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The curious incident of the dog in night-time essay about lying to christopher
Outline and Literary Analysis of the curious incident of the dog in the night-time
The curious incident of the dog in night time analysis
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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.
Mark Haddon has a history of working with students with special needs
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Ed is the one that kills Wellington, he tells Christopher that his mom, Judy, died of a heart attack, and hides all the letters to him from his mom for two years. Because of his actions, the reader is to believe that Ed is a very sketchy character and that he is not to be trusted with what he says. He is consistent with his lies, even though the lies end up revealed, but he is an inaccurate character because the audience and Christopher believed he was telling the truth and he wasn’t. Ed tries consoling Christopher after all the lies are revealed and he quotes, “I’m sorry, Christopher. I promise you, I never meant for it to turn out like this,” (122). He admits that the reason he killed Wellington was because he had gotten into an intense argument with Mrs. Shears about her caring more about her dog rather than for Ed and Christopher, and in result, Ed took his anger out on the dog. However, he knew that Christopher liked Wellington so he never told him that he was the one that killed him because he didn’t want to hurt Christopher. He also says that he told Christopher that Judy died because Ed didn’t know how to deal with it himself, so he thought that if he couldn’t handle it, how would Christopher. That’s why he didn’t let Christopher know that his mom abandoned him. Given the situation, Ed’s lies are to a point reasonable, but not excusable and Christopher knows that. Ed is a character that we can’t always trust, he is too inaccurate during 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
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.
Malcolm Gladwell’s Usage of the Straw Man Method of Persuasion in What the Dog Saw
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.
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.
To conclude, Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time uses distinctive qualities to enhance the reader’s understanding of coping with difficulty and accompanies appropriate language and prose action to express
Nothing hurts more than being betrayed by a loved one, Christopher’s father has no trust in Christopher and tells him that his “Mother died 2 years ago”(22) and Christopher thinks his mother died of a heart attack. When Christopher finds out his father lied, he runs away to live with his mother and his father despritally looks for him and while looking for him realizes the importance of telling the truth. When someone betrays one’s trust, they can feel morally violated. Once Christopher finds his mother, she begins to realize how unfit her living conditions are for Christopher and brings him back to his father, bring him “[..] home in Swindon”(207) Christopher feels incredibly hurt and distressed he does not want to see his father. Whether a relationship can be repaired depends entirely on whether trust can or cannot be restored. Christopher’s father works very hard to regain his trust, he tells his son “[..] I don’t know about you, but this...this just hurts too much”, Christopher’s father is dealing with the result of being dishonest with his son and himself.
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
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.
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.
In Mark Haddon's contemporary novel, "The curious incident of the dog in the Night-Time", the protagonist, Christopher Boone, does seem completely unsuited to narrating a novel, as he takes on his authorial voice, thus demonstrating symptoms of his disability, 'Asperger's Syndrome.' This is a syndrome that enables him to see the world only through his limited perspective, which is closed, frightened and disorientated - which results in his fear of, and inability to understand the perplexing world of people's emotions. His description of events can be somewhat unreliable as he is unable to see the real truths that lie before him. As he narrates, readers are confronted with his peculiarities - whether it is not liking to be touched, his fear of germs, strangers and crowds to his inability to eat foods with particular colors. However, through Christopher's authorial voice, his description of events in his life, and in particular, his description of his oddities those seem completely 'normal' to him, make him an interesting and fascinating narrator. As he can be proven to be an unreliable narrator as he is incapable of lying (and understanding lies) and this limits his ability to perceive the full reality of the world, thus providing him with a strange combination of credibility and unbelievability. Again, this is what makes him a wonderful narrator - at times readers can mistrust his interpretation of such events, or they can believe him.
Unreliable narrators provide insight into the way they see the world by limiting the reader to one viewpoint. By providing a new set of eyes for the reader to see through, the author can give insight into the narrators mind and the way he or she perceives the world. Whether it is William Faulkner who gives every side of the story except the main character’s, J.D. Salinger who provides insight into the narrator through his criticism of others, or Suzanne Collins who has the reader make realizations about the narrator as she makes them about herself, authors use unreliable narrators to explore new depths of character understanding and growth.
Literature grants perspective, allowing insights into the workings of one’s mind. The novel “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”, composed by Mark Haddon acquires various elements that broaden our understanding of human adversity. The form, structure and style of writing in the text allows for the responder to pre-conceive that the protagonist Christopher suffers from a disability, although alluding to it through Christopher's actions and thoughts, the text never states he is disabled. Chris’ limitations shapes not only what we are able to experience, but also subverts the structural features of the text itself, thereby openly flouting the rules of conventional storytelling. In doing so, Haddon is able to explore everyday settings