The Hero's Journey

Today in the world there are many types of adventures that are closely related to the Hero’s Journey. In the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon, it uncovers the adventure of Christopher Boone searching for the killer of Wellington, his neighbor’s dog. Christopher ran away from Swindon, his hometown, because he discovered that his father lied about his mother’s death and that he killed Wellington. While on his adventure, Christopher encounters challenges such as talking to strangers and being followed by a police officer. Since Christopher was a person who showed symptoms of Asperger’s Syndrome, a developmental disorder that affects a person’s ability to socialize with others, it causes him to have a hard time

understanding people’s emotions and causes him to be afraid around strangers. Haddon explains how Christopher understands the world differently from normal humans because his type of thinking and ability to make decisions are diverse. Christopher fits the archetype of the Hero’s Journey because he is considered a “hero” because he follows the path of a hero and teaches people his knowledge that he learned when completing his journey.
Christopher’s adventure is similar to the Hero’s Journey because it follows the 8 stages.

The first stage (Ordinary World) started when Christopher was walking around Mrs. Shear’s house around midnight and in the garden, he found Wellington’s corpse, “I stroked Wellington and wondered who had killed him, and why” (Haddon 2). This symbolizes the start of Christopher’s journey because he wanted to find out the killer and write a murder mystery novel about Wellington’s death. It relates to the second stage (The Call) because it feels like Wellington’s has sent a message to Christopher telling him to find the killer, and Christopher respond by never giving up on his search for the killer, even though his dad told him to stop being a detective and stay out of people’s

business.
The discovery of letters from his mom was the third stage (Refusal of the Call) because Christopher finds out that his father lied to him about the death of his mother, and that she was still alive. He was shocked that his father had lied to him and developed a depressed emotion that he himself does not know about it, “But it didn’t hurt when he touched me, like it normally does. I could see him touching me, like I was watching a film of what was happening in the room, but I could hardly feel his hand at all. It was just like the wind against me” (Haddon 114). It highlights that his dad has ruined the bond between him and Christopher, and that Christopher decides to run away because he was afraid of his dad.
In the fourth stage (Mentor/Supernatural Aid) Christopher’s teacher, Siobhan, was like his mentor because she was always there to guide him through a difficult time when Christopher finds out that his mom and Mr. Shears had an affair, “If you do start to feel sad about this, I want you to know that you can come and talk to me about it” (Haddon 75). Siobhan though that Christopher might be depressed to find out that his mother had a relationship with another man, but instead he does not show any emotion to the news. Mrs. Alexander is also a mentor of Christopher because she became his friend and answered questions about Wellington’s death, which ultimately led Christopher to the killer of Wellington.
Christopher realizes that the most logical thing to do was to live in London with his mother, so he decides to go to London. He packs up food, water, and math books and went on a train to London, which highlights that the train is the gateway to the “special world”. On his way to London, it was the fifth stage (Challenges with Enemies) because he encountered with a police officer, who was following his every step. The police officer seemed like an enemy to Christopher because the police officer bothered him while on the train, and it annoyed Christopher. Christopher’s mother was like an enemy because she canceled his A level math exams: the one thing Christopher really cared about because he wanted to go to a university and study math and physics. It shocked him badly that he experienced a pain he himself cannot explain, “And I started feeling a pain in my chest like I did on the underground” (Haddon 205). The pain in his chest would not stop, and it made him lose his appetite.
The sixth stage (The Ordeal) started when Christopher and his mom went back to Swindon because Mr. Shears and his mother argued a lot, and someone will get hurt if they continued to stay in London. He went back to live with his father, and that was a brave action because Christopher was afraid of his dad killing him. The seventh stage (Atonement) arose when Christopher’s dad tries to fix his relationship between him and Christopher, “Let’s call it… let’s call it a project. A project we have to do together. You have to spend more time with me” (Haddon 219). He realizes that Christopher was the most important thing to him, and he decides to give him a puppy as a present to say sorry. That concludes Christopher’s journey (Return) because he returned home and feels like he could accomplish anything because he was able to share his novel with others and the courageous things that he did.
Christopher is the hero because his adventure consists of the 3 monomyths: separation, initiation, and return from the article by Joseph Campbell.

Separation relates to Christopher because he was separated from his parents because his parents did not know how to deal with his behavioral problems. Initiation is when Christopher runs away to London because he was afraid that his own father killing him, and cannot trust him. Return is when he returns to home Swindon and realizes that if he could solve the mystery of Wellington’s death, he believes that he could accomplish anything now and people would acknowledge him for his talents. His adventure is also similar to the story the “Great Struggle of the Buddha” because they both have a hero and taught people what they have learned from their journeys. In the story “Great Struggle of the Buddha” the prince Gautama Sakyaumi becomes a poor beggar and goes on a journey similar to Christopher. The Buddha teaches people on how to be enlightened, and Christopher teaches people about the way he sees the world that other cannot

see.
Christopher deserves the title of “Hero” because he completed the stages of the Hero’s Journey. He demonstrated braveness by going to London all by himself even though he feels uncomfortable being in a crowded area and talking to strangers. When Christopher was in the train, he did not bother the people in the train. Back when Christopher was little, his mom went Christmas shopping with him, and he knocked over the mixers in a shop, which made his mother really angry, and Christopher continuous screamed in the shop. In conclusion, Christopher evolved as a person who was just scared of crowded people to a person who is acknowledged by people for his way of thinking.