Amal Galib

This is my introduction to my new blog about The curious incident of the dog in the night-time 

The novel The curious incident of the dog in the night-time  Is about 15 year old autistic boy Christopher Boone, he is very gifted in that he has a very logical brain, and chatting with others is difficult because he only asks questions and answers them. The novel has lots of depth and is addictive! I really enjoy this novel even during the first few chapters. The book has some pictures that the narrator (Christopher Boone) puts in because some of the concepts that he talks about like math or science needs diagrams to show what he talks about. For example Christopher used to use pictures of faces to show his feelings because he cant express it in words. Like the picture above. I hope you enjoyed this my fellow bloggers rate and comment below.

And I'll come back at you with another about this fantastic novel ( don't worry about it, it'll be awesome).



The Setting 

Actual Swindon,  Train Station (Where Christopher would begin his trek to London)

In our first discussion of the setting of the novel we discussed and its significance according to the story itself. The main character Christopher Boone lives in Swindon, England in a house in a suburban area with his father Ed Boone and Christopher's pet rat Toby. The story is about Christopher and how he adapts to big changes in his life with autism. With Christopher's autism he needs to run on a schedule and have his day to day life planned out and if there are sudden changes he throws a tantrum. This is when the setting comes in,  if Christopher is not "capable" of handling sudden changes in his daily schedule like having an appointment    rescheduled, it would be very hard to cope with living or having to adapt in a new place. As we go on in the story we get to understand through Christopher's perspective how hard it is for home to adapt or live in a new place with a different format. Like when he runs away from his home in Swindon after he finds out his father killed the neighbors dog, Wellington, he goes to London  a huge city, to live with his mum is difficult and emotionally straining. The setting does not play a big role according to the story itself but Mark Haddon describes in that we understand how the main character Christopher,complex but literal, interprets the world around him. 


Questions about Setting




1.What was unique about the setting of the book and how did it enhance or take away from the story?
The setting of Swindon is very  ordinary like any other small town but it did increase the feeling of people living ordinary lives with very different struggles and hardship in their lives. When Christopher went on the train to go to London it did enhance the feeling of how big the world is outside of Swindon. Christopher realizes he is in a huge metropolitan all alone, nervous and scared. He handles it by doing whatever comforts him but to not start commotion by groaning. 


2. Where and when did the story take place?

  The story takes place in a suburban neighborhood in Swindon, England and the time of the story is in modern times it could range from the mid-ninties to early 2000`s. We know this through the  technology Christopher and the characters around him use, like a  computer and since Christopher`s father uses a pager for his business  then we can assume that it was set in the mid- nineties when windows 95 came out) to early 2000`s (when most people used pagers).


3.Does the setting play a major role in the novel?


        The setting does not play a major role in the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night- Time but it had to be noted to show where Christopher's investigations led him to go. 


4.What if the story was set in a different country? Would the story be different?
     
      If the story was set in a different country the story might be different because different societies
would speak different languages and cultural practices. In some countries in the world rats like Toby ( Christopher's pet rat) would not be a house pet so some elements in the story would be lost. If the story was set in, perhaps Canada the story would not change at all because British and Canadian life and culture are pretty much the same since our founding fathers were British. The over all major events in the novel would not have changed, there are the same types of people who would be in the novel. Also some places like where Christopher's school location could be even farther from his house or very close. There might not be the train station where he undertakes the journey to find his mother. Many details would be different but the overall plot would still be similar. 


5.What type of people live in Christopher's neighborhood?


              The type of people who live in Christopher's neighborhood in the small suburb of Swindon, Wiltshire are very different in that they play various personifications. For example Mrs. Alexander is the lady who lives down the street from Christopher; she is very nice and welcoming to him
and eventually tells Christopher the actual truth about Mr and Mrs. Shears , so we understand that the neighbors gossip. We know that through Christopher that the next door neighbors are "druggies" and he never is alone out of night because they are scary; that really does explain that the neighbors might put him in danger so that they are not to be trusted (which is why Christopher has a hard time trusting others). So the people in his neighborhood do not effect him in any major since Christopher is not social.


6.Does this setting  effect how Christopher act, feel or behave?


    The setting does not effect how Christopher acts or behaves, it is more of the people in the setting of school or at home who confuse him or make him angry to throw a tantrum. When the story starts to take place in London , Christopher starts to feel really nervous and he felt really angry at Judy Boone's Flat because Mr. Shears lives there too. 
 
7.What are the places within Swindon does Christopher regularly goes?


   The places within Swindon he regularly goes to is the local convenience store to buy his licorice and his special school. Christopher does not really go to other places besides the ones listed because he works on a schedule and he hates going to new places because he cannot really map them out. That is why it is so hard and terrifying for Christopher Boone to go somewhere new. 


8.How is it like for Christopher to step out of his regular route to school or home?


