Finding Structure During Chaos
In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon the protagonist Christopher Boone is a fifteen-year-old boy who has a need for structure. Christopher has hard time dealing with change and when things are chaotic. Christopher has this need because he likes to have a feeling control. Christopher goes out into modern day life and realizes not everything can be in his control, so he must find a way to deal with it. In order to survive in the world, Christopher has to learn how to cope with his need for structure.
Christopher starts out with having the same schedule everyday. He likes this because
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He does not like being there and multiple times mentions how he wants to go home. After Christopher goes to the bathroom he sees the shelves with cases. He notices a small space on the shelf and pulls one of the cases so he is closed in. Christopher explains he does this because then, “there was no one in there with me,” (163). Christopher being enclosed in a tight space by himself makes him feel better, because he is back in control. No one can tell him what to do if he is by himself and he gains back his control and structure. Eventually he has to get off the train and go to the tube. He sits down on a bench and repeating to himself in his head “Train coming. Train stopped. Train going. Silence,” (178), over and over to calm himself. Christopher does this to learn the schedule of the train and that puts him back in control. He can now say when the train is coming and not be frightened when he hears the noise. After five hours Christopher realizes that there is a sign that tells him when the train is approaching. So he is not scared any more, because he “knew when it was going to happen,” (181). Christopher now has a perfect structured idea of when the train was going to come. He could predict exactly, because of the sign. Christopher learns he can survive in the world if he just finds a way to stay
Because he never backs down from anything he starts, Christopher’s pursuit to solve Wellington’s murder remains his primary focus, although Christopher experiences problems throughout the book that affect his resolve. His father affects Christopher negatively from his lies; as a result, the dishonesties turn out to be the central focus in the story. His father made him leave the house to go find Christopher’s mother who he did not know existed. His mom tried to hug Christopher when he got there and he blatantly describes how he hates being touched by his own family members. Christopher’s mom goes in for a hug but he shoves her away so hard that he falls over. Christopher states, “And I pushed her away because she was grabbing me and I didn’t like it, and I pushed really hard and I fell over” (Haddon 191). Christopher feels awful about the incident with his mother and ends up getting along exceedingly sound. Family disputes led to most of the problems in the novel, however, the issues made the book more interesting. Every time Christopher’s dad would mess up with him, his father would come running back to Christopher apologizing for what he did or the way he acted. Christopher’s father was good at taking care of him most of the time but then again was not an straightforward family member all the time. Christopher did not consider his
He wants to achieve his goals and let nothing stand in his way when he does. In addition to Christopher's persistence inside the classroom, he also kept on with the investigation despite what his father said. After Christopher discovers the letters from his mom, he does not quite understand what it means because he believes his mom to be dead. But his father tells him not to look through the letters anymore and puts them in a cupboard in his room. "It was six days before I could go back into Father's room to look in the shirt box in the cupboard ." (102) Even though Christopher's father tells him to leave the letters alone, he directly disobeys him to look for the truth within the letters. With his persistence he builds up enough courage to go into the letters and find out the truth about his mother. Because of this he finds the truth and finds his mother in London. Through Christopher's persistence he disobeys his father to find the letters and find out what he has been hiding from
In the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon, we are met with a question can truth change. In the book the protagonist is Christopher, an autistic child living with his father. Throughout the book, many things that he thought to be true change. Firstly, Christopher thought that his father would never hurt anything, but he did. Secondly, he was not allowed to take the A-Level Maths because he went to a special school. Lastly, he thought that his dad would never lie to him and that changed as well. He had to fight through both the school and his mother to be able to take the test. Christopher had to go through much change throughout the novel.
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.
is a murderer. When this occurs, Christopher begins to feel afraid, the only emotion he is capable of experiencing.
Whilst the concept of autism and what it means to be autistic is still widely unrecognised by many, Mark Haddon’s use of conventions of prose fiction and language amplifies the distinctive qualities of the text. Haddon exemplifies key themes such as the struggle to become independent, the nature of difference and the disorder of life through the strategic placement of literary devices.
