Research Paper On The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime

Jennie Nguyen
ERWC
Mrs. Jones
20 February 2023
Unjustifiable Lies Imagine living the majority of your life being lied to by the person you wholly depended on and trusted. How would you feel being in Christopher’s shoes? How would you react? The novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon, portrays a true story of a young teenager named Christopher Boone. Christopher was born with a neurological disorder called Aspergers, a type of autism. He had a rough childhood: His parents argued and his mother had an affair, eventually abandoning Christopher and his father, Edd Boone. His father tries to prevent Christopher from knowing the truth about his mother, leaving Christopher clueless. I believe that his father

Boone was Christopher’s father, it did not excuse him from dictating what his son should know or not know. An example of Mr. Boone deciding for Christopher was when he told him how his mother died, “I’m afraid you won’t be seeing your mother for a while.” (Haddon 11) Instead of telling the truth to his son, his father creates a huge lie about his mother dying which leads Christopher to be clueless about his mother’s whereabouts. For the majority of his life, he was deceived into thinking that his mother died, and when he discovered that she was alive, