The Nighttime Narrator

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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

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