Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time Analysis

Fiction offers readers an insight into the world they live in and its numerous conditions, impacting their perspective of where they stand in it. The texts The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time and Chronicle of a Death Foretold explore how opposing values between a person and their society can enhance one’s sense of self. Written by Mark Haddon in 2003, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time follows the story of young Christopher and his inquisitive mind on his journey of self discovery. Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez criticizes a small town in Columbia and their social expectations. Despite their differences in setting, language and structure, the comparison of these novels provides a better

Marcia Marquez has created multiple protagonists Angela Vicario, Santiago Nasar and multiple other characters to reflect the traditions of the town identified through their speech and actions ‘before God and before men’ (Marquez, 2003). The old-fashioned town justifies their actions as ‘a matter of honour’ (Marquez, 2003) and the eventual homicide of Santiago occurred ‘in legitimate defence of honour’ (Marquez, 2003) highlighting values of pride for family, causing a one to believe that this is right. Angela Vicario, caught in a family of tradition, and her disregard for no sexual relations before marriage resulted in a disgraceful reputation, her divorce the day after her wedding and the death of the man she slept with, Santiago Nasar, an exaggeration of the consequences a clash of values could be capable of. Religion in Chronicle of a Death Foretold leads to the utmost respect for the practice of marriage and set the foundation of the story. The only accepted religion by the citizens in the town is Christianity and they ‘get dressed up pontifical style in case they have a chance to kiss the bishop’s ring’ (Marquez, 2003), a holy value so set in stone that it ultimately is the cause of Santiago Nasar’s death. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is centred around a young boy Christopher and his unnamed mental condition. Against the citizens of Santiago Nasar’s world, Christopher suffers from a

Chronicle of a Death Foretold has a secluded town setting which minimises outside influence which conclusively means it would stand by their old traditions. For one to go against their community is difficult, as there is a known outcome that relationships will suffer. Angela Vicario experiences this phenomenon by going against her community only to lose her husband Bayardo and respect from her family. Angela caves into the community’s ambience of her scandal, drawing attention to the underlying conformed, patriarchal and prejudiced facet of her culture. The community suffered from the death of Santiago Nasar, ‘shouts of the whole town, frightened by its own crime,’ (Marquez, 2003) implying the entire town was needed for the offence to be carried out, emphasizing the compact forces within the community. Unlike Nasar’s situation in Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Christopher’s life projects a sense of isolation, cultivated through his arrest and his remark ‘It was nice in the police cell.’ (Haddon, 2003) as well as his train journey that involved hiding in a shelf so that he was ‘shut in’, ‘no one in there with him’ which made him ‘feel much calmer’ (Haddon, 2003). His seclusion highlights his separation from his community, contrasting the close knit Columbian town. His candid viewpoint introduces the clash of values in the novel, as shown through his