The curious dogblog

 The Curios Incident of a Dog in The Night-Time 

 

Retrieved from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Curious_Incident_of_the_Dog_in_the_Night-Time_%28play%29 

Author: The writer of the book is Mark Haddon, an award-winning author who has written numerous books for both children and adults. He is best known for his 2003 novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which won the Whitbread Book Award for Best Novel and the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book. Haddon has also written several children’s books such as The Red House and A Spot of Bother. He is currently a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and resides in Oxfordshire, England.​ (Wikipedia, 2022)​​ (Gyldendal, n.d.)​

Author, Mark Haddon

Retrieved from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturenews/9311242/Mark-Haddon-dont-use-Curious-Incident...-as-an-autism-textbook.html

Plot and analysis: 

The Curios Incident of a Dog in The Night-Time is a book about a 15-year-old boy called Christopher Boone. He has Asperger’s syndrome and lives in Swindon in Wiltshire, with his father. The book finds place in 1998. 

Christopher is a static character, meaning that throughout the entire book he is the same. Christopher does not like yellow, brown or being touched and loves red, maths and telling the truth. The fact that he does not like being touched most likely has something to do with his syndrome. Because he does not like to be touched, instead of hugging, he spreads his fingers out in a fan and lets them touch his father’s fingers or the fingers of whoever he is “hugging”. This is how Christopher, and his father tells each other that they love one another. 

There are multiple themes in the book. These are some of them: 

• Difficulties in the family 

• Love and cheating 

• Having Asperger’s syndrome  

• Death 

• Feelings 

 

A short summary: 

Christopher lives with only his father, because his mother died of a heart attack some years ago. When Christopher goes out in the neighborhood, he finds his neighbor’s dog dead with a garden fork in his body. Christopher wants to find out who killed Wellington, and he also finds out that his mother did not die and lives in London, and that his father killed Wellington. He decides to travel to London even though he has never travelled by himself, because he fears his father and feels unsafe staying home. Christopher is thinking “If he killed the dog what will stop him from killing me”. When Christopher and his pet rat, Toby finally arrive in London after taking many trains and being followed by the police, he finds his way to his mother’s house. 

There are multiple symbols used in the book. Christopher loves the color red. Red is a symbol of love. When he sees three or more red cars in a row his day will be good. He also hates yellow. Yellow is a symbol of the sun and warmth but also, in this book, a symbol of sickness. When Christopher sees four yellow cars in a row it is considered a black day, a day when he does not eat or talk to anyone. Wellington the dog is a symbol of Christopher’s safety. Christopher also wants to take the A-level math test, as this is a symbol of his dreams for the future. He also always goes around with a Swiss Army Knife in his pocket. The knife symbolizes that he does not feel safe and always needs to protect himself. 

The turning point is when he finds some letters addressed to him from his mother written after her death. How could she write after she died? At this point the tension rises. The climax is when he decides to go to London to find his mother.  

I think the message the author sends by writing this book, is that things are not always like it seems. Things can also be much harder for someone with Asperger’s. The book can be seen as a guide to how some with Asperger’s wants or does not want to be treated.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments on the book: 

The book is written in an interesting way as it is not written like any ordinary book. Because it is meant to be written by a boy with Asperger’s he communicates in a strange, very literal way. He often explains the meaning of basic things and sayings because he himself often does not understand them and must have them explained to him. He also often writes very long sentences simply using “and” to make it go on and on without stopping. This all makes for a unique read as most books are written with more humor, similes/metaphors and expressions. 

 

Opinion: 

As mentioned before, this book is quite unique because of how different the protagonist is from most protagonists. His views on the world and the way he communicates with other people is fascinating to read. It's obvious the main selling point of this book is not that is has some action-packed adventure, but that is goes deep and tells you about something new and different. The book also has an open ending that allows for speculation. I really like this approach that the author took. Seeing the world from such a different perspective while having an ending that opens for speculation is something that has paid off well for this book. Overall a great read and reccomended for people looking to find an unusual type of story.

 

Favorite quotes: 

“I know I can do things other people can't do and so I'm special.”  

Christopher says this to illustrate his confidence in his own abilities. I like this quote because it highlights his resilience and determination to overcome the challenges he faces.  

 

“I think people believe lies because they want to believe them.”  

Christopher is a critical thinker that often uses logic to find answers. That’s why i like this quote from him, because it shows he is very aware when making desicions and does not allow himself to be biased.

 

“I am not an animal. I am a human being. I am a man.”  

This quote speaks to Christopher’s desire to be seen as an individual and not simply be put in a category of people. It also emphasizes the importance of understanding and respecting individual differences. 

 

 

​​Sources: 

​​Gyldendal. (n.d.). Mark Haddon. Retrieved from Gyldendal: https://www.gyldendal.no/forfattere/mark-haddon/a-10011370-no/ 

​Sparknotes. (n.d.). The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time. Retrieved from Sparknotes: https://www.sparknotes.com/search?q=The%20Curious%20Incident%20of%20the%20Dog%20in%20the%20Night-time 

​Wikipedia. (2022, Oktober 24). Mark Haddon. Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Haddon