Coming of Age in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon is the story of Christopher John Francis Boone’s adventures as told by him. The protagonist, Christopher, wrote the book as a murder mystery, describing his investigation of the killing of Mrs. Shears’ dog, Wellington. Nevertheless, as he tells his story, the reader gets a clearer image of Christopher’s life, finding out about his mother and all of the secrets present within his loved ones. Boone has some mental and behavior difficulties. All through the text, he has to struggle with his personal concerns as he investigates the murder of the poodle and searches for his mother. Via The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon presents the themes of coming of age and bravery.

Christopher John Francis Boone from Swindon is a exclusive, however genuine, sincere, and innocent individual. The protagonist clearly has a mental and behavioral disorder, which lead to him to have several eccentricities. Some of his behavioral issues consist of “not speaking to individuals for a lengthy time, not consuming or drinking something for a lengthy time, not liking being touched, screaming when [he is] angry or confused, and not liking yellow items or brown things” (46). When the police officer tried to get rid of his watch “[he] screamed” (13), a behavior uncharacteristic of a teenager. He “does not like hugging people” (16), even his own parents. It tends to make him feel uneasy and uncomfortable. These behaviors are not standard for a fifteen-year-old boy. In addition, he never ever responds to statements, only inquiries. He “find[s] people confusing” (14) since he has problems reading people’s facial expressions to recognize their feelings. When he does “not know what an individual is saying, [he asks] them what they imply or [he walks] away” (three), and odd, but standard behavior to him. He has difficulty choosing up and understanding his father’s emotions from time to time, tending to only understand himself. When Christopher’s father was “sitting on the sofa watching snooker on the television and drinking scotch, there were tears coming out of his eyes” (21). The protagonist cannot comprehend his father’s distress soon after choosing up his son from the police station. In the end, Christopher decides “to leave him alone due to the fact when [he] is sad [he] desires to be left alone” (21). In addition, Boone tends to make the odd comment that one particular may possibly think privately to himself, but would never ever be stated aloud. For instance, he adds how “Jason at school smells due to the fact his family is poor” (38). He is unaware that it is socially incorrect for him to make such a comment. Ultimately, he in no way tells lies because he claims that he “can’t tell lies” (19), a mindset that most youngsters regrettably do not have. Christopher clearly has a disability, but he does not let his disability stand in his way.

Just simply because Christopher has some mental disabilities does not mean he is lacking in intelligence it is the full opposite. Christopher notices every thing to the final detail, even the “little red hole in the policewoman’s tights on her left ankle and the red scratch in the middle of the hole” (6). He notices minute particulars that other folks would not “The globe is complete of obvious things which no one by any likelihood ever observes” (73), but Christopher does take the time to make these observations. Christopher describes his memory like a film:

When individuals ask me to don't forget anything I can merely press Rewind and Rapidly Forward and Pause like on a video recorder, but more like a DVD player since I do not have to Rewind via almost everything in among to get to a memory of something a lengthy time ago. And there are no buttons, either, simply because it is taking place in my head. (76)

The protagonist describes what appears to be a photographic memory like no other. He sees the world slightly differently to others, but creates a inventive comparison. However, he claims that he is not clever, and that “[he] just [notices] how things are, and that [is not] clever” (25). In addition, he even has some out of the ordinary talents. For example, he knows “all the countries of the globe and their capital cities and each and every prime quantity up to 7,057” (two). Clearly, he is gifted at math and is even preparing to take the math A level exam, which he later receives an “A” grade on. When contemplating an concern or issue, he often uses logic and mathematics to answer his inquiries. Christopher comments how “sometimes items are so complex that it is not possible to predict what they are going to do subsequent, but they are only obeying genuinely easy rules” (102), when discussing how to decipher the population of animals. He comments to his readers how when theta “is greater than three.57 the population becomes chaotic…proving that individuals can die for no cause whatsoever, just due to the fact that is the way the numbers work” (102). Some items that would seem really complicated to the average individual is basic for Christopher, as he uses his mathematics background and logical reasoning to come to conclusions, highlighting his intelligence.

