Internal And External Conflicts In Christopher Vs. Society By Mark Haddon

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Recommended: Annotated bibliography on mental illness in literature

Have you ever felt isolated from the society because of something you are not responsible for? Mark Haddon in this story talks through the eyes of a fifteen year old autistic boy who is living in a troubled family due to his mother’s desires and his complications. Being autistic isn’t bad, it’s just the way people understand you. In this story the main character, Christopher, is facing problems facing the world due to autism and see’s the world in a remarkably different way. Through the mind of Christopher the story takes us through a journey that we would never experience. The story takes place in Swindon, United Kingdom and Haddon talks about many different ways to reveal the complexity of the story through character’s, conflicts and symbols, …show more content…

Internal and external conflicts were faced by the main characters. External conflicts in the story are Christopher Vs. Society as kids shouted “special needs” to Christopher as they thought he didn’t act like a normal kid. Another Person Vs. Person conflict was when Christopher had ran to London and his Mother and Dad were arguing because of the custody of Christopher. Haddon writes, and mother shouted, “You have no right to be here.” And father shouted, “No right? No right? He’s my f***ing son, in case you’ve forgotten.” Internal conflicts in the story which make it interesting are when Christopher is in conflict with himself because his disabilities limit the actions and thoughts that he can make, which in turn affect his overall behavior. Haddon describes Christopher’s inability to understand other people by saying, “I do not like people shouting at me . It makes me scared that they are going to hit or touch me and I don’t know what is going to happen.(4)” Another internal conflict in the story was faced by Ed Boone when he was hiding the letters Christopher’s mom had sent him. He was not sure whether he should tell Christopher about his moms letters and feels a little tense. When Christopher finds the letters the whole truth and conflict is revealed. Haddon states, “I’m sorry, Christopher, I’m so, so sorry.” Then Ed said, “You read the letters. I did it for your good, Christopher.(114)” Conflicts play a vital role in the novel as they describe the rising and falling

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