Analysis Of 'The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime'

Psychology Today says that identity is who we are and is comprised of the basic values that dictate humans decisions. Identity is something that defines all humans and molds us into who we are. Written by Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is a story about Christopher, a boy with Asperger’s syndrome who is working to solve a murder mystery. Throughout the book, the theme of identity plays a crucial role in the development of the story. Christopher’s identity is comprised of his lack of emotions, isolation, how he sees the world and how he defines himself through concepts like math and logic. Christopher’s incapability to understand emotions and his isolation from society contribute to his identity. Throughout the book, there are many incidents where

Christopher first introduces himself as follows, “My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I know all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,507.” Christopher likes to identity himself with math because to him it is safe and math A level represents his dream of going to a university and becoming intelligent. In addition, Christopher likes to be identified as his own unique individual, to acknowledge this idea, “Mother used to say that it meant Christopher was a nice name because it was a story about being kind and helpful, but I do not want my name to mean a story about being kind and helpful. I want my name to mean me.” Christopher has a hard time understanding abstract adjectives and ideas, like ‘kind’ and ‘helpful’ he would prefer to be classified with concrete ideas that don’t change like logic and math. This reveals what is important to Christopher because humanity puts mass emphasis on the idea that identity lies within personality and adjectives and not within