5.3.3

Order & Disorder - Quotes

Test yourself

Theme of Order and Disorder - Quotations

Christopher interprets the world through logic and facts. Here are a few key quotations:

Illustrative background for Christopher's investigationIllustrative background for Christopher's investigation ?? "content

Christopher's investigation

  • Christopher depends upon:
    • precise details (“It was seven minutes after midnight…”)
    • reasoning and deduction (“I only know one person who didn’t like Mrs Shears and that is Mr Shears… This means that Mr Shears is my Prime Suspect”).
Illustrative background for Coping strategiesIllustrative background for Coping strategies ?? "content

Coping strategies

  • “Count the cubes of the cardinal numbers”.
    • Christopher finds safety and security in a world which can be measured and predicted precisely, hence his interest in subjects such as physics and astronomy.
Illustrative background for __"Lies"__ Illustrative background for __"Lies"__  ?? "content

"Lies"

  • Christopher considers metaphors to be “lies” because “imagining an apple in someone’s eye doesn’t have anything to do with liking someone a lot”.
Illustrative background for StoriesIllustrative background for Stories ?? "content

Stories

  • Siobhan tries to help Christopher develop by getting him to see the value of “stories” as a way of making sense of the world.
  • Christopher is initially reluctant to allow his notebook to be turned into a performance, because acting is “pretending” and so “is like a kind of lie.”
  • But Siobhan offers the example of Sherlock Holmes stories to argue that “people find things which are kind of true in things which are made up”.

Jump to other topics

1Introduction & Context

2Form, Structure & Language

3Text Summary & Analysis

4Themes

5Recap: Main Quotes

Unlock your full potential with Seneca Premium

  • Unlimited access to 10,000+ open-ended exam questions

  • Mini-mock exams based on your study history

  • Unlock 800+ premium courses & e-books

Get started with Seneca Premium