Mark Haddon has a coming of age, maturation, theme running by means of his text. Christopher has to live with his disabilities, and at times, these problems can get in his way. All through the text, the protagonist shows a growth in maturity in the sense of becoming a lot more independent and self-sufficient when dealing with his mental and behavioral disabilities. At the begin of the text, Christopher has to deal with his idiosyncrasies, especially his fear of possessing individuals touch him. Towards the finish of the text, when he is with the police officer, he has obviously not conquered his disability, but he recognizes that he has one. He tells the cop, “You mustn’t touch me…because I got a caution for hitting a policeman, but I didn’t imply to hurt him and if I do it again I’ll get into even larger trouble” (150). He knows that if the policeman grabs him that he will turn out to be overwhelmed and would react negatively. Recognizing his weakness, he warns the police officer, a sign of maturity. At the begin of the text, Christopher has to rely a wonderful deal on other men and women, and has significantly insecurity about speaking to others. He admits to himself his insecurities even though saying, “It requires me a long time to get utilized to folks I do not know” (35).

Recognizing his faults is a big portion of handling them more effectively. When he wants to go to London to live with his mother, Christopher requires matters into his own hands, and does not rely on his father for assist. Displaying independence, he gets himself to London in a single piece. In addition, Christopher has a challenging time emotionally. He finds it difficult to really feel sad. When he tells his readers that his mother is dead, and that Mr. Shears is no longer around, Boone comments how “feeling sad about some thing that is not actual and doesn’t exist…would be stupid” (75). Nonetheless, later, when he finds out that his mother has actually been alive for years “[he] feels sick” (112). He was extremely upset by what his father had done. Christopher is maturing simply because he is overcoming the disability that is standing in his way. At the finish of the text, Christopher has much more self-self-assurance and believes in himself. He comments, “I went to London on my own, and since I solved the mystery of Who Killed Wellington? and I found my mother and I was brave and I wrote a book and that signifies I can do anything” (221). More than the course of the text, the protagonist became more independent, gained maturity with his disabilities, and became much more self-confident general. A coming of age theme is clearly prevalent in Haddon’s text.

Bravery is yet another theme in Mark Haddon’s novel. Because Christopher Boone has a disability, a lot of folks do not recognize him or have patience for him. He is named as “mad as a fucking hatter” (184), and can sometimes be really alone in the globe. Possessing to rely on only himself calls for bravery because it can be hard. After he found that his father had murdered Wellington, he became worried that his father could murder him. “[He] had to get out of the house” (122) and find a way to get to London by himself, something he had never accomplished ahead of. This would be a difficult process for a standard teenager, let alone a person with special requirements. He “had by no means been anywhere apart from the shop at the end of the road on [his] own” (129), so traveling to London was quite the feat for him. “The believed of going someplace on [his] own was frightening” to him (129). It required a lot of bravery for him to trek out into the unknown. Christopher described it “like stepping off the cliff on a tightrope” (145), but he just attempted to remain calm, taking “lots of deep breaths” (137), which made it significantly less painful for him. His mother knows what a feat this was for her son, commenting to him, “You’re very brave” (193). He conquers his fears and makes it to London safely, displaying the upmost bravery, a theme prevalent in Haddon’s text.

By means of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon presents the themes of coming of age and bravery. The story describes Christopher John Francis Boone’s adventures as told by him. The protagonist, Christopher, wrote the book as a murder mystery, describing his investigation of the killing of Mrs. Shears’ dog, Wellington. Nevertheless, as he tells his story, the reader gets a clearer image of Christopher’s life, understanding about his mother and all of the secrets present inside his family. Christopher Boone has some mental and behavior problems. Throughout the text, he has to struggle with his own troubles as he investigates the murder of the poodle and searches for his mother. The protagonist overcomes the obstacles in front of him and by the finish of the text, realizes that he can do something if he puts his mind to it – a useful lesson for any reader.