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The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime Essay

Decent Essays

In Mark Haddon’s novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, 15 year old Christopher Boone investigates the death of his neighbor’s dog, Wellington. During his investigation he discovers information that changes his life and parents’. The book shares similar characteristics to Fangirl, a novel by Rainbow Rowell.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime is categorized as a mystery novel with a contemporary narration. The book is read through the protagonist, Christopher’s perspective. Mark Haddon creates a narrative in Swindon, England during 1998. Christopher alternates the narration from the story to information and facts that he finds relevant to the plot. Rainbow Rowell also switches from the narrative to passages from Cather’s (main character) fan fiction. Fangirl takes place …show more content…

Cath, short for Cather, feels intimidated by her new and unknown environment. Similar to Christopher, Cath prefers to keep to herself and steer away from crowds. She labels herself as “socially retarded.” Unlike Cather, Christopher’s social awkwardness is a result of his autism. An example of his behavior can be seen towards the end of the book when different strangers approach Christopher and he barks at them, almost instinctively. Equally noticeable, is both character’s constant desire to escape reality, Cather is gifted at writing and literature, allowing her to create an alternate world with her words. “To really be a nerd, she’d decided, you had to prefer fictional worlds to the real one.” Christopher is mathematically advanced; he distracts himself with numbers and math problems. He uses trivia problems to understand the outside world. He believes everything has a rational and scientific explanation. Christopher’s autism differentiates him from Cather. He is inclined toward logical and orderly thinking. Whereas, Cather prefers to analyze situations

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