Book synopsis
The book, “House Rules” is one of the selling books that interestingly narrates the story of a young boy who faced difficulty in expressing himself hence feels out of place. The book, “House Rules” vividly identifies how the disabled in the society face oppression from the other members of society. The normal human beings who lack any form of disability take advantage hence harm the less privileged especially the disabled. The author of the book, Jodi vividly narrates the story of Jacob a young boy who was suffering from Aspergers syndrome.
In the first chapter of the book, “House Rules” the author, Jodi, illustrates a mother by the name Emma who faces challenges to raise her kids. This is for the key reason that her husband escapes and denies the responsibility of taking care of the children. Emma a mother of two, Jacob and Theo decides to take care of her own children. Although Jacob disability because of the Aspergers syndrome is unique, she does not give up. However, as a loving mother, she struggles to ensure that the children live in a happy and normal life. Just like the other mothers, Emma tries her level best to ensure that Jacob his life just like a normal child (Piccoult, 2011.p, 56).
In the analysis of the plot of the book, “House Rules” the author narrates that Emma’s elder son Jacob suffers from a unique disease that makes him unable to communicate with ease. The physician informs Jacob Hunt, who is still young, that he suffers from Aspergers syndrome. The disease makes it almost difficulty for Jacob to relate with the society in a usual manner. Jacob mainly faces difficulty in expressing himself to the other friends and adults. In the book, the author informs the reader “The Aspergers syndrome makes it almost difficult for Jacob to read and write” (Piccoult, 2011. P.123). Therefore, Jacob faces difficult in attending to the education system, which requires students who can read and write. The poor background of the family does not allow the mother to afford fees for the special schools for Jacobs Asperser syndrome condition.
Being a kid, Jacob makes efforts to concentrate in one playing field, which makes him adopt to the society in which he feels he is not part of because of the disability. Jacob is sensitive gets attracted to forensic analysis, which makes him attracted to criminal activities. He spends most of the daytime in his room studying and listening to the criminal activities through the police scanner. This makes it be possible for Jacob to understand the cause of illegal activities and measures that the police implement to manage to control crime in the society. The author of the book, Jodi identifies that Jacob secretly participates in contributing to solving of the criminal problems. Jacob learns to reveal all the wrong undertaken in the society. He also learns to inform the police and analyze the rate of crime in the town.
The climax in the book, “House Rules”, is when the author Jodi identifies that a crucial murder incident took place in the town that Emma and the family lived. The police investigate in diverse places in the entire town and lack enough evidence that can assist in the solving of the murder activities. The police later decide to visit Emma’s home and interview Jacob with questions concerning the crime. Jacob gives response to the questions, but the behavior makes him suspicious to the police officers.
The climax of the book, “House Rules” is when Jacob is arrested as the chief suspect for the murder of the tutor. Since Jacob faced difficulty with communication, Emma hired a tutor to assist Jacob in learning how to read and write. The climax of the book is when the police approach Jacob and arrested later as the chief suspect for the murder of his tutor. Jodi the author of the book vividly identifies that Emma complains in the manner in which the police approaches the house and arrest Jacob for murder. “The Townsend policemen showing up at my house today to berate me (at best) and arrest Jacob (at worse). Isn’t it a misdemeanor to tamper with a police investigation?” (Piccoult, 45).
The hallmark behavior, attributed by the Aspergers disorder, makes Jacob to emerge as a key suspect to the police officers. Answering the police questions while looking down and avoiding the police eyes makes him a suspect. Jodi the author of the book illustrates, “The twitches and tics that Jacob makes contribute to the suspicion hence his charged guilty of murder” (Piccoult 254). Emma, Jacobs’s mother try to explain to the police officer of the disability that his son faces, but after a clinical check up, Jacob then apprehended and tried in the court of law for murder.
Jacob is identified as the key suspect of the indecent since he is found with blood all over his jacket after the end of the tutoring session. Jacob is arrested and sent to jail for a crime he did not commit. The author illustrates, “He stuck in a jail cell somewhere in the basement, for God’s sake” (Piccoult 197). Jacob is sent to jail for a period of two weeks. However, since Emma knew that his son was not guilty, she finds an attorney to rescue his son from the false allegations. “As Jacob is pulled out of the courtroom against silent, the time head to a two-week stay in jail” (Piccoult 199). However, after several court cases, Jacob was released from jail since he was found not guilty of the murder of tutor.
Jodi who is the author of the book, “House Rules” faces difficult in understanding how human beings can lack knowledge and respect to the disabled in the community. She identifies that the key reason that prompts her to write the book is the fact that the society has lacked to appreciate the disabled. In acknowledgement of the book, “House Rules”, Jodi explains that the chief aspect that contributed to her writing the book is the idea that she gained from her cousin’s autistic condition.
Jodi suggests that, in numerous occasions, her cousin faced problem when handling society related allegations. In most cases, Jodi’s aunt is reported for child abuse, and yet she was protecting her son from harm. For this reason, the author of the book decided to notify the people of the challenges that the disabled people face in the society. Jodi also notifies the reader about the numerous problems that the disabled families face such as rejection and tribulations from the rest society. In compiling the book, Jodi tries to inform the society that disabled people also ought to be respect and assisted by the normal people who are the majority in the society.
The key audience and future in the entire book is the society in general and specifically the people that neglect the disabled and handicapped. The disabled people in the society require attention just like the normal human beings since the disabled cannot take care of their own need. The disabled in the community ought to receive treatment with respect and given a chance to associate with others freely since it is not their wish to be born without normal conditions (Baker & Welkowitz, 2005). The normal human beings have the capability looking after the sick. Jodi identifies that the human beings have lacked the appropriate wisdom to take exceptional care of the disabled. Therefore, in the entire book, the author, Jodi tries to enlighten the society the importance of taking care of the disabled in the society (Attwood, 2008).
In the book, “House Rules” the discussion focuses on disability as the main theme since the storyline is on Jacob who is suffering from Aspergers syndrome. In most of the events of the book, the author discusses disability, thus informing the society on how to appreciate the other less privileged members of the society. In the chapters of the book, the author recognizes disability to be a substantial problem in the society, which many normal people refrain from hence avoiding responsibility. Jodi identifies that disability in the world is just like any other sickness. For this reason, Jodi tries to reveal the appropriate ways in which people can appreciate the disabled persons in the society (Shieber, 2004).
The author of the book, Jodi, is accurate in delivering the information concerning Aspergers syndrome (Anderson, 2008). The book also vividly summarizes the effects of the Aspergers syndrome. However, the book, “House Rules” lacks the exact actions to be undertaken in disabled situations. The book focuses mainly on the informing and narration aspect of the disease rather than giving immediate solutions to the problems associated with disability. However, almost the entire society gains from reading the novel since it give more information concerning Aspergers syndrome.
References
Attwood, T. (2008). The complete guide to Asperger’s syndrome. London: Jessica Kingsley
Anderson, J. (2008). Asperger’s Syndrome, New York: Lulu.com, 2008
Baker, L., & Welkowitz, L. (2005). Asperger’s Syndrome: Intervening in Schools, Clinics, and Communities, London: Routledge
Picoult, J. (2011). House rules. Crows Nest, N.S.W: Allen & Unwin
Shieber, S. M. (2004). The Turing test: Verbal behavior as the hallmark of intelligence. Cambrigde, Mass: MIT Press.