In the book “How To Read Literature Like A Professor” by Thomas C. Foster, many elements are brought to the reader’s attention. Three of these elements, happen to connect with the novel, “the curious incident of the dog in the night-time” written by Mark Haddon. One element from “How To Read Literature Like A Professor” that connects with the novel is death. In the beginning of the novel, the main character, Christopher, discovers a dead dog that belonged to one of his neighbors. In the book, Christopher says, “The dog was lying on the grass in the middle of the lawn in front of Mrs. Shears’s house. Its eyes were closed. It looked as if it was running on its side, the way dogs run when they think they are chasing a cat in a dream. But the dog was not running or asleep. The dog was dead.” After Christopher was falsely accused of killing Wellington, the dog, he decided he wanted to “play detective” and discover who killed him. Another way death was brought into the novel was when Christopher’s father told him, that his mother had passed away. He then learned, a couple years later, through letters, that his mother was still alive, and had moved to London with Mr. Shears, also known as Roger. Later on, when Christopher’s father apologized for keeping the letters from him, and admitted to killing Wellington, Christopher could no longer trust him, which consequently led to Christopher beginning his journey to London, to find and stay with his mother. Another element that
-We have to carefully compare and contrast all parts of the sonnet in order to see the deeper meaning that all sonnets hold.
Analysis: Compare chapter 20 :How to Read Literature Like a Professor-“…So Does Season” to part four (chapter 1) of The Fountainhead.
HTR Chapters 5 and 6 The work of William Shakespeare is widely known and respected, I think it is safe to assume that many authors may draw an inspiration from his writing. Chapter 5 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor deals with authors using Shakespearean text to create their own work, allowing them to say more while at the same time using fewer words. Like Mr.Foster states, “He’s everywhere, in every literary form you can think of. And he’s never the same:every age and every writer reinvents its own Shakespeare.”
Analysis: Compare chapter 23:How to Read Literature Like a professor-“it’s never just heart disease to part one chapter 15 of The fountainhead.
There are five aspects of a quest discussed by Thomas C. Foster in How To Read Literature Like a Professor. They are “(a.) a quester, (b) a place to go, (c) a stated reason to go there, (d) challenges and trials en route, and (e) a real reason to go there” (Foster 3). These five aspects all apply to Charles Dicken’s Great Expectations. The quester is Pip, the place to go is London, the stated reason is for Pip to become a gentleman and be worthy of winning over Estella. The final aspect, a real reason to go there, could be for him to realize that money cannot find happiness, that being too ambitious can blind someone from what is truly important, or to state that Pip was better off as a common boy with good morals and manners.
This essay will be an analytical essay where the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon will be analyzed and interpreted. The focus will be on the language of the novel and the themes and messages.
To write a good mystery novel takes time and only a few authors have been successful in writing them. Mystery novels has been around for a period of time with historical authors such as Arthur Conan Doyle and recent author Stephen King. In these novels, clues are provided by the author and Christopher Boone, narrator of the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, states, “If it is a good puzzle you can sometimes work out the answer before the end of the book” (5). In relation to this, the most valuable information is typically gained throughout the process of the investigation rather than the solution itself. Although the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is not classified as a detective story, the plot still goes through an investigation and shares elements of a mystery novel. The mystery within the story that keeps the novel going is to find the killer of Mrs. Shears’ poodle, Wellington, and in turn, shapes the ending where the audience sees the development of the protagonist, Christopher, through the investigation itself, the journey to London and his overall ability as a writer.
The book I selected to read during this semester is the literary classic The Call of the Wild, a 1903 novel by award-winning author Jack London. I chose to read this story because it is a classic novel and the heroic tone of the novel appealed to me. The novel tells of an initially pampered dog, Buck, and the progression of his tendency to revert to the inner instincts of fierce violence and extreme competition instilled in him. In the process, Buck goes through several different masters before finally landing with the right one. The Call of the Wild is made interesting by the literary devices used in the novel, the simple and robust tone used by London, and the process that the protagonist Buck undergoes in reverting back to his
In the opening chapter of Thomas C. Foster’s book, he explains the importance of a Quest. It is quite hard to figure out a quest, Foster explains that in an example about a young boy who goes to the supermarket and encounters his “nemesis.” Quests are the core base of a story since it involves just about everything a story is trying to portray. For example it includes the quester, a place to go, a stated reason to go there, challenged and trials during the journey, and a real reason to go there. These are all main components in a story. Foster states “The real reason for a quest is always self-knowledge.” He means that the Quest is to help
When reading chapter 101 of the novel “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time”, the main
“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” was written by Mark Haddon, in May 2003. Haddon’s novel is written from the first perspective to ensure Christopher’s point of view was well distinguished and prominent. Throughout the novel Haddon made use of various techniques to present each character with different perspectives, including the use of letters throughout the novel, allowing the author to give Christopher’s mother a voice. Christopher’s perspective was explored further using themes such as prime numbers and symbols, incorporating a range of stylistic features and techniques to assist the readers understanding of Christopher perspective and view of his world, logic and behaviour patterns. Through using the first person perspective,
First, In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Haddon uses the murder investigation of Wellington to symbolize Christopher’s search for the truth, and his steady exit from his comfort zone. According to “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
For those looking for a novel both playful and poignant, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is the tail for you! This book boasts of a thrilling plot which leaves readers hooked and unsure of what’s going to happen next. It’s such an unexpected story and a roller coaster of emotions. Moreover, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has an exceptionally unique format. To illustrate, chapters are numbered with prime numbers (a favorite of Christopher Boone) not the typical consecutive order. Haddon also frames the text in a way that compliments the plot through the inclusion of outside information. For example, Boone notes the formula for the population of animals and draws a rather striking conclusion; “it means sometimes
Aproximately a year ago I had read a book named The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It is a mistery novel wrote by Mark Haddon. And today I want to do a review of this book.
Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. New York: Doubleday, 2003. Print.