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Literary analysis curious incident of dog in night time
The curious incident of the dog in the night-time summary
Literary analysis on the book the curious incident of the dog in the night-time
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After reading Mark Haddon’s “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” and re-examining what was discussed in class it is clear that Christopher John Francis Boone lies to the right of the autism spectrum with conditions similar to those which used to be classified as Asperger’s. Christopher’s actions and logic show that he struggles greatly with empathizing and that he lives his life in a very systematic way with a clear theory, of which he understands, underlying all of his actions. It can be argued that Christopher lies closer to the middle of the spectrum due to his social skills although, most of the evidence shows that his behavior was consistent with people who have high functioning autism. Some of the most telling evidence …show more content…
Throughout the book, it is shown that he does have good relationships with people such as his father and Siobhan though there are limits to the amount of contact he allows. When Christopher’s father came to pick him up from jail Christopher says, “He held up his right hand and spread his fingers out in a fan. I held up my left hand and spread my fingers out in a fan and we made our fingers and thumbs touch each other.” (Haddon, 2003, p.16). This type of behavior in which a person is able to be social with others but is unable to be physical with them is extremely common with people on the right side of the …show more content…
It is known that “early mirror neuron system deficits might cascade into developmental impairments in imitation learning and subsequently in theory of mind development, leading to autism.” (Griggs, 2014, p. 303). This explains how people with autism have a lot of trouble understanding how others think and gives a reason to why autistic people tend to always call back on former experiences to comprehend new ones. This type of thinking is clearly displayed when Christopher says, “I find people confusing. This is for two main reasons. The first main reason is that people do a lot of talking without using any words.” (Haddon, 2003, p.14). This demonstrates that Christopher cannot comprehend non-verbal communication and the reason for that is because he cannot understand the logic behind a person’s body language. Due to this style of thinking, which is linked to autism, and the way he is able to have reasonably social relationships with many people, it is clear that Christopher has highly functioning autism and lies to the right of the
The relationship between Christopher and his father is extremely sensitive. One moment Christopher’s father lashes out towards him, and the next moment they visit the zoo together, enjoying each other’s company. Because of the Asperger’s, Christopher prefers to do his own thing without interaction from other people. He especially disgusts anyone telling him what to do. Christopher thinks his father interferes in his life while his father tries to be involved in it as much as possible, causing agony to Christopher. The article The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time states, “Eventually, his father comes to get him, and tells Christopher to not investigate the dog’s death any further.” One could debate that Christopher’s father does
Autism is a developmental disorder that damages the ability to communicate and socialize. For Christopher Boone, the math genius, a factor that ties in with his
With every decision one makes. There will always be consequences. In Haddon’s, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the character Christopher and his parents find that their bad decisions could lead to a negative outcome. Mrs. Boone’s choice to leave home and Mr. Boone’s choice to lie to Christopher lead to him leaving home to search for his mother. A common theme of the actions of the characters is acting before thinking. The theme of decisions and consequences reveals the imperfections of each character, ultimately demonstrating the quintessential impatient need for growth.
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
In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the character Mr Boone is the most influential character to Christopher because he is deceitful and considerate which influences Christopher in a in wrong way by leading him to running away due to his father's actions.
What is Autism? It’s a developmental disorder that impairs one’s ability to communicate and interact with others. Christopher Boone from the novel A Curious Incident in the Nighttime and Temple Grandin, who has become one of the top scientists in the humane livestock handling industry both fall on the high-functioning spectrum of autism. Even so, they do not display the exact same traits and behaviors. Whereas Grandin thinks in pictures and employs this unique gift for practical use, Christopher thinks in patterns and fails communicate his talents with others. However, they both speak their mind and have trouble understanding facial expressions and emotions.
All people tell lies. However, everyone’s logic behind telling a lie is completely different and is viewed differently by everyone who is told a lie especially if the person has a form of autism.
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.
All in all, although there are some superficial differences between Christopher and Raymond, there are quite a number of important similarities. They share the lack of demonstrated empathy, encompass preoccupation with restricted patterns of interests and have an inflexible adherence to specific routines. Furthermore, they exhibit exceptional skills in maths. From my point of view, most individuals with AS can learn to cope with their differences, but may continue to need moral support and encouragement to maintain an independent life.
Do you ever feel annoyed, frustrated and above all, alone because you are just simply different? Fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone experiences this every day due to his autism disorder. Christopher struggles with understanding people, dealing with new surroundings and expressing himself. In the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, Christopher proves that despite these deficits, he can find independence in the world.
Have you ever felt misunderstood? Have you ever felt isolated from the people around you? Have you ever wanted everyone to just leave you alone? In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, written by Mark Haddon, Christopher, the novel’s main protagonist, struggles with trying to relate to other people, has a hard time understanding why people question the way he acts, constantly feels isolated from the people around him, and dreams of being the only human being left on the planet. Christopher has a condition, an unstated form of autism that makes him think and speak differently then all the other characters in the book. What starts as a mystery novel quickly turns into a heart-wrenching story about Christopher’s desire to be understood and to have people that he can trust in his life, who also love him unconditionally. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime shows the reader that even though sometimes our minds work in ways that others cannot relate to, we all want to be understood, even by those who question us when we say what we say and think what we think.
Judy’s most notable adjustment is displayed after Christopher and she meet outside of her apartment. When Christopher goes to London to live with Judy, he does not alert her to his coming. When he arrives, it is a surprise to her. She goes to hug him, forgetting he does not like to be touched in that way. When he flinches away, she instead "held up her right hand and spread her fingers out in a fan" (Haddon 191). Judy displays an important example of adapting in this moment because in the heat of the moment, she wanted nothing more than to embrace him, but because of his reaction she immediately adjusts and does the hand touch. The hand touch is their family’s way of displaying love with minimal physical contact as Christopher does not like to be hugged. She has not seen or talked to Christopher in years but still remembers their old way of showing their love to each other. Along with Judy, Christopher’s father also demonstrates the importance of adapting for relationships when called
“The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes. But he notices them. like I do.” In the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon, a boy named Christopher Boone tries to solve the mystery of the murder his neighbor's dog Wellington, but finds himself revealing other major secrets. As the story progress, the readers will find themselves wondering why Christopher isn't like any other kid they know or read about. When the reasons to why Christopher tends to act the way he does become clear the reader's viewpoint of Christopher will shift. Christopher seems to suffer from his mental and emotional state because he’s isolated, doesn’t understand others and Is sensitive to the outside world.
Many social interactions where shown within the book, yet the most interesting interaction was Christopher and his Father; they both had a great relationship. One of which was when Father bailed Christopher out of jail. The police interviewed Christopher one question said was, “Was it an accident that you hit a police officer?” Christopher then replied with no it wasn’t, I meant to do it. He was let...