Khunsha's Corner

Thoughts Before I Read 

        Before, I start the reading the book "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon. Using this picture, I predict about the book that Christopher will solve the crime, but the outcome will be different than what he could have imagined and he will be afraid of the outcome, I believe that he will find more than he wants to, and whatever it is it will cause him problems.

To me, this picture represents Christopher looking out the
window and looking at the outcome of his life.

Middle of the Book



Christopher's Journey Throughout the Novel

       The reader soon learns that Christopher's mother died because of a heart problem, and on the night she died Mrs. Shears came over and she cooked dinner, and comforted his father. Back in the present, Christopher tries to explain to Mrs. Shears that he didn't kill Wellington, but she slams the door in his face, and calls his father. His father gets mad and orders him to stop asking questions about who killed Wellington. At school Siobhan tells Christopher that he did a good job of writing his book, but Christopher wants to finish the ending of the book. Christopher ends up questions a lot of his neighbours, and one of his neighbours (Mrs. Alexander) tells Christopher that Mr. Shears and his mother had an affair. Christopher revels that he does not feel upset about the affair because his mother is dead and Mr. Shears doesn’t live nearby anymore. One afternoon, Christopher's father finds the novel, which Christopher was writing his story in and he gets really mad and he grabs Christopher. Then Christopher starts to hit his father, which lead to the father taking away the novel. Later the father feels bad, so he takes Christopher to the Twycross Zoo, because he knows that Christopher likes animals and he also relates better to animals than humans. When searching for his novel in his father's closet, he finds a letter addressed to him and he takes it, but he leaves the notebook. The letter reveals that his mother is alive and is living in London with Roger; the date on the letter is the 16th of October 1997, eighteen months after his mother died.

        This is where I stopped reading. I hope to find out how come his mother is still alive! So far I really like the book. I find the characters interesting and I like how Christopher talks in monotone, it makes it easier to read and understand.



Book Ending

       After the first letterChristopher goes back for the other 43 letters. The readers now learn why Christopher's mother left, and Christopher releases that his father had lied to him. When his father finds out that Christopher has read the letters, he confesses to killing wellington. Christopher is horrified at this thought and cannot trust his father anymore. At night when his father was sleeping,

The letters that Christopher's Sent to him
over course of two years.
[Don't mind the date : ) ]

 Christopher hid behind the garden shed and decided that he would go live with his mother, in London. The rest of the story is about Christopher's frightening journey to the train station, and the train ride and how he gets reunited with his mother. Later that night, his father shows up in Christophe's mother's flat and wants to see Christopher, but Christopher is too afraid to meet his father. Who then is escorted by the police to leave the house. At the flat, Christopher's arrival had created problems for Mr. Shears and Christopher's mother.        With the constant fighting, Christopher and his mother leave to go to his father's house in Swindon. Back in Swindon, while Christopher's parents attempt to resolve their problems, Christopher releases that he went through a life changing experience, and that he is capable of doing anything on his own. Christopher's father tries to gain Christopher's trust again, so he buys Christopher a golden retriever, which he names Sandy. Christopher also releases that he is an independent individual. In the end of the book, Christopher says " I am going to pass it and get an A grade. And in two years' time I am going to take A-level physics and get an A grade. And then, when I've done that, I am going to university in another town. And it doesn't have to be in London because I don't like London and there are universities in lots of places and not all of them are in big cities. And I can live in a flat with a garden and a proper toilet. And I can take Sandy and my books and my computer. And then I will get a First Class Honours degree and I will become a scientist. And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery of Who Killed Wellington? and I found my mother and I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything." That pretty much sums up the ending.

Random Thought About Characters...

        So, I finished the novel and I was surprised to find that I did not like most of the characters in the novel, except for a few. Like for instant, Christopher's father (Ed Boone) is too moody, one minute he is calm and the next he is screaming at Christopher because Christopher has done something wrong. I believe that since Ed's wife Judy Boone left, Ed has been an emotional wreak, he cannot find ways to express himself, so he stays quiet and into himself and he does not like to share his feelings with Christopher or other with any other person. And the moment anything goes wrong Ed explodes like a fire cracker. In the novel, Ed did seem like a good father, he cared for his son when Judy left him for an older man, Ed tried make Christopher happy by creating Christopher dinner's and lunch's that made Christopher happy. But, when Judy wanted to see Christopher before she left, Ed said no to her and he lied to Christopher about the whereabouts of his mother. He also hid the letters that Judy had sent to Christopher over the two years and he killed the Wellington, because Mrs. Shears cared more about the dog than him and Christopher. Another reason I do not like Ed Boone, is because he let Christopher take the blame for killing Wellington in the beginning of the book, and he did not encourage Christopher to keep writing his novel.

