When you hear the word “hero”, you probably picture an image of what most people think that resembles a hero, a legendary figure endowed with great strength or ability. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon shares the tale of a 15 year-old autistic boy who displays symptoms of Asperger's Syndrome (a variation of Autism). Christopher Boone, the main character, recognizes many changes in his life, which forces him to conquer his fears of strangers, crowded places, and public bathrooms in order to run away to London and live with his mother. Due to Asperger’s Syndrome, he hates crowded places, physical contact, certain colours, and is very mathematically and scientifically oriented. According to Joseph Campbell, a hero …show more content…
When Christopher finds out that his father killed Wellington and hid the truth about his mom, Christopher's conscience tells him that he must leave to live with his mother. "I had to get out of the house. Father had murdered Wellington. That meant he could murder me, because I couldn't trust him, even though he said, "Trust me," because he had told a lie about a big thing" (122 Haddon). This quote is significant because it shows that Christopher's journey begins as a result of a traumatic experience. The lies that his father told him and his father’s action lead to Christopher's quest to find his mother. This is also shows the first and second stages of what Campbell calls a hero’s journey; the ordinary world and the call to adventure. In this respect, Christopher fits the qualities of an archetypal hero. Another thing that defines Christopher as an archetypal hero is the act of atonement. “I had to spend three days with father and stay in his house. But it was ok because Sandy slept on my bed and he would bark if anyone came into the room during the night. And Father made a vegetable patch in the garden and I helped him" (220 Haddon). This quote is significant because it shows the trust issues that Christopher has with his father, and how they begin to be definitively resolved at the end of this book. This atonement that Christopher achieves with his father supports the idea that he