The curious incident of the dog in the night is a novel written by Mark Haddon. It explores the narrative perspective of Christopher, a 15-year-old boy who evidently suffers from a mental disability. It depicts a story of Christopher constructing a novel on the mystery of who killed Wellington, the neighbour’s dog while encountering many of societies judgements. This essay will analyse how different language and stylistic features are used to construct the unique perspective of the world Christopher possesses. This array of features will also allow a deep analysis of the depiction of Christopher’s Mother through his unique narration and similarly, how these features are used to alter readers perception of Mother.
One of the notions Mark Haddon
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Haddon use of first-person only gives the readers a factual depiction of Christopher’ Mother. "Mother was a small person who smelled nice. And she sometimes wore a fleece with a zip down the front which was pink and it had a tiny label which said Berghaus on the left bosom.” (24). This in-depth description of his Mother clearly shows how effective the toneless writing style is when portraying Christopher even though it’s merely factual. The toneless first-person narrative the readers are exposed to implies an extremally factual description of Mother but builds nothing when coming to character development. "Mother would say, “Jesus, Christopher, I am seriously considering putting you in a home,” or Mother would say, “You are going to drive me into an early grave.” (61). Another factual quote in first-person without any tone except, in addition, Haddon is now developing the character of Mother. Us as the reader have only had depictions of Mother through Christopher’s point of view which evidently sets a purposefully skewed opinion. Christopher’s Mother enforcing “I am seriously considering putting you in a home” builds readers sympathy for Christopher as earlier within the novel the readers are aware of Christopher’s challenges thus making this an extremely harsh comment. Overall this factual, toneless first-person language is designed to
In our contemporary civilization, it is evident that different people have somewhat different personalities and that novels behold essential and key roles in our daily lives; they shape and influence our world in numerous ways via the themes and messages expressed by the authors. It is so, due to the different likes of our population, that we find numerous types and genres of books on our bookshelves, each possessing its own audience of readers and fans. In this compare and contrast essay, we will be analysing and comparing two novels, The Chrysalids and Animal Farm, and demonstrating how both books target the general audience and not one specific age group or audience of readers. We will be shedding light at the themes and messages conveyed to us in both books, the point of view and the style of writing of the authors as well as the plot and the format used by the authors, in order to demonstrate how both books are targeting the general audience.
Stephen Crane and Jack London are two contrasting authors who use their own unique writing styles to create two unique genres that capture the reader’s interest. In two of Crane’s more prolific short stories “The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky” and “The Open Boat,” the vocabulary and use of dialogue add a sense of sophistication to his short stories while also making the stories smooth to read and eye-catching; whereas in Jack London’s short story “To Build a Fire,” the protagonist in the story is used as a catalyst for character development, and as an example to the audience of the naïveté of youth. London and Crane varied immensely in their literary techniques of vocabulary, dialogue, and character development demonstrated by the use of the protagonist
6. The first section of this essay focuses on the background stories of Alexie’s father and his childhood. It presents the beginning of Alexie’s habit of reading in an amused tone, showing a lighthearted image without mentioning the hardship he has experienced. However, Alexie starts to divide this passage in paragraph
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
Point of view can greatly affect the way a reader feel about a novel. Point of view affects how the characters are perceived and how well the readers know them. It also provides a means for readers to feel connected with characters, or to better understand what a character is going through. The author’s way of thinking also has a very large impact on the point of view based on how they themselves see a situation. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is narrated in a very diverse way, by being narrated by a boy with a disorder, it could be very different if told by a different character, and it would change drastically if narrated by someone without autism.
Haddon’s use of chapter digression allows the reader a shift between recounts of Christopher’s experiences and facts given by Christopher. The use of digressions and prime numbers used to number chapters amplify the novel’s distinctiveness, differing it from any other regular novel. Whilst the digressions in the novel correspond with prior or upcoming chapters, elements of Christopher’s character is revealed.
The book begins as a mystery novel with a goal of finding the killer of the neighbor's dog, Wellington. The mystery of the dog is solved mid-way through the book, and the story shifts towards the Boone family. We learn through a series of events that Christopher has been lied to the past two years of his life. Christopher's father told him that his mother had died in the hospital. In reality she moved to London to start a new life because she was unable to handle her demanding child. With this discovery, Christopher's world of absolutes is turned upside-down and his faith in his father is destroyed. Christopher, a child that has never traveled alone going any further than his school, leaves his home in order to travel across the country to find his mother who is living in London.
