Christopher Boone's Symbolism In The Book Prime Numbers

In the novel, prime numbers symbolize Chris’s interest in math and his logical thinking. In the beginning chapter, Chris explains how he does things differently than others do. Especially in the way that he organizes his chapters of the book. He says, “Chapters are usually given the cardinal numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6 and so on. But I have decided to give my chapters prime numbers 2,3,5,7,11,13 and so on because I like prime numbers” (Haddon 11). Chris’s interest with prime numbers spreads throughout the novel, he uses them in almost everything that he does. Whether that be just counting because he wants to having it be a way to calm him down. Either way, it symbolized his logical thinking with numbers. He also talks about how prime numbers can relate
He is all about solving mysteries, getting answers to everything right, and making sure that things stay the same way (he does not like when things get out of the usual). Because he is so interested in finding out who killed Wellington (the dog), he says he enjoys mystery. “I do like murder mystery novels…In a murder mystery novel someone has to work out who the murderer is and then catch them” (Haddon 5). This proves that Chris has a strong interest in mystery and will do almost anything to find out who killed the dog. Another important characteristic about Chris that is important is that he is autistic. So, he is effected by things differently than others. But because of his autistic abilities, he can tell a story in way that most would be able to. Moss explains in an article that “Christopher is autistic, and therein lays the charm and fascination of this tale” (1). Without Chris being autistic, many would not understand the importance of this novel. In a recent study, it has been stated that autistic people have been taking over story-telling on the internet (Hacking 1). This proves that along with Chris, there are other autistic people inspiring those to read. Chris is an intelligent young boy who is logical and has an edge to him that encourages people to keep reading to find out what he is going to do
It is the main reason why the story is being told, Moss explains that the murder of the dog is how the story unfolds (1). Without the murder the story would not have much of a purpose. The dog’s murder is introduced in the beginning of the novel. Chris explains what he sees, “It was 7 minutes after midnight. The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn… But the dog was not running or asleep. The dog was dead” (Haddon 1). Chris’s interest in finding out who killed it escalades because he does not understand how someone could ever kill a dog. Every opportunity that Chris has to get information on the dog, he takes it. He calls himself a detective and is determined to find the killer. An article explains that, “Christopher seizes the opportunity to draw inspiration from the violent death of his neighbor’s dog” (Ciocia 325). This proves that everything Chris does, relates to the killing of the dog and he finds every opportunity he can to find more information about it. Although Chris is not doing anything wrong by finding out who killed the dog, his father does not want him investigating on the murder, but Chris does it anyways. All in all, the main conflict of the novel is the murder of the dog and Chris tries to do everything in his power to figure out who killed