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The Importance of Human Connections Explored in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

Decent Essays

In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon uses Christopher’s unique voice to show the importance of human connection and communication within our world. In doing so, Haddon is able to communicate the importance of order and stability in Christopher’s life. This creates a unique perspective of an aspergus sufferer, enabling an exploration of the difficulties inherent in raising an autistic child and thus alters the perceptions of the reader concerning the complex connection between disability and dependence.
Narration has a formative influence on the way in which the reader responds to the text. Within his novel, Haddon conveys the perceptions of the logic and order-based reliance of aspergus sufferers through the emotionless mind of the protagonist, Christopher Boone. As a consequence of this narrative style, the reader often feels disconnected and relates his mindscape to the real world. The words ‘I wouldn’t have Shreddies and tea because they are both brown’ unveil one aspect of Christopher’s continuous struggle between emotion and logic. The quote reveals how actions and emotional responses are tied to colours and patterns in an attempt to create order over often-extreme emotional responses. The focus on order is furthered by Haddon’s use of footnotes, which expresses the nature of Christopher’s highly factual mind and reinforces his inherent need for stability and logic. Repetition within the later quote ‘Grabbed hold of me and pulled me… He

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