Fifth Meeting: Author Plot Holes

In today's meeting, we Chris' mother and Chris' displays of emotion. The group discussion went off-topic for a bit, but we got back to it quickly. I noticed a weakness of mine and my other group members: we cannot find any symbolism in this book at all. We do not know what it is supposed to represent, and believe it to be just a story from an autistic boy's point of view. When confused about the why Chris' mother wouldn't just call the family, I offered the interpretation that the author wouldn't be able to fit that into the story and just left it out, for the better. I asked whether or not Mrs. Shears and Chris' dad had a relationship together, before he killed Wellington (which was a rather unrealistic move in my opinion; if Chris' dad was going out the front door, why would he move all the way to the back to get a garden fork to stab the dog?) for it says that they were "friends," but I did not know if it was a romantic friendship or if they were truly just friends. Also, I asked if Chris had a photographic memory, for he seems to be able to memorize things well. I came to the conclusion that he does, and for it says that he remembers things like a movie strip.