...not be an open book, but an open book can still bring meaning and value. Even outside of entertainment, the raw importance of a book can enlighten those who absorb the information-even in a murder mystery novel about a dead poodle. The book in question has a name: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, written by Mark Haddon. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time explores how the main character, Christopher, reacts and investigates certain events, particularly the death of his neighbor’s poodle and the aftermath of the supposed death of his mother. The struggles Christopher may have to deal with, as well as his importance in the story, become much more magnetizing once we learn Christopher has “behavioural...
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...It can be argued that in the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, though Christopher is born with a disability, it is his family and community that really disadvantage him. Although many people have doubted the accuracy of this statement, a thorough inspection reveals that it is, in fact, correct. This can be shown by examining the way he is treated by the general public, his school community and even his own family. As a result, Christopher is unable to develop his full potential and becoming as useful an asset to the population as he might have been, creating a vicious cycle. One major example of the way the community disadvantages him is by looking at the general public. People, having been brought up in a strict society with certain unofficial rules which must be followed, instinctively create a barrier against anything which they deem that does not belong, such as Christopher, and therefore, they either close themselves off, or even turn against him, as the two drunken men on the train had done by calling him a "train elf" (Haddon, 2003:206). On the other hand, there are also those people who believe they are being sympathetic and doing the right thing by "helping" the autistic population like Christopher through counselling and trying to find a "cure" for their disability when they actually don't want to be "cured", because the autistic way of life is the only way they know, and if they are treated, they won't be them anymore. Even classifying...
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...The mind of an autistic person is fascinating and frightening because usually their actions can’t accurately express what their brain is thinking. It is frustrating to try and determine what a child with autism is trying to say, and often results in them being misunderstood. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon, tells the story from the perspective of Christopher Boone, a fifteen year old boy with autism. Chris is brilliant at math and science, but is unable to understand or express emotion. His difficult home life further contributes to his illness; he doesn’t have anyone at home who supports him and tries to help him. His teacher, Siobhan, is his only friend and the only person who tries to help him learn to how to live with autism and how to assimilate himself into everyday society. This novel is very eye opening because it truly takes the reader into the mind of a person with autism. Chris is a gifted math and science student; he can recite every prime number up to 2,057. Formulas and numbers come very easily to him, he doesn’t even have to think about what he’s doing, it comes as second nature. In the novel, Haddon provides diagrams of problems that Chris can solve. These problems are difficult for the reader to interpret, which makes it even more remarkable that Christopher can figure them out in such a concise manner. Chris has a photographic memory, and he explains in the novel that’s why he understands math, because it is simple and there...
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...The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Setting: “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” takes place in the year 1998 in and around the town of Swindon in England. It’s a typical small-town neighborhood, where everybody knows everybody. The main character lives in a medium size house with a nice garden. His school has a nice environment, and from the description it seems that Christopher likes it – especially his teacher Siobhan whom he talks too very well. Financially, it seems that the family is middleclass, they don’t to have too much or too little money. Their main form of income is Christopher’s father heating maintenance and boiler repair business. Even though Christopher is a difficult child, his parents still show him plenty of love and affection. This love helps him through the whole story – it gives him a kind confidence that he lacks. Plot: The beginning: The novel is about a fifteen year old autistic boy named Christopher, who lives with his dad in a small town in England. One day Christopher finds his neighbor’s dog dead, it has been killed with a fork. After the shock of finding the dog, Christopher decides to uncover the dog’s murderer. While investigating, Christopher gets arrested and taken in to custody by the police because of a misunderstanding. After this episode, he promises the police and his father that he would stop his investigation immediately. Conflict: As a part of a school assignment, Christopher writes his investigation...
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...Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time explores different perspectives through language and stylistic features by presenting us with a 15-year-old protagonist dealing with Asperger’s syndrome, Christopher Boone, and his logical profound personality. We learn about the world Christopher knows and understands via the narration style with detailed diagrams and unsentimental writing. Language is explored through the narrators perspective, (Christopher), which allows recognition in the differences between the reader and narrator, and other characters involved in Christopher’s life. Christopher’s perspective is explored within the novel through technique such as the differentiation between the characters, and the use of language...
