The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Essay Example for Free

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Essay Sam Hickory February 17, 2010 Hum/Eng.9 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time In the novel, the voice of Christopher is important because if it was told from a different perspective it would be difficult to understand what goes on in Christopher’s mind and what the traits of a person with autism are. If this story was told from the perspective of a different character for example, Christopher’s father, the story would mainly be about how his wife left him, how its hard to take care of a child with autism and would not include the death of Wellington. If he included all of this in his point of view in the story then it would be less entertaining and interesting to read. Then Mark Haddon’s purpose of showing the world what it is like to be autistic would not be accomplished. First of all, Christopher’s voice is important because if it was told from a different perspective it would be different to understand what Christopher is thinking and what the traits of a person with autism are. He tells his story the way he sees it. He also includes many details and descriptions of the people around him. For example, in the beginning of the story he mentions a descriptive image of Siobhan, he writes, â€Å"Siobhan has long blond hair and wears glasses which are made of green plastic† (5). Christopher does not understand figurative language because he takes everything very literal. In the beginning of the story, Christopher mentions an important detail about his novel, he writes,†this will not be a funny book. I cannot tell jokes because I do not understand them† (8). Throughout the story, Christopher mentions little details about himself like how he doesn’t like being touched, being in big crowds, and does not like strangers and will keep asking the same question over and over again until his question is Alexus Martinez February 17, 2010 Hum/Eng.9 answered. As you can see, these little details help interpret what the traits are to a person with autism. Christopher needs order and stability as he deals with autism because it makes his life happy and safe. Anything that jeopardizes this not only damages his mental state, but also brings him physical pain. Second, if this story was told from Christopher’s dad perspective, the story would mainly be about how his wife left him, how it is hard to take care of a child with autism and throughout all of this he would not mention the death of Mrs. Shear’s dog, Wellington. Christopher’s father, Ed Boone, would start talking about the past with his wife and how she left him. For example, in the middle of the book, he sees that Christopher read the letters from his mother, he says, â€Å"I did it for your own good, Christopher. Honestly I did. I never meant to lie. I just thought†¦I just thought it would be better if you did not know†¦that†¦that†¦I did not mean to†¦I was going to show you when you were older† (114). This shows that Christopher’s father told his son lies because deep down inside of him he was hurt still and tried to forget about the pain in him by not mentioning her name. Throughout the story, Christopher’s father has patience for his son once in a while. He is a good father and even though he sometimes loses his temper, he still loves Christopher. The hardest thing for Christopher’s father is telling Christopher to be staying out of peoples business. He tells him this because Christopher wants to find out who killed Wellington which bothers his father. Whenever Christopher mentions Mr. Shear’s name, it upsets him because Christopher’s father’s wife had an affair with Mr. Shears. For example, in the story, Christopher mentions about Mr. Shears being the prime suspect and his Alexus Martinez February 17, 2010 Hum/Eng.9 father shouts saying, â€Å"I will not have that man’s name mentioned in my house† (49). He says this because every time he hears Mr. Shears name in his home, it brings him pain but also gets him upset. Throughout the story, Christopher mentions a lot about himself. The things he likes and what he dislikes. He also mentions about Siobhan and how she helps him through his life. If this story were told from the perspective of Christopher’s father it would not be interesting or entertaining like the way Christopher put it. His father would not include any math pictures and equations that Christopher included or the way he always talked about his dreams and the way he thought about people. Christopher’s father would not include any of this or may not include his opinions on things. If none of this was included in the story if told from the father’s perspective, it would make the book dull and boring. In conclusion, the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, the voice of Christopher is very important because he tells it from his point of view. If it was told from Christopher’s father, Ed Boone’s point of view, it would be different to understand what Christopher is thinking and what the traits are to a person with autism are. Christopher’s father would mainly include the past with his wife and how it is to raise a child with autism. He would not include the death of Wellington. If the novel did not include any of this, the book would be less entertaining and interesting. Then Mark Haddon’s purpose of showing the world what it is like to be autistic would not be accomplished. The book would not be that good of a book if it was told through a different perspective. Alexus Martinez February 17, 2010 Hum/Eng.9 Works Cited 1. Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. New York: A Division of Random House, Inc, 2003.