Where one might despise the killer of Wellington in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon, another may sympathize with his actions. Throughout the novel, Ed Boone’s feelings are constantly invalidated and many are quick to assume the worst of his decisions. However, when one takes the time to look deeper into Ed’s actions, one will see that they are validated. Ed Boone is the most misunderstood character as his outbursts, parenting style, and lastly, his overprotectiveness are all justified.
Firstly, Ed Boone, a single father, tends to have angry outbursts throughout the novel that are justified as he is trying to provide the best life for his child. Whenever Ed feels as though Christopher is being mistreated, or
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Raising a child like Christopher is very difficult. Christopher often disappears in the middle of the night to go out for walks and quickly becomes overwhelmed in new environments. For the better well-being of Christopher, Ed tends to be very overprotective of him. An example of this is shown when Christopher wants to do detective work to find out who killed Wellington. This idea suggests that Christopher has to talk to strangers which he is not comfortable with. This is told to readers when Christopher says, “I do not like strangers because I do not like people I have never met before” (34). After Christopher says, “I did not knock at the door of number 38, which is the house next to our house, because the people there take drugs and Father says that I should never talk to them, so I don’t” (38), it is clear for readers to see that Ed informs Christopher of rules he has to follow for the remainder of his safety. Another example of this is represented after Christopher is choosing to run away and says, “And I had never been anywhere apart from the shop at the end of the road on my own” (129). This quote represents Ed's understanding of the importance of Christopher gaining independence and also his autism. The shop at the end of the road