Does the novel's intensive look at Christopher's fascinating and often profound mental life suggest that in certain ways, the pity that well -meaning "normal" people might feel for him is misdirected?

I think the book suggests this. Chris excels at some things "normal" people find difficult and confused by other things that seem relatively straight forward. We quickly discover that Chris's brain is just wired a little differently than our own. Our feelings slowly shift from sympathy towards Chris to frustration that our society can't begin to see the world in a different way. Our pity becomes over the fact that our world is served to us in such a homogenous prescribed fashion, we fail to see it with the depth and clarity that Chris does.