The Incident Of The Dog

Ed Boone has good intentions toward Christopher and only wishes the best for him, even though his actions and decisions are not always the best. He hid the letters, that Christopher’s mother sent Christopher. He also lied to Christopher about his mother, telling Christopher that she died of a heart attack. Even though the things Ed did look evil and bad hearted, he did it out of love. Just like he killed Wellington, Mrs. Shears dog, because he loved her and she rejected him, and Ed got out of control. Ed lied and hid the letters from Christopher because Christopher, being a person with special needs, did not feel sad and take the divorce and separation of his parents too deeply and harshly. Ed also did this so Christopher would not leave him, because Ed loves him a lot. After Ed found out that Christopher read the letters, he apologized and said, “I’m sorry, Christopher, I’m so, so sorry” [Page 114]. Ed even said and told Christopher it was for his safety and for good, that it was all for a good cause. Ed said,

Christopher is unable to comprehend the motivations that cause his father’s actions. When confessing to killing Wellington, Ed attempts to articulate his frustration at the false hope Mrs. Shears would a lend a hand during his separation with Judy; yet Christopher still loses control “scream[ing] and push[ing] [Ed] backwards so that he f[alls] off the bed and onto the floor” (122). While the initial reaction of shock seems justified, Christopher never completely forgives his father or even acknowledges the difficult circumstances his mother and Mrs. Shears created, or the fact that Ed decides to finally tell the truth about the crime. The lapse in judgment likely stems from Christopher’s challenge in identifying emotions, due to his autism, making him unable to understand the reasoning his father used to kill the dog. Even apologizing has no effect on Christopher because he cannot distinguish the crime from the intent. Christopher forgives his mother for abandoning him almost instantaneously, yet he cannot let go of the death of Wellington even as his father breaks down crying in apology and “Promise[s] [he] will never do anything like that again” (197). Christopher’s inability to forgive frustrates the reader as Ed clearly shows remorse for his actions and cares for Christopher, as evidenced by the heartfelt apology, yet Christopher still stays with his mother, who shows less outward remorse for leaving Ed and her son in a pitiable state. Not only does the relationship between Ed and Christopher fall apart, it is unable to be recovered completely by any amount of apology or explanation due to Christopher’s incapability to weigh the fact that Ed’s actions were a result of the poor circumstance that Ed is forced to endure, while still trying to provide a positive life for his

Christopher’s mental instability places an enormous strain on his parents, together with their relationships with each other and Christopher. After Ed Boone becomes a single father, the relationship between him and Christopher is put under even more tension, as both are affected by a lack of stability. This is conveyed through a contrast between Ed’s emotive language and Christopher’s dry tone in his journal – ‘… and he said, “I need a fucking drink.” And he got himself a can of beer.’ This simultaneously demonstrates Christopher’s lack of empathy towards his father’s emotional state and Ed’s frustration at his son, and therefore the negative impact that the lack of stability of both characters has had on their

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.

In the story The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon Christopher travels around England in search of his mother. During Christopher’s journey he encounters many problems that force Christopher to go outside out of his comfort zone and mature. Christopher is forced to talk to strangers, practice self control and learns how to be forgiving because of his journey. Christopher began the story as a child who is dependent on others, during the course of Christopher’s journey Christopher becomes independent and proactive, in general for kids to become independent they need to be given an opportunity to solve problems on their own.

Ed has many fears in the novel, The Messenger, and his greatest fear is to 'not end up like his father'. His dad is an alcoholic, quiet man whom does not have a bad word for anyone and works everyday. In addition, Ed wants words at his funeral unlike his dad. His mum always describes him as a

Ed’s inability to deal with the loss of Judy is also depicted through random and unforeseen bursts of anger and the extreme lashing out at Christopher “grabbed my arm really hard”, “he had never done that before”. Ed’s failure to raise Christopher on his own and the loss

The novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, by Mark Haddon is a story about fifteen year old Christopher Boone who, though never stated, has defined autistic like characteristics. The story begins with the murder of the neighbor’s dog, Wellington. Christopher Boone sets out to uncover the mystery of who kill the neighbors dog but instead, uncovers so much more. He discovers that his mother, who he always believed to be dead, is actually alive and living in London with someone else and his father is the one who killed Wellington, the neighbors dog. He decides he will go on a journey in search of his mother leaving his father behind and describes his experience along the way.