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...Conquering or overcoming various challenges, can positively affect one's confidence in oneself to accomplish anything. In the novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon, an autistic young boy named Christopher faces many hurdles, but with some perseverance and determination, he is able to get over these hurdles. Christopher is left with a sense of pride and joy after he achieves the goals he set for him-self that at one point may have seemed impossible. The obstacles he faced and conquered, gave him the confidence to take more risks and try new things that for him are very difficult things to do. He is also left with a feeling that he can do anything that he sets his mind to. The barriers that were once standing in Christopher”s way are now gone and this has increased his sense of self confidence. After achieving the goals that he set for...
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...so Haddon set out to write a new book to please this new desire. He did not know this book was going to turn out to be about a fifteen year-old autistic boy. Haddon, known for his children’s books, was highly recognized for his most recent piece of literature, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and received multiple awards, but was mostly heavily criticized for the piece of literature. These criticisms are still present and haunt the novel. Mark Haddon was born September 26, 1962 in Northampton, England. Marathon canoeing, writing, and abstract painting are his biggest passions. During his early career he used to assist patients with Multiple Sclerosis and Autism, and worked many other part-time jobs, including a theater box office and a mail-order business. Haddon obtained a formal education at Merton College, Oxford, and Edinburgh University. Haddon also worked as an illustrator and cartoonist for many periodicals. One of his most famous cartoon strips is one called “Men a User’s Guide”. He also wrote several children’s television series, like Microsoap, and Starstreet. But, he is most famous for his children’s books, especially his most recent piece The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. His most recent piece has won several awards and is popular amongst all age groups, even though it was intended to be a novel pointed towards adults. Haddon says in an interview with Dave Weich that, “It was definitely for adults, but maybe I should say more specifically:...
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...Emily Crosby ENG 4UE Ms. Parsons May 3rd, 2015 Setting in Hamlet and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time In many situations, the way that people act and react to certain situations is the deciding factor towards the reasons that others judge them. However, Christopher John Francis Boone, from the novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, has no control over this certain aspect of his life. He cannot control his feelings or his initial instinct on how to react to something that does not necessarily please him. Christopher’s way of dealing with situations that he is not used to is similar to that of Hamlet in the novel, Hamlet. Both of these characters allow the setting of their lives, and the routine procedures that they are used to going through on a daily basis, to cause them to falter when something does not necessarily go their way. Hamlet grows up in Denmark, he knows the country and the people of his country better than anyone. Then, when his father mysteriously dies, his uncle marries his mother just two months after the death of his father, and Hamlet finds the people, and more so the country itself, undistinguishable. This is similar to the story of Christopher because Christopher’s biggest fear was straying from the very routine life style that he was living. Christopher and Hamlet both grow and change as characters throughout their novels as the setting and atmosphere change and force them to adapt to those changes. To begin with, Christopher...
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...Sharer and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Rationale For my English course we studied two texts, The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. I decided to write on The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time because I think the book has an interesting and unique plot. I have chosen to write three diary entries. This text type is appropriate because diaries are personal and reveal feelings that contribute to the furthering of the plot. The purpose of my characters diary entries is to reveal their inner emotions and feelings. The intended audience for the diary entries are the characters themselves, as only they will read their diary. I will write three diary entries in the characters of Christopher, Father and Mother. I have deliberately used swear words in Father’s diary entry as he swears a lot throughout the book, and it reflects his personality. As Mother misspells many words in her letters to Christopher, I use clumsy spelling in her diary entry, to present her the way the reader knows her from the book. Father’s Diary Hello Dairy, I can’t believe Christopher is still poking around in other people’s business after I told him several bloody times to mind his own f*&%ing business. I have to think of something fast. He’s a clever boy. He could find out, he could find out about everything. I can’t let that happen. Maybe if I hadn’t killed that bloody dog in the first place...
