The Nighttime Narrator

886 Words2 Pages

In the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon, the main character is named Christopher Boone. Christopher is diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome which is a form of Autism. He writes a book as a project which the school aid, Siobhan, suggested. The question that’s been debated is whether Christopher is actually a reliable narrator or not, and this would be because he pays close attention to small things he might miss major details. Christopher is a reliable narrator because he is honest, he is literal, and provides a clear picture that’s difficult to be misinterpreted. One of the reasons that Christopher can be trusted as a reliable narrator is because he is very honest in his thoughts and actions. Some characters …show more content…

This is beneficial to being a good narrator because he isn’t swayed by other opinions and is straightforward. Christopher does not believe in some things, such as God, because it’s hard for him to wrap his head around. For instance, “The Reverend Peters said, ‘Well, when I say that heaven is outside the universe it’s really just a manner of speaking. I suppose what it really means is that they are with God.’ And I replied, ‘But where is God?’ And the Reverend Peters said that we should talk about this another day when he had more time” (33). This explains how he is indifferent to beliefs in his thoughts, so he isn’t swayed by other opinions in that department. Another example is when he was finding many loopholes in people’s words. “For example, people often say ‘Be quiet,’ but they don’t tell you how long to be quiet for. Or you see a sign which says KEEP OFF THE GRASS but it should say KEEP OFF THE GRASS AROUND THIS SIGN or KEEP OFF ALL THE GRASS IN THIS PARK because there is lots of grass you are allowed to walk on” (29). A good narrator should always be describing their thoughts and why they think that. Also, when Christopher decides how good his day will be by looking at the colors of the cars, this proves how he is literal. This is because he doesn’t let the weather decide how his day is, and just prefers to have things in an order. He doesn’t take any time to overthink about things he doesn’t understand, he just focuses on the things he does

Show More
Related

  • Does The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time Explore The Concept Of Truth

    1773 Words  | 4 Pages

    The novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time explores the concept of truth and lies through the eyes of Christopher, the main character, who has autism. His narrative perspective only allows the reader to understand what his own mind is capable of understanding such as his views on lying, facial

    Read More

  • Into the Wild, by John Karkauer and Jack London's To Build a Fire

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    Christopher during the course of the text of the novel learns to disregard other people’s judgments.

    Read More

  • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon Vs. I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak

    617 Words  | 2 Pages

    Initially, both Christopher and Ed are practical imitations of who they are described as, but the way that Christopher deals with his struggles, are more interesting. Firstly, Christopher has a unique way of solving his problems. He rationalizes these proble...

    Read More

  • A Comparison between Christopher Boone and Raymond Babbitt

    1186 Words  | 3 Pages

    Both Christopher Boone, from the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and Raymond Babbitt, from the movie Rainman, suffer from Asperger´s disorder. They have several characteristics in common: they are both autistic savants with impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and non-verbal communication, and restricted, repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests and activities.

    Read More

  • The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

    991 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...though Christopher functions more like a computer than a human, but he possesses the ability to think independently, which over all else represents a human characteristic. No machine can operate efficiently without being instructed and following exact orders. Christopher also needs to be told exactly what to do because the vagueness of common phrases is confusing to him, but knows that people break rules and also knows that he can make decisions for himself. On his journey to find his mother, Christopher makes the decision to break away from all of his rules in order to find her. He is able to go to London against almost all odds, and does so by stepping out of his comfort zone and into a world of uncertainty. Even though he uses computer-like thinking to come to the conclusion of going to his mother, it is his underlying human qualities that make the trip possible.

    Read More

  • The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime Obstacles Essay

    683 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the beginning of the story, he told many incidents of the past of screaming in situations where mass amounts of people were in the same area as him. However, near the end of the novel we see him riding on a train and reaching his mother by himself. This realization of self-worth and ability to do anything he sets his mind to was a major lesson that throughout the book Christopher learned. Also, since Christopher is on the autism spectrum when he learned about complex facial expressions, such as worried or scared, it was an important lesson about human nature and communication. During the course of the novel, Christopher discovered his self-worth and the meanings of complex facial expressions. After reading this novel, I learned that the lessons you learn are based largely on where you start and the things you

    Read More

  • The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime Rhetorical Devices

    789 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Essay On The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time

    702 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Unreliable Narrators in The Sound and the Fury, The Catcher in the Rye, and The Hunger Games

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Christopher Boone And Temple Grandin Essay

    1040 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Tell Tale Heart Critical Analysis

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many people in this world, with psychological complications or disorders. From bipolar, depression, anxiety, ADHD, and many others. All those mentally disadvantages can alter ones abilities to control whether what they’re seeing is real, compared to what really happened. But millions of people live with these disadvantages daily. And if one was to ask them if they thought their mental illness affect whether if they are reliable. I believe, they wouldn't respond too kindly. Comparing real people and their situations, to how people commented on this narrator for not being reliable due to his psychological state. Makes one to believe there is no reason not to believe the event took place exactly as it was narrated to

    Read More

  • CIDNT

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    Christopher's behaviour does not change throughout the novel. Though it may seem that he improves himself in the sense of social stability, his personality really has not changed at all. Whenever it may seem Christopher has changed, it is in fact a misconception, as Christopher is only acting this way out of a mere childish instinct. Also, Christopher's habits do not change. He still has apprehensions concerning physical contact, he still gets along better with animals than he does with humans, and he is very meticulous about germs. Finally, his abilities to interact with those around him are no different. He still feels uncomfortable with strangers, he still cannot read human emotions, and he still learns better visually than he does in an auditory sense.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Trust In The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • First Person Narration in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    If the book were to be narrated in third person the reader wouldn’t understand how Christopher feels about certain situations. This is also an affect given in the book because the author wants to project Christopher’s autism spectrum disorder condition to the reader.

    Read More

  • Perspective of Nick Carraway, Narrator of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby

    1535 Words  | 4 Pages

    When we read any work of fiction, no matter how realistic or fabulous, as readers, we undergo a "suspension of disbelief". The fictional world creates a new set of boundaries, making possible or credible events and reactions that might not commonly occur in the "real world", but which have a logic or a plausibility to them in that fictional world. In order for this to be convincing, we trust the narrator. We take on his perspective, if not totally, then substantially. He becomes our eyes and ears in this world and we have to see him as reliable if we are to proceed with the story's development.

    Read More

More about The Nighttime Narrator

Open Document