    Christopher does not like at all to change any thing from his schedule , let alone taking a different route like through the park would not make him feel unsafe. One exception he made in the story was when Christopher
needed information for his investigation on Wellington's death. He once made a big step in going to the neighbor's houses to ask if they knew who killed the dog named Wellington, he once asked Mrs. Alexander who was at the convenience store about Mrs. Shears and her late dog. Then she asked Christopher if they should walk and talk through the park, Christopher said no because she was a stranger to him and the park is unsafe. So Christopher does not like to change routes but made sacrifices so he can get more information and evidence about the case without his father knowing about it. 


9.How does Christopher begin to broaden his horizons in the novel?


      Christopher begins to broaden his horizons in the beginning of his investigation. He went to the neighbors' houses to ask question for his investigation, which he has never done before. Christopher rebels against his father so he can figure out this case that is so important to Christopher. Christopher wanted to know why somebody would do such a thing to a dog, so he stepped out of his comfort zone to ask more questions from Mrs. Alexander, since she had more information and was more willing than the other neighbors. Then Christopher really then takes another huge step by going to the train station all alone to find his mother.

10.What is it like for Christopher to go to a new and extremely different place like London?
It was extremely difficult for Christopher to go to a new place like London because there is so much busyness in train stations and other obstacles that he had to overcome. Christopher tried not to groan and fall to the ground but great nervousness and new environments that he had to deal with were to overwhelming. So his feet start to tremble and falls to the ground.  

Literature Circle 2: Characters


Christopher Boone: The main character of the novel The curious incident of the dog in the night-time  is 
Christopher is a very complex and simple person at the same time.

He cant really relate to people's feelings and is therefore incapable of being empathetic or try to envision the feelings of others around him or depicting facial expressions of others. Christopher

relates well to animals, he shows this through his affection to his pet rat Toby and how he holds the neighbor's dog Wellington and questions who can do such an evil thing. In chapter 8 he explains how likes dogs because you know what a dog is thinking because they have four moods. Happy, sad, cross and concentrating. Whereas in people its almost impossible to know what they are thinking or feeling and that confuses Christopher. He also mentions how dogs are faithful and they do no tell lies because they cannot talk. Christopher 

 Christopher's autism (although not mentioned by name) led him to have a hard time understanding jokes and metaphors because there isn't a straightforward answer to them; which leads Christopher not being sociable and having conversations with others pointless. 
Christopher is very proud of his strengths that come from his type of autism, like how he has an extraordinary memory that is able to recall a event in exceptional accuracy and attention to detail.Christopher is incredible at mathematics and sciences, he loves it so much that he practices and reads about i it everyday. It gives him time to concentrate on it and give him time to alone in peace because he has an inability to be social.  Christopher has a strong desire for independence throughout the novel . He shows this by rebelling against his father by still 
investigating the death of Wellington the neighbor's dog. Christopher yearns for taking care for himself, for example if his father doesn't make a meal he can whip something up for himself. Christopher dreams every night that he could be the only person in the world. But since that wont happen he pursues that he will become an independent adult by working hard to complete his A-  level maths so he can get into university, graduate, live on his own and become a scientist. In his course to independence he takes a long journey to London after realizing his father lied to him about his mother's death and killed Wellington and therfore cant be trusted, he goes to live with his number. In a big city all alone, doesn't know the layout of the city he still manages to find a way to be reunited with her. In the end of the novel Christopher strongly believes in his future that he will get his honors degree and become a scientist. He knows this because he went to London by himself, he solved the Who Killed Wellington mystery , found his mother and was brave enough to write a novel about it. Christopher overcame his fears and boundaries and through his journey and Wellington's mystery he can do anything. 

This is how Christopher would react  to some conflicts.

Literature Circle 3: Conflict


In the novel the main conflicts is the murder mystery of the dog Wellington and how Christopher handles it. Since the book is written in Christopher`s perspective we really understand how he handles these surprising situations like how he was arrested and he hit the officer. The major internal conflict is when Christopher discovers his father lied to him about his mother`s death and how he killed Wellington the dog.  Christopher struggles handling the situation and the weight of emotions that he feels and that becomes the focus on his internal problems. The external problems that he explained were from the past when his parents used to fight and how his mother would be impatient with him and yelled at him because she could not understand Christopher. Mark Haddon uses conflict in the story to show how different Christopher sees things around  him and the sudden devastating news that he gains knowledge of is different than the way we usually feel or handle these situations. We understand the way he takes in the conflicts around him and inside of him with his autism. 




Literature Circle 4: Theme 

 The main theme throughout the story The Curious Incident of the dog in the Night time  is the yearning and struggle for independence. Christopher Boone's main goal in the novel is to be more independent which is like any teenage desire but his autism it is very hard for him to gain the independence he is yearning for. Though through his journey he becomes more confident in himself , can fend for himself and ultimately being brave enough to move out of his comfort zones to do what he has to do. This struggle for being independent is such a great desire for Christopher that he dreams of being the only person on Earth. But overcoming the boundaries of his condition to fulfill his dreams like passing his A level maths to become a scientist, being able to go to London alone so in the future he can live in an apartment while go to university. All of this is achieved through the journey he takes and his ultimate desire and theme throughout the novel to become an independent individual.