The Curious Incident of the dog in the Night-Time
Traits: Determination, Analytical, Immature to Mature
In the novel, “The Curious Incident of the dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon, the protagonist, Christopher, is trying to solve some of the mysteries that surround his life in Swindon, and get to his mother’s place and back through a mature understanding of social integration. In Swindon, some positive influences of mother in his past lead to some maturity and parts of his analytical trait, but primarily, determination and immaturity direct Christopher’s autism when solving the mystery of ‘who killed Wellington’. During the transition from Swindon to Mother’s house in London, Christopher’s analytical trait is starting to be seen, and more mature decisions are guiding his autism, but determination, mainly immature, is driven by fear of his father, and in turn, directing his autism. In the end, when Christopher reaches his mother’s flat, and wants to return to Swindon, autistic trait battle Christopher’s positive traits to try and achieve social integration while his maturity is seen to try and direct his autism. Christopher achieves understanding of autism when directed by positive traits and influences, leading him to solve the mysteries that surround his life in Swindon, and get to his mother’s place and back through a more mature understanding of social integration. Topic sentence= title, author, protagonist & goal
3 POV’s
=linear story/ plot
*transitions
Thesis
In Swindon, some positive influences of mother in his past lead to some maturity and parts of his analytical trait, but primarily, determination and immaturity direct Christopher’s autism when solving the mystery of ‘who killed Wellington’. Determination an...
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...derstanding of social integration. Although many of his decisions lead to immature actions that take away from his understanding of social integration, in the end, Christopher is able to reach a mature understanding of social integration through his influences and traits. Christopher achieves understanding of autism when directed by traits and influences, leading him to solve the mysteries that surround his life in Swindon, and get to his mother’s place and back through a more mature understanding of social integration. In life, all of us need to understand that everyone is unique, and we cannot go into our everyday interaction with a strict mindset of opinions, therefore, remain open to multiple possibilities and be able to adapt to unfamiliar emotional and physical situations. Concluding paragraph
=restate key arguments and thesis- ends with a universal statement
With every decision one makes. There will always be consequences. In Haddon’s, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the character Christopher and his parents find that their bad decisions could lead to a negative outcome. Mrs. Boone’s choice to leave home and Mr. Boone’s choice to lie to Christopher lead to him leaving home to search for his mother. A common theme of the actions of the characters is acting before thinking. The theme of decisions and consequences reveals the imperfections of each character, ultimately demonstrating the quintessential impatient need for growth.
Rowe, Peter. “Delving into the Mystery of Autism.” San Diego Union-Tribune 16 October 2001. 9 December 2001
How would you feel if you couldn’t convey your emotion? People with Asperger’s Syndrome the answer. The Curious Incident in the Night-Time (The Curious Incident) is a novel that was authored by Mark Haddon. In this novel, the narrator is a teenage boy, Christopher John Francis Boone, who is exactly 15 years and 3 months old, and he has Asperger’s. He struggles with his social ability and has an odd hatred for the color yellow. Alix Generous is a co-founder of the company AutismSees and grew up battling Asperger’s as well. This conflicts his social skills and renders him emotionless at times. The effects of being emotionally detached as a result of Asperger’s can be devastating, and also uncomfortable. But, some may be envious.
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.
Giving others who do not suffer from autism or caregivers an insight on how the individual may be feeling and what they are going through. This book can also help numerous medical professionals such as speech-language pathologists and pediatric doctors. As Grandin stated in the book that not all sufferers act, think, and feel the same so this novel may not be beneficial to readers who are looking for information on a wide scale of individuals who suffer from the illness. She also stated that there is no cure for autism, however some medications can help with some symptoms such as depression or anxiety. What intrigued me the most about Grandin was that she never gave up and worked on her social skills. Not only did she became a spokesperson for autism, but also became a professor at Colorado State University in which both require public speaking and being comfortable in front of people.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is best known for its narration from an autistic boy, how it could be changed by a different character, and the impact that a non-autistic narrator could have on the novel. For Curious Incident point of view is one of the most important aspects as it hooks readers from the very beginning. The point of view immediately sets readers for what they can expect. Curious Incident changes how readers feel about first person point of view forever.