Judy Boone

       I dislike Judy Boone, but I do not mind her. By this I mean that, Judy Boone was not the best mother and she had a very short temper when it came on how to deal with Christopher's episodes. But she still loved him and she believed that Ed and Christopher were better off without her, and that was one of the reasons why she left. I noticed that when I was reading the letters that Judy had sent to Christopher, her grammar was pretty bad, which tells me that she was not well educated and while she was living with Mr. Shears she was working for a part-time job, when in two years she could have had a wonderful job, if she had a decent education. From reading the letters I noticed that Judy was probably a loving mother, but I think she was secretly very lonely, because her husband did not share his feelings and Christopher did not liked being touched or let alone hugged. So when she met Mr. Shears, he was a person she knew, and maybe he was a person who could maybe express his feeling, and he probably loved Judy for the while being. Basically, Mr. Shears was a new person that Judy could have an easy relationship with, so I think that is another reason for why she left Ed and Christopher. She quoted “But I started seeing Roger on his own because I could talk to him. He was the only person I could really talk to. And when I was with him I didn't feel lonely anymore."  I do not like Judy, because she did not try hard enough to keep contact with Christopher. I think if Judy wanted to see Christopher she could have done a lot more than just send forty-three letters over the course of two years. She could have gone in person to see him at the house, and stated her facts to why she still had to be a part of Christopher's life, she could have gone to visit him while he was in school and while Ed was not around, she could have gone to court, but I think that would be highly unlikely because I don't think she had a lot of money in the first place. She could have done anything, but she just chose the easy way out and that’s why I do not like her, because she did not try hard enough.

Christopher Boone

        Mr. Roger Shears is one of the most characters that I really didn't like, because he seemed mean and he did not seem understand why Christopher needed special attention from his mother. When Christopher came to the flat, one night Mr. Shears came into Christopher's room drunk and quoted "You think you're so fucking clever, don't you. Don't you ever, ever think about other people for one second, eh? Well, I bet you're really pleased with yourself now, aren't you." This made me upset, because Mr. Shears cannot understand that life for Christopher is different than most teens, and I do not think that Christopher is capable of being selfish. 

        Three characters that I actually liked were Siobhan, Mrs. Alexander and Christopher. I liked Siobhan, because she was always there when Christopher needed her, she encouraged him do the A -Level Math's and to continue writing his novel. She also seemed very loving and caring. Mrs. Alexander seemed like a kind, old lady, who seemed very motherly towards Christopher, and she gave Christopher a serious clue about his own mother. Christopher is someone who is very simple-minded, he can't tell when someone is speaking sarcastically, he sometimes cannot tell what people are feeling, and he cannot put himself in other peoples shoes. Because of his autistic disorder, you really get to understand what an autistic person might go through when they are put in a certain situation, and that is why I like him.

Session One: Setting

          The setting of the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon takes place in Swindon, Wiltshire. The main character is fifteen year old Christopher Boone, who lives in a suburban neighbourhood, in present time, with his father Ed Boone and his pet rat Toby. The main settings are Swindon and London, but there are other settings that are just as important. They would be Christopher's father's house, the School, Mrs. Shear’s lawn, the Neighbourhood, the Train Station, the Train, his mother's flat and the room which his mother rents when they move back to Swindon. Swindon and London are places where major events that make up the story takes place, but if you look closely Christopher's house and Mrs. Shears lawn is where the story starts. Where Christopher's father's house is where Ed Boone kills Wellington, (a poodle), the school where he is encouraged by Siobhan to carry out his dreams, plans and ideas, the neighbourhood is where Christopher gathers useful information about who killed Wellington and where he finds useful information about his mother. The train station is where he starts his journey, the train takes him to a certain destination that changes his life, and his mother's flat is where Christopher meets his mother after two years. The new room that Christopher's mother rents represents a new beginning. In a story, setting is very important, because it helps tie the story together. Setting is the place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes place. Setting is essential if the reader wants to understand the story. Time and place fulfills most of the core aspects of a story, without a setting there is no story. Setting helps the plot, to determines and describes characters to provide links to the theme. Without setting, characters simply have no purpose to move on with the story, and it would be a boring story to read about a character that never went anywhere and did not experience new things.

