Night Figurative Language

Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time outlines the struggles individuals with developmental disorders face that can be deemed a societal norm ( i.e. understanding social cues and using figurative language ). Unplanned routines or sudden changes in events can have an impact on the way the individual views the world around them—the novel stars 15-year-old Christopher, who has autism. Mark Haddon hints at this throughout the novel with key techniques like repetition, symbolism and metaphor. Christopher’s way of understanding the world is immediately brought to the reader in the first few chapters of the novel. Distinctive qualities like difficulty with social interactions in this novel give us an understanding and first perspective of what individuals like Christopher face. It is outlined that he finds social interactions difficult. He struggles to answer or relate to social cues, express emotions or engage in ordinary social behaviour.

Chapter 29 quotes “ I find people confusing. This is for two main reasons. The first main reason is that people do a lot of talking without using any words.

It emphasises his reliance on familiar patterns to make sense of the world around him, thus outlining how common expressions like a raised eyebrow or two can have a negative impact because he can not understand what a person is referring to which can often make him uncomfortable or anxious. Another quote that contrasts with this one is related to Christopher’s fondness for dogs. He quotes “I like dogs”. You can always know what a dog is thinking. It has four different moods. Happy, sad, cross and focused. Also, dogs are faithful and do not tell lies because they cannot