“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time” is a combination of many styles of story including elements of a detective story, fiction, some comedy moments and a large portion of drama, it also touches on many different themes mainly on family, belonging disability, overcoming adversity, marital stress and the pressures of modern living. The story is told from the perspective of a young boy named Christopher John Francis Boone who has the psychological condition Asperger’s syndrome. The novel follows Christopher’s exploration into the murder of his neighbour’s dog, which uncovers inconvenient truths about his family including the death of his mother and the real identity of the dog’s killer. Through Christopher’s investigation we see …show more content…
how the Author (Mark Haddon) explores how different perspectives are presented in society by looking through the eyes of Christopher, getting to see how the world looks to a young 15 year old boy that is suffering from a broad spectrum autism disorder. To begin with the exclusive use of prime numbers as chapters will be discussed and how Haddon uses them as a way to give the audience a guise at Christopher’s character and mental state.
In the book Christopher said “I have decided to give my chapter’s prime numbers 2, 3,5,7,11,13 and so on because I like prime numbers.” Christopher then continues on to say “I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them” this quote presents the symbolism that the prime numbers carry which alludes to Christopher’s problem with following peoples non-specific instructions as he quotes in the story “when people tell you what to do it is usually confusing and does not make sense. For example, people often say ‘be quiet’ but they don’t tell you how long to be quiet for.” this quote really gives you a look into the fastidious nature of Christopher, he needs to have every detail explained to him for him to follow instructions. Therefore through the use of prime numbers as chapters and looking into the symbolism the audience gets a view of Christopher’s nature and how he …show more content…
behaves. Secondly the way that Haddon uses the first person storytelling to communicate how Christopher’s mind works and how he does not like having to talk to other people because he struggles to relate to the majority of the general public. Because of Christopher’s inability to many people tease him as they do not understand him such as the when Christopher is trying to get a ticket for the train to London, the police officer that approaches Christopher after he had been sitting at the station for 2 ½ hours, the officer makes many mocking remarks about Christopher’s questions, most of which Christopher doesn’t understand because he is using sarcasm, which among other thing that people do to communicate is the driving force behind Christopher’s dislike for other people, as he states in chapter 29 “ I found people confusing for two main reasons. The first main reason is that people can do a lot of talking without using any words” Christopher is talking about how he struggles to read body language. He also quotes “the second main reason is that people talk in metaphors” this is showing Christopher’s over logical mind, not being able to take anything non-literally, this comes across as very strange to people that don’t understand Christopher’s mental disabilities. Thus it can be concluded that through the use of first person storytelling Haddon manages to give us an insight in to how people mock and reject Christopher because of his alternate personality. Finally I would like to discuss way Haddon uses the maps, diagrams and math problems to effectively portray Christopher’s unique personality and mental state.
This technique is used primarily to express Christopher’s ideas whether that is his maths problems or the signs that he sees in London. When Christopher gets worried or scared such as in his big trip to London the frequency of the math problems, diagrams and maps skyrockets, this is deliberately done by Haddon to give a sense of Christopher trying to stay detached from his problems, a prime example of this is this is when Christopher makes his way to Swindon Station, after he had walked through the station tunnel he immediately goes into a maths problem called Conway’s Soldiers and goes into great detail about how it works taking up three pages of the book to explain this to the audience and distract himself from what scares him. Therefore through Haddon’s use of maps, graphics and math problems throughout the story the audience is able to have a greater insight into Christopher’s character and gives us a superior understanding of Christopher’s mental
disability. Through the points brought forward throughout this essay it can be concluded that through the use of different techniques such as the fore mentioned use of diagrams, maps and math problems along with first person storytelling and the use of prime numbers as symbols and chapter numbers the audience gains a superior understanding on how Christopher has been presented in the story through Haddon presenting him as a very intelligent young man with all of the maths equations and level-A maths being brought up a lot but Christopher’s disability is downplayed, although he is constantly partaking in strange activities such as shutting himself down and doing maths problems when he gets scared of anything. To confirm through the evidence presented in this essay it can be concluded that people with different perspectives is varied while Haddon downplays Christopher’s disability he also leaves evidence that leads you to conclude that there is something not quite right about Christopher.
The book “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” talks about a curious boy with autism whose name is Christopher John Francis Boone. Christopher tries to solve a case of Mrs. Shears,his neighbor, dogs skeptical death. Christopher lives only with his father. His father tells him that his mother died in the hospital, but she really didn't die. She is still alive and is living with Mrs. Shears ex-husband. The reason why Christopher’s mother isn’t living with him anymore is because she cheated on her husband with Mr. Shears. Christopher starts to slowly understand what was happening then he goes out trying to find his mom in London.
Christopher during the course of the text of the novel learns to disregard other people’s judgments.
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
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.
Have you ever felt different from everyone else? Does your mind function in a unique way? Have you ever wanted to just live alone in a world of your own? In the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, by Mark Haddon, a fifteen year old boy with Asperger's named Christopher, tries to solve a mystery involving the perplexing murder of his neighbor's dog. Christopher, being the narrator, takes readers on a journey inside his psyche, as he navigates the troubling and hectic world around him.
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.
The novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time explores the concept of truth and lies through the eyes of Christopher, the main character, who has autism. His narrative perspective only allows the reader to understand what his own mind is capable of understanding such as his views on lying, facial
There are many novels that have been written where the author may be very mendacious and trick his/her readers with lies or different ideas that could have happened but nobody knows. In the novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon, The author portrays himself as the narrator Christopher Boone who is an autistic 15 year-old trying to figure out who killed a neighbor’s dog. When a reader thinks an autistic 15 year-old, they already have an image in their mind and some know exactly how they are supposed to act and speak, so this essay is going to cover an evaluation of how accurate the author is, the narrator is, and also the narrator’s father.
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
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.
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 novel ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ written by Mark Haddon, relies heavily on the literary device known as a Red Herring. The Red Herring is presented through multiple themes throughout the novel, and by doing so the reader is lead to believe the wrong idea about the real mystery the novel holds. On the first page of the novel, the narrator, Chris Boone, begins the story with the murder of his neighbor's dog, Wellington. Whilst reading, the reader is given information which infers our protagonist, Chris, has aspergers. After the murder is solved, the novel continues to go on, revealing a new mystery involving Chris’ family. In summary, the novel starts by stating it is a murder mystery, although reveals by the ending,
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
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.
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.