Map of Swindon

Session Two: Character

The protagonist of the novel is an autistic  15 year,3 months and 2 days old kid whose name is Christopher John Francis Boone. He has a difficult relationship with others, he cannot  empathize, and he does not like to be touched. He is incapable of telling lies. When he finds out about the death of his neighbour's dog Wellington , he decides to take matters into his own hand  and he begins a search for Wellington's killer. Christopher is ambitious and wants to be a scientist when he grows up. He is interested in the stars and science and the universe and by the end of the novel manages to take his A-level in maths. Christopher relates better to animals than humans.

Wellington is Mrs Shears' poodle.  Christopher found him in th the very beginning of the novel, with a garden fork sticking out of him. The discovery prompts Christopher to begin 'detecting' to find out who killed him. Wellington's death is the start of Christopher's journey to discover new things about himself and his life.

Ed Boone

Ed Boone is Christopher's father. He works in the boiler business. He has been a single parent since Christopher's mother died, two years before the start of the novel. Christopher's father looks after Christopher, he knows everything there is to know about Christopher from his strange eating habits to understanding the way Christopher works, but when Christopher finds out that his father killed Wellington and that he lied about  Christopher's mother being dead, and this prompts Christopher to leave home and make 

his first journey alone.

Judy Boone is Christopher's mother. The readers were told that Christopher's mother died two years ago - there was something wrong with her heart, and that she died in the hospital. But, when Christopher discovers letters from his mother in his father's room, and realizes that his father was lying to him for the past two years. He no longer trusts his father. He begins his journey to London to find his mother, who is living with Mr. Shears. Judy suffers from depression and she cannot handle Christopher's outbursts. At the end of the novel, Judy has moves back to Swindon and Christopher starts living with her

Mr. Roger Shears was the ex husband to Mrs. Shears until he had an affair with Christopher's mother where they traveled to London. He is the initial suspect in Christopher of Wellington's death. When Christopher arrives at his house, Roger is cruel to him and says 'You think you're so fucking clever, don't you? Don't you ever think about other people?' He  misunderstands Christopher, which ends with Judy leaving him and moving back to Swindon with her son.

Toby

Toby was Christopher's pet rat. Christopher looked after him and feed him and cared for him very well. Christopher had rescued Toby from the tracks of the London Underground train station by jumping off the platform and searching for him, and he had manages to get out just before a train comes. Toby was the only friend that Christopher had and he was the only thing he took with him on his journey to find his mother.

Mrs. Eileen Shears was the owner of Wellington, the poodle.She was a neighbor and friend of Ed's, she lived on the opposite side of the road, two houses to the left. She first thought that Christopher had killed Wellington. We learn later in the novel that Mrs Shears' husband ran off with Christopher's mother, Judy. Later, Mrs. Shears had a relationship with Ed Boone. The relationship turned sour, which is what prompted Ed to attack the dog, because Mrs. Shears cared more about the poodle than him and his son.

Siobhan was Christopher's friend of eight years and a member of the staff at his school, where he studies with other children with learning difficulties. Siobhan seem very motherly she helps Christopher understand human emotion, she draws faces for him so that he can identify that a smile means happy and so on. It is Siobhan who sets the assignment that propels Christopher to write his novel, and she gives him writing tips throughout. She is very patient with Christopher and encourages his writing.

Mrs. Alexander lives on Christopher's street, at number 39. Mrs. Alexander offers Christopher squash and biscuits when he visits her. Even when his father forbids him from interviewing the neighbors about Wellington, Christopher speaks to her. He asks her if Mr. Shears may have wanted to upset Mrs. Shears, and she reveals that Mr. Shears and Christopher's mother had an affair before she died.

Other than these characters only some other characters are mentioned like Uncle Terry-Christopher's uncle who lives in Sunderland and works in a bread factory and Rhodri who is a friend of Ed's who also works in maintenance and who likes to taunt Christopher on his Math skills.

Characater Questions and Answers

 

1. Why do you think Mark Haddon chose to make the protagonist autistic?

        If Christopher was a normal teenager, then his experiences would be much different. Christopher see's the world in an uncommon way, and it lets the reader read the novel in a unique perspective. Normal teenagers would not explain their every action, but Christopher explains in many different ways. (i.e. Christopher explains to why he could be having a bad or good day. If Christopher sees four or five red cars in a row then he will have a good day and he would take risks and attempt to talk to others , but if he saw 4 or 5 yellow cars in a row then he will stay clear of others way). The reader is able to see what Christopher’s perspective is and they get to experience what he experiences and we get to see Christopher’s reasons for behaving as he does.

2. Does Christopher make a good protagonist?

        Yes, because Christopher is so different than what I have ever read before. Christopher is a new character with new problems that has to face new challenges.

