Theme Of Autism In To Kill A Mockingbird

Autism is a spectrum disorder that causes the brain to be developed differently. Autism causes a person to disconnect between the way they think and the way the world thinks. This disorder is not a downfall but it proves to help the main character through his quest to find the killer. Despite the stigma concerning autism and Asperger’s, Christopher’s conditions proves advantageous on his journey. Christopher expresses struggle with humans, society and many other complex things and ideas throughout the novel. Within the novel there were three outstanding traits that helped him through the journey which consist of naivety, perseverance and logical thinking.

In the novel, it shows that communication is difficult however it is not impossible

This is when Christopher ends up going to Swinden in search of his mother. “And I thought, ‘I can do this,’ because I was doing really well and I was in London and I would find my mother" (Haddon 172). Travelling to Swinden was a big deal for him, since he hated being in small spaces, around large crowds and lots of noise but the perseverance in his character prevailed and help him find his mother. Not only does Christopher use his perseverance to help guide him to his mother but he also uses his perseverance to find the killer. “And Father said, ‘Not to go around sticking your fucking nose into other people's business. And what do you do? You go around sticking your nose into other people's business. You go around raking up the past and sharing it with every Tom, Dick and Harry you bump into. What am I going to do with you, Christopher? What the fuck am I going to do with you?’”(Haddon 82). Even though, his dad yelled at him and told him not to ask others he still went on asking leading him to who the killer was. He is able to endure the journey and fight against autism to find his mother and help find the killer. It is clearly evident that his autism was not affecting his determination on his journey to find his mother and the