This chapter very succinctly and humorously communicates the enormity of Christopher’s behavioural problems. How does it achieve this? How does this chapter develop a central idea in the novel?
Christopher explains that his Mother and Father used to argue a lot due to the stress of looking after someone with Behavioral Problems. He explains that he has grown out of most of his Behavioral Problems and lists them. The list includes: 'Not liking being touched', 'Smashing things when I am angry or confused', 'Not eating good if different sorts of food are touching each other', 'Saying things that other people think are rude'. Mother and Father sometimes used to shout at Christopher - Mother saying 'You are going to drive me into an early grave.' There is some dark humor to be had here. Chris's eccentricities almost sound satirical when listed beside each other in a list. The humor is unintentional but it does serve to illustrate the point of just how much his personality affects other people that are close to him. We can understand why he feels so isolated from everybody else.
