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The curious incident of the dog in the nighttime theme literary analysis
Outline and Literary Analysis of the curious incident of the dog in the night-time
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The world is plagued with an inseparable mix of good and evil. People make mistakes, but often start out with good intentions. Often times actions live in the grey zone, a combination of good intentions but bad outcomes. In Mark Haddon’s novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time there are many decisions that could be considered morally ambiguous. The story is told from the perspective of an autistic fifteen-year-old, Christopher Boone, who is investigating the death of his neighbor’s dog. His mother, Judy Boone supposedly died two years back, when in actuality she ran off to London with another man and, in turn, has been shut out of Christopher’s life. His father, Ed Boone hides the truth involving Christopher’s mother, pretending …show more content…
At first glance, Ed seems very protective of Christopher, claiming to his son, “I did it for your own good, Christopher. Honestly I did. I never meant to lie. I just thought . . . I just thought it was better if you didn’t know” (Haddon 114). Ed doesn’t want his son to have to live with the feeling of his mother leaving him; he doesn’t want his son to feel like it is his fault. Furthermore, Ed is trying to protect his son from the negative influence of Christopher’s mother. In the letters to Christopher, Judy confesses that “I’m not like your father. Your father is a much more pacient [sic] person. He just gets on with things and if things upset him he doesn’t let it show. But that’s not the way I am and there's nothing I can do to change that” (Haddon 106). Because of his autism, Christopher needs to be treated the best he can be. However, Judy admits that she cannot handle troublesome situations as well as Ed. Therefore, it is best for Christopher if he is shielded from his mother's hurtful behaviors, showing the positive motivation. By first accepting that the action is based on good intentions, it allows Ed’s lie to be seen as morally
Christopher is a fifteen-year old boy with Aspergers Autism whose life is full of uncanny surprises. His main focus is on school, and his ability to take the maths A level exams. Unfortunately, that was his focus until he finds Wellington dead on Mrs. Shears’ lawn. Christopher wants to know who killed Wellington and why. He investigates and finds out not only who killed Wellington, but he discovers secrets about his mother and father. In the book “The Curious Incident of the dog in the night-time”, the author, Mark Haddon, shows us how courageous Christopher is throughout his journey. According to Aristotle, a man is courageous when he sets himself free from his fears, pain, and poverty instead of running away from it. According to Aristotle’s theory, Christopher profusely shows courage when he investigates Wellington’s murder and travels to London to find his mom.
In the book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, I claim that Ed Boone, Christopher's father, was justified in lying to him about the death of his mother. Despite the fact that he lied to him about something critical, he did so with the best intentions.
Whilst the concept of autism and what it means to be autistic is still widely unrecognised by many, Mark Haddon’s use of conventions of prose fiction and language amplifies the distinctive qualities of the text. Haddon exemplifies key themes such as the struggle to become independent, the nature of difference and the disorder of life through the strategic placement of literary devices.
Ed Boone, Christopher’s father, deceives himself in that he embellishes the truth about where his ex-wife truly is. As a result, Ed begins to believe the fabrication himself to make him feel better about her departure from their lives. Self-deception, as used in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, promotes the instability that Christopher encounters after being deceived. According to Paul Ekman in Lying and Deception, “Self-deception presumably occurs when the deceiver does not realize he is misleading himself and does not know his own motive for deceiving himself.” Granted that Ed Boone misleads himself he may not even recognize that he is deceiving himself. Not only did Christopher’s Father create a distortion of the truth to mislead himself, but he also mislead Christopher. Consequently, Christopher believed his mother to be dead, but in reality, she had abandoned them. In Mr. Boone’s account with self-deception, he doesn’t realize that the deception could potentially hurt those he had lied to due to his moral implications fading. According to Ann E. Tenbrunsel in Ethical Fading: The Role of Self-Deception in Unethical Behavior, “We argue that the process of self-deception is at the root of this juncture of disciplines. Self-deception causes the moral implications of a decision to fade, allowing individuals to behave incomprehensibly and, at the same time, not realize that they are
He does not judge or give up on Christopher when he is angry. Christopher finds the letters and gets upset, but his dad gives him a bath and puts him to bed. He does not get mad at Christopher, he just supports him. Even though he is misunderstood, he does not let that stop him from being a good parent. Christopher is angry and as a result, Judy thinks that Ed is a bad dad. When in reality, he is a better fit for Christopher because no matter what happened to him, whether it was criticism from Judy or a meltdown from Christopher, he kept a level head. He assessed the situation, then dealt with it in a non-violent, supportive way. Even as Christopher was hitting him because he was angry, he didn't hit back, he just let him get his anger out. He preserves against her judgement and tries to get his son back because he knows he is a better parent for Christopher. His perseverance also shows that he understands Judy’s feelings and he understands why she is angry even though he does not agree. Although he isn't treated fairly, Ed keeps a level head and continues to be a good