Christopher's father is at times, patient and helpful while at others, he can be impulsive and deceitful. In the text, in some cases, Ed showed some characteristics of heroism, when he attempted to explain to his son, what is a caution, mentioning that it is "a record of what [Christopher] did". Moreover, when Christopher told Ed, "it wasn't an accident", Ed, patiently explain to Christopher how "serious [things can get]", with just this caution notice. Furthermore, Ed's heroism was also illustrated after Judy separated from him, unable to take care of her 'autistic' son, whilst, Ed had to "cooked [Christopher's] meals; cleaned his clothes...and went to school every time he got into a fight". However, in other parts of the novel, Ed inevitably finds it difficult to control his anger. In The Curious Incident, when Ed finds out about Christopher's ongoing murder mystery hunt, Ed uses both violence and force to calm both himself down and to get Christopher to understand the reason behind why he opposes against this hunt. Furthermore, Ed's impulsive behaviour is later also displayed when he finds out that Christopher went to talk to Mrs. Alexander after he pleads him to stop his investigation. Though, Ed asked the question, "Is this true? Did you talk to Mrs. Alexander", in a quiet tone; and as soon as Christopher replies, "yes", his voice raised, shouting "Holy fucking Jesus" "How stupid are you".

1. The exaggerated usage of the words said and asked shows me that in Christopher's mind this conversation between the policeman and himself was like an interrogation. The repetitious use of these words shows that this conversation had turned from a friendly chat to an overwhelming bombardment of statements and questions.

In Mark Haddon's, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, Christopher unravels many of the mysteries in his life. First, Christopher finds out who killed Wellington. Then, Christopher learns the truth about his mother. Lastly, Christopher completes his Maths A-Levels. The novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night displays success throughout the achievements of one's goals no matter the circumstances.

You might not notice how often Christopher mentions lying in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – until he's hit with one very big lie that turns his world upside-down. Through out the book Christopher explains how he believes that lies at pointless. He can't help but take lying very seriously, since he's so dependent on those around him to help him understand the subtle aspects of human interaction. But he allows himself more wiggle room in sometimes telling some fibs, especially when he sets out on his forbidden detective adventure. He bends the truth in a way by saying “white-lies.” Which is the truth but just not the full truth. When began investigating who killed Wellington and he found out his dad killed the dog, he then

1990 Prompt In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Christopher’s autism prevents him from interacting normally with other people. Christopher’s father does the best he can to raise Christopher by himself, but he struggles with alcoholism and fails to understand the full extent of Christopher’s illness. Christopher’s dad tells Christopher that his mom died from a heart attack, but Christopher later finds out that she had an affair and ran away with Mr. Shears. Christopher runs away to his mother’s apartment because he believes he cannot trust his dad.

On Thursday 18th June 2015 I went to see ‘The Curious Incident of The Dog In the Night-Time’ at the Gielgud Theatre in London. I knew before I went to see the performance was that it is about a boy with autism. I was told from others that had seen the play that it was really good so I had reasonably high expectations. The play is set in modern day. Throughout the play we see a boy called Christopher who has autism, the play is shown from his point of view. We see his thoughts and feelings and how he reacts to different situations and why. There are several themes within the play such as honesty, loneliness and gaining a deeper insight into autism.

Out of the four books that I was allowed to choose from, my choice was "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime" by Mark Haddon. Looking at the other books, I could already tell that some would seem more interesting than others. After reading countless summaries and reviews, it became apparent that this book was for me. The other books were fascinating and captivating, but they are all based on topics that have been used numerous times before. Based on the summaries that I have read, this book is about a young boy with behavioral problems and a fondness for mathematics solving the mysterious death of his neighbor's dog. When I first read what the book was about, it did not strike me as a 'must-read book that's a challenge to put down.'