Greenblatt, Stephen, and M. H. Abrams. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. 9th ed. Vol. A. New York: W.W. Norton, 2012. Print
Edgar Allan Poe is one of America’s most celebrated classical authors, known for his unique dealings within the horror genre. Poe was a master at utilizing literary devices such as point of view and setting to enhance the mood and plot of his stories leading to his widespread appeal that remains intact to this day. His mastery of aforementioned devices is evident in two of his shorter works “The Black Cat” and “The Cask of Amontillado”.
Narration has a profound, formative influence in conveying the complex nature of human communication. This, in turn, effects the ways in which the reader responds to the text. In ‘The curious incident of the dog in the night time’ Christopher’s father Ed understands his sons inability to interpret human emotion and reasoning and thus, has developed alternate ways in which he can communicate with his son which are accepted by Christopher. This is evident in chapter 31 where Christopher describes, “He held up his right hand.. we made our fingers and thumbs touch each other.
Christopher’s communications was quite precise, which let the reader understand the text in more depth which made it easier, yet if the book were written in third person the reader would not have understood the social interactions projected. A piece of communication that was in depth was when Christopher got taken to jail. Christopher then listed what he had in his pockets (For Example)
Being different can sometimes be somewhat scary because one may be considered an outcast. Being an outcast can be quite difficult especially when people can be cruel. In the short story “The Salamander,” the narrator is considered an outcast because she is different and does not follow society’s norms. The author from this short story, Mercè Rodoreda, can be compared to the narrator because she too did not follow the norms. Rodoreda’s short story includes some aspects that can be compared to her life, yet many other aspects in her story are inexplicable. “The Salamander” by Mercè Rodoreda can be described as a fantastic story because of the fantastic elements it contains, such as hesitation and liminality. The short story fits well into Todorov’s definition of the fantastic because it creates hesitation for the readers when the narrator experiences rebirth and it includes several examples of liminality. Liminality can be seen when the defined lines between human and animal, and life and death are blurred.
Since Ma’s kidnapping, seven years prior, she has survived in the shed of her capturer’s backyard. This novel contains literary elements that are not only crucial to the story, but give significance as well. The point-of-view brings a powerful perspective for the audience, while the setting and atmosphere not only affect the characters but evokes emotion and gives the reader a mental picture of their lives, and the impacting theme along-side conflict, both internal and external, are shown throughout the novel. The author chooses to write the novel through the eyes of the main character and narrator, Jack. Jack’s perception of the world is confined to an eleven foot square room.
What comes to mind when one thinks of the word ‘puppy’? It is probable describe a puppy as a lovable, adorable, and cuddly companion. However, one might also identify the animal as a menace and a liability or even as a delicious source of food. Why does this single word hold so many meanings? One’s past experiences and biases influences these conflicting views and attitudes. For instance, an individual’s fond view of puppies may exist because they were raised with puppies and consequently grew affectionate toward the animals. On the contrary, if another individual has not bonded with puppies as pets, then they will share the latter point of view. In the short story “Puppy” by George Saunders, the multiple characters view single events and objects with contrasting perceptions. Therefore, instead of painting a precise picture of the characters and the plot, the story expresses several views regarding the morals of the characters, the motivations of their actions, and the meaning of the events that take place. In “Puppy”, George Saunders explores the theory that perception is not an elementary, universal definition of an object or idea, but a complex interpretation that is influenced by one’s unique and varying past experiences and opinions. The complexity of perception is evident in one the story’s narrator’s, Marie’s, vantage point.
Narratology divides a ‘narrative into story and narration’. (Cohan et al., 1988, p. 53) The three main figures that contribute a considerable amount of research to this theory are Gerard Genette, Aristotle and Vladimir Propp. This essay will focus on how Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights can be fully appreciated and understood when the theory is applied to the text. Firstly, I will focus on the components of narration Genette identifies that enhance a reader’s experience of the text. Secondly, I will discuss the three key elements in a plot that Aristotle recognises and apply these to Heathcliff’s character. In the final section I will apply part of the seven ‘spheres of action’, Propp categorises, to Heathcliff’s character. However, not all of Narratology can be applied to a text. This raises the question; does this hinder a readers understanding and/or appreciation of the text? This paper will also address this issue.