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...Aspergers is considered a rare syndrome and is a form of Autism. Mayo Clinic says there are fewer than 200,000 diagnosed cases in America per year and is found more in males after age 3. Christopher is the protagonist in the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Christopher is a 15 year old boy living in Swindon, England and has aspergers. The theme of the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is that people struggle with things they don't understand, such as Christopher who can't comprehend emotions or body language, being introverted, and being scared of strangers. The first struggle that Christopher has is not be able to understand emotion or body language. While Christopher is trying to explain how his aid...
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...Mark Haddon’s 2003 mystery novel ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time,’ examines how diverse perspectives are presented through numerous language and stylistic techniques. Predominant techniques used to convey these perspectives include the first-person narrative perspective of Christopher, the narrative conversion through letters from mother, and Christopher’s interactions with society. These techniques contribute to the development and exploration of perspectives throughout the novel. Haddon’s use of first-person narration enables the reader to experience Christopher’s perception of the world and his terminal struggle with human interaction and fundamental concepts. This technique provides an understanding of living with Asperger’s...
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...Being able to to face you fears is a challenge. Overcoming your fears is another challenge. If we dont face our fears they will consume us if we don't overcome them. ' The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time' is a novel written by Mark Haddon it is about a fifteen year old boy, Christopher Boom who has aspergers syndrome. Christophers Aspergers syndrome makes understanding humans, and becoming independent a hard challenge. Theses are are all challenges Christopher faces in this novel. Christopher writes a book about the muder of a dogbut it is not just about the mystery of who killed Wellington but what Challenges Christopher faces and overcomes. Being Independent is ais what teenagers strive for. Being independent is about being...
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...always the brave one, and me – I was the one who cried at every obstacle that had been thrown at me. I remember climbing up the monkey bars with her and being too afraid to come down. She was afraid too, even though she stubbornly denied it. Being the risk taker she was, she had pushed away her fears and jumped, she scraped her knee pretty bad but it was all worth it to her. But me? I stayed up on the monkey unwilling to come down until my parent came and carried me down. And that was one example of us being different. “People may react to adverse circumstances in different ways.” For example – Liesel form The Book Thief by Mark Zusak may react to adversity differently than Elie Wiesel would and so can Christopher from The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon. Everyone is different with their own schema and that’s what makes them unique. Throughout the book Christopher’s most challenging adversity was dealing with emotions. Christopher solves problem with logic and perseverance, emotions are not needed. After discovering...
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...The book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a novel by Mark Haddon. The book is written in the perspective of a fifteen year old boy named Christopher John Francis Boone, who is never directly stated to have the autism spectrum condition, but it is strongly suggested that he does as many of his behaviors are indicative the autism exceptionality. Christopher lives with his father, Ed Boone, who is a boiler engineer who has been raising Christopher alone for the last two years since his mother, Judy, seemingly passed away from a heart attack. One night, Christopher discovers that his neighbor’s dog, Wellington, has been killed with the use of a garden fork. Wellington’s owner, Eileen Shears calls the police and Christopher...
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...The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time is written by Mark Haddon. This is a murder mystery novel with strange feeling. Christopher is fifteen years old boy, who is the narrator and detector in the story, but suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome diseases. He is intelligent in math but hardly know something about human beings and their emotions. It’s good to learn something new from others and that feeling I found in Christopher because even though he has difficulty in understanding emotions but he is always curious to know what it mean. In the novel he took help from Siobhan to draw different faces and what they meant and how people react in such situation. Even he doesn’t know why people tell lies and takes lot of time in thinking what the metaphor means. Christopher makes comparison between human beings and animals and though he loves animals. It’s true that animals are honest and never say lie in their life. But it doesn’t mean that people are saying lie by using metaphor and by lots of talking without using any words. For example: we had a real pig of a day. He think that people said lie because there is no relationship between pig and a day as also known as not correlated to each other. I think it doesn’t mean that people are telling lie if they doesn’t share any relation, but different people think differently and it might confusing and goes in opposite directions. When he finds that his father was crying alone in the living room, but he didn’t understand that his...
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