In his book review, “The Remains of the Dog,” Jay McInerney discusses how Christopher’s, “severely logical point of view,” draws the reader to question the, “common sense and the erratic emotionalism of the normal citizens who surround [Christopher].” Being put in Christopher’s shoes, on the receiving end of his parents’ aggression, highlights the difference between the “severely logical” Christopher and the average teenager, who would most likely yell back at their parents. His disorder causes him to analyze every situation but only act out when one of his triggers, like being touched, is set off. When he is left untouched he is able to diffuse his parent’s anger by calmly agreeing to their
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is told through the eyes of a fifteen year old boy named Christopher Boone. Christopher has a highly-functioning form of autism which allows him to understand complex mathematical problems, but also leaves him unable to comprehend many simple human emotions. His inability to understand metaphors, distinguish emotions, and his lack of imagination makes it possible to consider Christopher as functioning like a computer rather than functioning as a human being. Throughout the story, Christopher is faced with many challenges which he conquers using the stable and never changing system of mathematics. All of these factors suggest that Christopher does, in fact, function like a computer, but it is apparent early in the story that Christopher, regardless of anything else, is capable of independent thought which separates him from the programmed, dependent world of computers.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time chronicles of Christopher Boone of Swindon, England. The book is written by Mark Haddon, who formerly worked with autistic individuals, describes the world through the eyes of Christopher, who is self-proclaimed “special needs”. The novel never explicitly says what Christopher’s diagnosis is, but from the text it is apparent that he would fall on the higher functioning end of the Autism Spectrum.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time exhibits real life situations experienced by an autistic, 15-year-old boy, from his own panorama. Christopher’s use of first person perspective ensures that his view on events are explained with accurate, detailed description, enhancing the responders understanding of how the mind of one with Asperger’s syndrome functions. This concept is elaborated on in Christopher’s struggle to become independent as the responder is able to grasp Christopher’s defensive mechanisms to dealing with stressful situations. Christopher narration “so I groaned to make the time pass quicker and not think” during a fit where his tendency to shut down and curl himself into a ball is essentially revealed substantiates his struggle to become independent as his
In Mark Haddon's contemporary novel, "The curious incident of the dog in the Night-Time", the protagonist, Christopher Boone, does seem completely unsuited to narrating a novel, as he takes on his authorial voice, thus demonstrating symptoms of his disability, 'Asperger's Syndrome.' This is a syndrome that enables him to see the world only through his limited perspective, which is closed, frightened and disorientated - which results in his fear of, and inability to understand the perplexing world of people's emotions. His description of events can be somewhat unreliable as he is unable to see the real truths that lie before him. As he narrates, readers are confronted with his peculiarities - whether it is not liking to be touched, his fear of germs, strangers and crowds to his inability to eat foods with particular colors. However, through Christopher's authorial voice, his description of events in his life, and in particular, his description of his oddities those seem completely 'normal' to him, make him an interesting and fascinating narrator. As he can be proven to be an unreliable narrator as he is incapable of lying (and understanding lies) and this limits his ability to perceive the full reality of the world, thus providing him with a strange combination of credibility and unbelievability. Again, this is what makes him a wonderful narrator - at times readers can mistrust his interpretation of such events, or they can believe him.
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
A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time Outline: INTRODUCTION: Attention Grabber: In the “Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time,” we see a young adult, Christopher, traveling through life and overcoming obstacles he never thought he could. Specifics regarding the topic:
Somebody Somewhere offers a rear glimpse of the world of autism—from within. Australian born Donna Williams was diagnosed as psychotic at the tender age two, later as deaf, and ultimately as autistic; “Autism had had me in its cage for as long as I had ever known” (p. 5). In her book she describes her escape from “my” world, into “the” world. She talks about “picking up the pieces after a war” and “learning how to build somewhere out of nowhere and a somebody out of a nobody” (p. xi); yet she has something for everyone: “within each of us there is a stranger (or strangers) lurking in the shadows of our subconscious minds” (ibid). The author
While trust is a somewhat common theme in modern novels, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime manages to portray how it affects people in their day to day lifestyle. The book tells the story of Christopher Boone a young boy with autism and his murder mystery novel about the murder of his neighbor's dog. Why this novel is significant is because Mark Haddon tells the story that many young people with autism, like Christopher, live everyday and who’s view on life and the idea of trust and understanding of the world is drastically different than any teenager.