Haddon’s subversion of what the book cover states about Christopher is compounded by the way in which Haddon commences Chapter 29. This chapter starts with Haddon stating that Christopher “finds people confusing” because “people do a lot of talking without using any words” and “people often talk using metaphors”. Through the directness of these assertions, it is clear that as part of his condition, Christopher struggles to accept the typical signals that people use to communicate. One such signal is that of facial expressions which are shown when people “talk… without using any words”. Another is the use of “metaphors”. Here, Haddon is indicating the illogical nature of Christopher’s condition because although he is “confused” by “metaphors”, he uses one himself when trying to express this confusion by using the phrase: “talking without using …show more content…
Ray points to the fact that ‘Christopher's environmental awareness - especially as evidenced through his views of language - create the foundation for the novel's critique of disability.’ This sheds light on how despite Haddon’s portrayal of the learning disability comes across, it is a multi-faceted disorder and its effects hold different weightings between those with it. As such, Haddon’s representation of Asperger’s syndrome is through a high-functioning character, allowing him to access such ‘views of language’ which are present throughout the novel. Autism, despite Haddon stating that ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime’ was not a book about autism, is considered by many to be a central aspect of the book. However, the fact that Haddon’s protagonist has a form of autism allows Haddon to take language into its simplest forms. As such, readers have to interact directly with the words used by the narrative voice - that just so happens to be Christopher - and not with the implications of these words according to our