14 October 2013
The Journey of What’s Right or Wrong Christopher embarks on a journey full of mystery, self-discovery and bravery, while taking risks and doing things he would earlier avoid, such as speaking to strangers, straying from his routine and throwing himself into the unknown. There are many obstacles that test Christopher throughout his life, one major hardship he faces is how to function daily and make personal connections. In all aspects of the novel Christopher’s morals are challenged in ways he cant quiet understand. With Christopher’s Autism, it puts him in a vulnerable state, which he soon gains courage to overcome. Many Questions are asked about the abilities of Autistic people, and to what capacity can the make right and wrong decisions. Autistic people are challenged every second of everyday by their own minds. According to the organization “Autism Speaks”, autism is a group of complex disorders of brain development; these disorders are characterized, in varying degrees, by difficulties in social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication and repetitive behaviors. When an Autistic persons mind is running a mile a minute, when is there time to sort out morality? In Christopher Boone’s case, he doesn’t know how to respond, for example, when Christopher discovers Wellington and gets questioned about the dog, Christopher becomes very troubled and vulnerable. Once the police officer tries to touch Christopher he lashes out. Christopher’s response shows that he could not find the right response to show emotion towards. To make it more understandable, Philosopher Jeannette Kennett, writes in her essay “Autism, Empathy, and Moral Agency”, on whether or not people with autism can make moral decisions. Kennett explains why Autistic people can possibly gain moral agency with or without empathy. Jeannette Kennett’s concern about Autism and empathy arises when talking in regards of moral agency and moral competency. Moral agency is the ability of a person to be able to see someone who puts others feelings into account when making a decision on what is the right thing to do, which Christopher has made apparent signs of doing. Can someone who cannot gain a sense of empathy, have to ability to judge right from wrong? Kennett supports the idea that autistic individuals are able to possess an ability to form moral agency while the lack of empathy by the development through alternate means (Kennett 349). Even though Christopher is considered to be incompatible at expressing his feelings, it shows through his actions and proves the existence of his moral agency. His father gets really upset when Christopher wants to investigate Wellington's death, he notices this and decides he should stop talking because he doesn't want him to get even angrier. Christopher has difficult times in understanding the emotions of others, but he is able to judge the response given. He also comes across his dad tearing and connects that to being sad, "I decided to leave him alone because when I am sad I want to be left alone" (Haddon 21). He bases his decision off of what he knows about his loved ones, and how he would feel with his own feelings. Christopher’s challenges to live with his disability are hardships he faces daily. There are many decisions that people make