Christopher Boone

1814 Words4 Pages

“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” by Mark Haddon seems to present itself as a murder mystery novel. While reading the first few chapters of the novel I couldn’t quite grasp the concept as to what it was trying to tell us as readers. As I got further into the book things started to make more sense however, the murder being solved rather quickly put a wrench in things. Instead of a murder mystery the novel presents the theme that things aren’t always what they seem. In this essay I will help you better understand the true meaning behind the story. Christopher Boone, a fifteen-year-old boy who is developmentally challenged has a tough time keeping up with the world as it is, and he relies on his Father for one of the only resources …show more content…

Christopher grew up with things that were told to him that he thought he believed only because people who he trusted told him these facts and behind closed doors it was all lies. Many people in their daily lives struggle with the issue of trust and you must remember that things aren’t always what they seem. Sometimes people lie about things for a greater purpose and believe they are helping or protecting you much like Christopher’s father. There is also a self accomplishment aspect of how things appear to be. Christopher ventures to visit his mom and encounters many things that he gets over.
Christiana Gregoriou in her article “The Poetics of Deviance in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” says “This book manifests three types of deviance: Linguistic, social and generic” (Gregoriou, Christiana). …show more content…

Blackford addresses the concern about how children view the world differently then adults so hearing the story from Christopher’s perspective shows adults a distinctive look at the world. For Christopher he looks beyond what is in front of him and analyzes things down to very small details. When Christopher’s Mother gives him a new pair of pyjamas he immediately notices that they are made up of a patter of 5-pointed blue stars with a purple background (Haddon.255). Christopher immediately notices the exact pattern while someone else might just see it as a new pair of pajamas. Throughout his journey to find Wellington’s killer he comes upon many problems that are tough to decipher in an adult’s situation. Having the narrator being a fifteen-year-old boy with developmental issues gives readers a look at life that we may not have seen before. When Christopher’s dad believes that it was better off telling him his mother was dead we see what that has done to Christopher and that he has lost any trust

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