington. It's been fairly dark and depressing and full of anxiety and suspense, at least in my opinion. He's now introduced to a new environment and he's not quite sure how to adjust to this change.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is the darkest and most exciting part of the book. We learn that Ed is the murderer and Chris runs away. I agree that if you were to just pick up the book and start reading it you would not understand. The language in this book is so different to anything I have ever read.
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