3. What does the A-Level Maths represent to Christopher?

        The A-Level Math represent, Christopher breaking free from the others children with disabilities from his school. It is his way of showing that he is different and unique and smarter. The A-level math test also represents a one way shot to independence for Christopher. By doing well on the test, Christopher can use the test to eventually get into college, allowing him to live on his own

4. Christopher was the protagonist, what internal goal was achieved by him?

        The internal goal achieved was that Christopher released he didn't need to depend on others. This goal is one of the only things that Christopher can relate to other teens his age. Without knowing he wanted to explore new things and take care of himself without anyone else telling him what to do. Christopher also dreams of being one of the few people left on Earth, where no one can tell him what to do, and no one can touch him. In the future Christopher planned to go to college and live by himself.

5. Why do you think Mrs. Shears suddenly stopped caring about Christopher and his father (Ed Boone)?

       I don't think Mrs. Shears could handle being around people anymore, I think it was all too hard on her. Even though she and Mr. Shears didn't love each other anymore, I believe that the rejection still hurt. Being around Christopher and Ed, must have bought bad memories and the only way to escape them was stop nurturing them. I think she thought that it was time she and Ed moved on with their lives.

6. When Christopher's mother left, who acted motherly towards Christopher and how? 

       Siobhan and Mrs. Alexandra acted motherly towards Christopher. Siobhan was also encouraging Christopher to try and do new things that could benefit him later in life, like when Christopher's father told Christopher to stop writing his novel and Siobhan said it was alright to keep writing. Mrs. Alexandra was the type of neighbour that really cared about Christopher and she helped Christopher by giving him crucial information about his mother.

7. Which character can you relate to?

       I can only relate to Christopher, and that would be because I am not a fan of big change either and that I like dogs. Other than these two things I cannot relate to him.

8. When Christopher travelled to London by himself, what characteristics did he show?

       Christopher showed bravery, he was courageous and fearless at times, and he was also terrified for his life and he was anxious to meet his mother.

9. Describe Christopher.

       Christopher is the narrator and protagonist of the novel. He is an autistic fifteen-year-old kid, he is mathematically gifted, he cannot stand social environments, he doesn’t like to be touched, and he sees the world through what is right and wrong. He feels comfortable with logic and order, making Wellington’s murder a tempting puzzle for him to solve. He enjoys the company of animals than humans and he hates the colours brown and yellow.

10. Why are certain characters important to a novel?

       Certain characters are important to a novel because they help make up the story on way or another. Every single character that shows up in the novel has some purpose. In the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Characters like Siobhan, Mrs. Alexandra, and other neighbours on Christopher Street and odd characters throughtout the novel had some sort of a role to play. Siobhan was the one who helped Christopher when his father told Christopher he could not write his murder-mystery novel anymore, and she had guided Christopher to convincing him that it was alright to continue writing. Without her, Christopher would have stopped writing his novel and the story would have had a different ending. Mrs. Alexandra's role was to give important information about Christopher’s mother whereabouts, without her Christopher would have still thought that his mother was dead, that she did not have an affair and that she was not living in London with Mr. Shears. The random characters like the shopkeeper who sold the map Christopher aided Christopher in that, without the map book, Christopher would have never found his mother’s house. Or it just would have taken Christopher longer to get there.

 

What this novel says about life

Personal Growth

       The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon explains how life is more complicated than most people think. This novel sheds light on people with disabilities and how they are different but same from normal people. This novel shows us how little separates us from those we turn away from in the street. The novel is about how badly we need to communicate with one another, to solve everyday problems. Christopher has autism which affects his brain and makes it harder and more difficult for him to communicate and interact with other people. In a way, Christopher is a regular teen because he wants freedom from any official authority and he wants to explore his surroundings. But given that he has autism it is harder for him to get that responsibility. 

Mood

       The mood of the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is very monotone. The way that Christopher speaks sets off the tone. Christopher always says things the way they are, he never gets excited and he almost never expresses his emotions, the only way he does show emotion is if he is sad or hurt he will start groaning.  The story is packed with adventurous events, but the way Christopher describes them is very boring. 

     The mood is also very serious, since Christopher did quote that "This will not be a funny book," which is not exactly true – there was humor often inadvertently in the story - but it was not intentional. There is also a mood of intense knowledge, in almost every chapter there was a constant flow of new information, much of it was theoretical and mathematical in nature. Mark Haddon probably did this to teach the reader more about Christopher’s life, but obviously all that information lead to how Christopher deals with the world around him.  The constant the theories and facts work together with the seriousness of Christopher’s tone



Moods