Essay On The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night

1027 Words5 Pages

Mark Haddon's prose fiction, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time brings forth the view of a different world and also expands our understanding of human experience. The novel is an autobiographical murder mystery narrated from the perspective of a teenager, Christopher Boone. This text allows the readers to see the life of a young man who is not comfortable with interacting with others in his society. Christopher's autism spectrum disorder (ASD) shapes our understanding of experience. Haddon is able to portray interesting ideas within the text through the narrator, thus inviting us into a different world and allowing us to see a new viewpoint. The structure and genre of the prose fiction are subverted almost immediately, allowing Haddon to propose the sight of a different world. In the opening chapter the genre of murder mystery is made clear through truncated sentences designed to create tension, "It was 7 minutes after midnight". However, when it is revealed that the murder victim is a Mrs. Shears' dog, the …show more content…

Though, when the killing of the neighbour's dog, Wellington occurs, Christopher's carefully constructive universe is threatened. Christopher's father, Ed Boone's temper is proven to have caused him to murder the dog and also lie to his son about his mother. When Ed confesses his crimes to Christopher, he refers to his temper metaphorically as "when that red mist comes down …". Haddon's realistic portrayal of family is shown to be destroyed as Ed's temper is what is undoing his relationship with Christopher. Haddon’s portrayal of Ed Boone allows him to represent interesting ideas about the family unit. And Ed's fierce nature presents the reason for Christopher's decision of becoming