Mark Haddon's Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night

Many people who go through a divorce, have children and are forced to go through custody battles. Often times both parents want full -custody of his/her child and he has to prove why he is the better parent for the child in question. In Mark Haddon’s Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, the separated parents, Mr. and Mrs. Boone, have a child with special needs, making the battle even more intense. Christopher has Aasperger's, and only the most dedicated parent can properly take care of him in the way he needs. Mr. Boone should receive full custody of Christopher because he is more willing to defend Christopher and is better at making accommodations for Christopher, even though he does grab him without permission, but it is better

Boone makes a better parent as he is more willing to fight for Christopher than his mother. In multiple situations, Mr. Boone is seen defending his son. One such example is when Christopher is arrested. Rather than being upset with Christopher for hitting an officer, Mr. Boone says, “I want to see my son...Why the hell is he locked up?” (16). By confronting the police even before knowing the situation, Mr. Boone shows how much he’s willing to do for and how much he trusts Christopher. Similarly, albeit in a less dangerous context, Christopher tries to take A- levels maths which his principal doesn’t believe he should take because of his special needs. Upon hearing this, Mr. Boone retaliates with, “Christopher is getting a crap enough deal already...this is the one thing he is really good at” (44). Through fighting for his son to reach his maximum capacity, Mr. Boone understands the wants of his child and how far he can push himself better than anyone else. By contrast, Mrs. Boone does not fight for her son, but she actively gives Christopher up when she feels it is better. In one of the letters she writes to Christopher, she mentions how “[she] realized [he] and [his] father [are] probably better off if [she] wasn’t living in the house” (109). She is not even willing to try and understand and fight for Christopher’s wants, and makes the decision to leave him on her own. Because Mr. Boone is much better at knowing what Christopher wants and acting on that, he is better

Boone continues to prove how appropriate he is by being more careful when making accommodations for his son than Mrs. Boone. For example, Christopher despises being touched, so before Christopher is interrogated, Mr. Boone “[holds] up his right hand and [spreads] his fingers out in a fan...and [Mr. Boone and Christopher make their] fingers and thumbs touch each other” (16). By respecting his son’s desires, Mr. Boone is able to keep them both happy in a unique way even though it is not how he likes to express his love. Even so, there is a part where Mr. Boone touches Christopher, but he explains, “I’m going to have to touch you, but it’s going to be all right” (115). He knows his son does not like touching and he wants to respect that, but in their current situation, he needs to touch him. By simply explaining what he is doing so that Christopher does not panic, he shows that he does respect his son’s wishes. On the other hand, Mrs. Boone uses the first chance she gets and ends up making her son uncomfortable. After seeing him for the first time in two years, “[Mrs. Boone puts] her arms around [Christopher] and… [he doesn’t] like it” (191). Mrs. Boone is not ready to give up what she wants to give Christopher what he is comfortable with, making her the inappropriate parent. Although Mr. Boone is better when it comes to staying in Christopher’s comfort levels, he is not from