Nighttime Theme

'The curious incident of the dog in the night-time' has many potential themes, however the most prevalent is self-reflection because of the many digressions and details given to describe situations.

Christopher's methods of explanation might seem sporadic and unnecessary, but each and every digression chips away at the alienated facade that surrounds who he is. You can see this trend beginning to form even after the first chapter of the book, whenever Christopher said, "I stroked Wellington and wondered who had killed him, and why" ("Chapter 1") and then immediately shifts to, "Then she showed me this picture ':-)' and I knew it meant 'happy,' like when I'm reading about the apollo space missions, or when I am still awake at 3 a.m. or 4 a.m. in the morning and I can walk up and down the street and pretend I'm the only person in the whole world." ("Chapter 3") This digression in specific immediately presents the information that Christopher isn't a 'normal' child, and because of this derailed train of thought you are brought closer to who Christopher really is. This point is emphasized even further into the novel whenever Christopher states, "and then the train started going again." ("Chapter 197") and then follows that up by saying, "people believe in god because the world is very complicated and they think it is very unlikely that anything as complicated as a flying squirrel or the human eye or a brain could happen by chance." ("Chapter 199") in the very next chapter. This second example of digression only furthers the evidence of Christopher's train of thought, showing that whenever certain events happen to

him, they trigger certain questions within his mind, and due to his heavily logistical pattern of reasoning must be answered and explained in form of reflection.
Due to the condition of being a savant, Christopher is able to collect and redistribute situations in great detail; painting pictures within the readers' heads. Christopher's use of great description and observation is shown very early on in the novel whenever he says, "I pulled the fork out of the dog and lifted him into my arms and hugged him. He was leaking blood from the fork holes." ("Chapter 5") This description is a way for Christopher to recall events exactly the way that they happened, thus justifying them in his head. Although the blood leaking from the fork holes may seem graphic to many readers, Christopher is oblivious to these facts and describes them like this because it is exactly how they happened. However the description isn't just a one time stunt because it comes up again whenever Christopher is reflecting on the almost mad situation in the train station. In one snippet Christopher describes a bunch of signs within the crowded hallway, saying, "And there were signs saying GREAT WESTERN and cold beers and lagers and CAUTION WET FLOOR and Your 50p will keep a premature baby alive for 1.8 seconds and transforming travel and Refreshingly Different and ITS DELICIOUS ITS CREAMY AND ITS ONLY £1.30 HOT CHOC DELUXE and 0870 777 7676 and The Lemon Tree and No Smoking and FINE TEAS and there were some little tables with chairs next to them and no one was sitting at one of the tables and it was in a corner and I sat down on one of the chairs next to it and I closed my eyes." ("Chapter 191"). All of this unknown and foreign information overloads Christopher and in his attempt to recall the event, he loses all control, restating everything exactly as it was, in attempt to make sense of it all. These events of great description aid Christopher in not only recalling events but reflecting on himself and how he got to where he was.
In conclusion the main thematic concept of 'the curious incident of the dog in the night-time' must be self reflection.

Supported through the evidence of digression, great detail, and emotional detachment. These three supporting factors tie together greatly in order to connect Christopher to his memories and to figure out both how and why he is where he

is.