Anger is one of the hardest emotions to control. Often, people hold it in, allowing it to build until it bursts, causing damage. In Mark Haddon’s novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the parents of a child with autism struggle to keep their cool around their son. Christopher’s mother fails to mask her emotions around her son, leaving his father to take care of him. Although his father tries to maintain calm, he often yells at Christopher as his son watches on in careful concentration. Haddon’s authorial choice of making Christopher’s parents lash out reveals irony in that Christopher is the one with the disorder yet is calm, analyzing situations objectively.
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.
In conclusion, the most evident theme in this story is that everyone have problems mentally, that they need to overcome. Christopher, the mother, and the father are examples supporting this theme. Although, Christopher finds it difficult to recognize emotions, follow instructions, talk to strangers etc. he tries hard to overcome it. His behavioral problems, and care for others has improved over time proving that overtime his problems can be fixed. Ed Boone, the father has problem managing his emotions and often gets out of control but tries to control them for his son's sake. The mother, Judy Boone, faces problems with impatience but after parting with Christopher, shows significant improvement in her patience levels. Overall, no matter how bad a psychological problem is, there is always a way out if given time.
The biggest reconnection Christopher encounters is with his mother. It begins when he finds a series of letters addressed to him in his father’s closet. Upon reading the letters, he makes the shocking discovery that his mother is alive, not dead, as his father previously tells him. Later, in trying to explain why he hides the truth, his father confesses he kills Wellington. As Christopher comes to these revelations, he immediately decides, “‘I had to go to London to live with Mother.’” (Haddon 131). This is a very powerful example of adapting. Christopher decides on the spot to go live with his mom despite not seeing her for years. The attitude of ‘sudden decisions’ without thinking long and hard about the full outcome is uncommon for him, and yet he comes to this solution in almost no time at all. Also, the wording of the sentence is very specific. He uses the word 'had' instead of 'can', which proves the idea is already set in his mind. As a result, this proves he already trusts his mother and is willing to adjust to go to her. Besides Christopher, his mother also expresses a likewise characteristic of adaptation to renew
It has become paramount that composers utilise various techniques in order to influence an individual’s perception of the world. As seen through the eyes of an Aspergers sufferer, Christopher Boone, Mark Haddon’s inventive novel entitle ‘The Curious incident of the Dog in the Night Time’, skilfully portrays how the decisions of significant characters and their relationships shape the overall message about the difficulties of living with a limiting social condition. This is challenged from the unique perspective of Christopher and explicitly seen through the relationship between the protagonist and both his parents. Haddon employs a myriad of techniques through the concepts of the conflicting nature of love, the desperation for a world of order and stability, and the value of truth. Along with the reoccurring allusions to mathematics and science in order to display the complexity of human interaction, as he skilfully depicts how both relationships attempt to deal with the issue in their day to day lives.
“3.3% of 13 to 18 year olds have experienced a seriously debilitating depressive disorder” (“Depression” 3). Living in a world of perfection and happiness as a teenager is not part of the status quo. The ordinary teenager lives a life of depression and loneliness. Teenagers spend their years trying to affiliate themselves with society. This process takes self-sacrifice and abandoning those who love them the most. In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, a novel written by Mark Haddon, Christopher Boone is the main character. Whereas Craig Gilner is the main character in Ned Vizzini’s novel, It’s Kind of a Funny Story. Both characters must find their way into society by fighting their fears and realizing who they are. As a matter of fact, Haddon’s and Vizzini’s novels realistically portray the life of a teenager by using main characters who deal with depression, gain independence, and progress through Bildungsroman.
“It was 7 minutes after midnight. The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs.Shears's house.” The way an author narrates their book is a very important factor in the reader’s understanding. The book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon is narrated in first person by a 15 year old autistic boy named Christopher Boone. Having the book narrated by an autistic boy is not a good idea because readers can understand some situations better than Christopher could, he has trouble determining how others feel and he’s always explaining things he doesn’t understand, but most readers do. Christopher is an inadequate narrator which frustrates the readers.
In the mystery novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Christopher Boone is a young man on the autistic spectrum living with his single father. Faced with the murder of his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, he is inspired to find the killer and document his investigation along the way. Despite his disabilities, he passionately pursues the case but he finds much more of the truth than he may have signed up for. From following the murder mystery trail, Christopher learns startling information about his parent’s estranged relationship such as their unfaithful past and even that his father lied about his mother’s death. Throughout the book, Christopher relies on science and logic in order to determine the truth. In the The Curious Incident