Animal spirits are a product of irrational behavior and are a major driving force in the economy. Intuitive then is the notion that animal spirits are also heavily involved in the process of economic boom and bust cycles. This much is straightforward and in reality seems to be the case. Animal spirits, which were initially defined by John Maynard Keynes, characterizes a variety of exogenous variables that could not be accounted for in the mainstream rational economic theories of the time. This definition was later reclassified by Akerlof and Shiller in their title book and provided some of the mechanics behind seemingly irrational behaviors. Akerlof and Shiller described and highlighted five specific features of animal spirits that affect the
Relationships can only survive through adapting to constant change. Without that aspect, they would not last. In Mark Haddon’s novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a boy with Aspergers goes through life surrounded by mystery, dishonesty, and dysfunctionality. Because of this, secrets are revealed, relationships are changed, and the connection between family is brought into a new light. Through these events, the boy and his family discover and rediscover their ties with each other. In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the author demonstrates that the ability to adapt and change is the most essential characteristic in life because it strengthens relationships, as illustrated through Christopher, his mother
Mark Haddon’s book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime mirrors the idea that trust is the glue that holds relationships together and how a lack of honesty and truth can create barriers between loved ones and shows how being honest can fix these problems. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is a innovative and ground breaking novel that continues to show the understanding of the world by Christopher Boone and his
The curious incident of the dog in the night time was narrated in first person by Christopher Boone however If it was narrated in third person the audience would not have understood the way Christopher was feeling. Communication, Social Interactions, Relationship’s and Christopher’s Autism spectrum disorder were some of the main areas expressed in the novel.
As a kid, I fell in love with the idea of getting a puppy for Christmas. Wrapped in a small box with a bow on top sitting under the tree just like the movies and tv shows I had seen. I can remember making a Christmas list of all the things I wanted that year, and every year the same thing that I wanted had said “puppy” with it underlined so that my mother knew which was my favorite on the list. Every year no surprise, I didn’t find a dog. I never understood why I never received one. When the kids at school talked about the few dogs they had at home made me so jealous, but I hoped that one day it would be me to have my own best friend at home.
When I was nine years old my grandparents adopted a two year puppy named, maximilian. We, of course, called him Max. When we went to the kennel to pick out a new dog Max didn 't seem like an option. He was a scrawny little puppy tucked in the corner of the shelter. Max was a boisterous springer spaniel mix, and when we first got him he was black and white. Overtime his white fur was masked by black spots, similar to age spots, which made him uniquely mine. Max was suppose to my grandfathers new hunting dog when he was newly adopted. However, at the very first gunshot Max bolted and my grandfather spent a three hours looking for Max in the woods. After the hunting incident my grandfather wrote Max off and, he became my dog.
This is a story of Max, who went to sleep an ordinary boy and woke up with an unordinary ability. The ability to with his dog Comet.
Some people may say a dog is just a dog, but for me they are extremely desirable. Dogs are a person’s best friend. They make me cry, laugh, and I wish never adopted one because they do smell. Although, dogs smell, it should not be a justification to not obtain one. I mean what does not smell? I never realized how taking care of a dog could change my life; until I saw how they sleep throughout the day, they are always there to comfort me, and how they provide a responsible way of living.
Stray animals are dangerous reason being is children or elderly people can be bit while walking or playing around at parks. I live in Mercedes and at one point when I was walking from stars to the high school, and stray dog for no reason started growing at me and my instinct was to run until I got the a building. This can happen to anyone, they can be attacked trying to touch a stray or just simply walking by, or even worse a child can catch a disease. Also owners with their pets are also getting attacked by stray animals because they strays tend to be over protective of their territory, or they just want to fight with the pet of the owner.
Ever since I can remember I’ve wanted a dog. Never did I think that dogs would end up being by biggest fear. I was just a little kid around 6 years old when it happened. I was walking home from my friend’s house when I saw a stray dog, it was in the middle of the street blocking my way, I decided to walk past it, while I was walking it started growling at me, I hesitated but still kept trying to walk then suddenly it got up and started barking empathically towards me. I was terrified, my first initial reaction being a 6 year old kid was to scare it away, I was ignorant. I picked up a rock and threw it at the dog thinking it’ll get scared and run away. I was wrong. The dog had enough it made a whimpering noise then started barking even louder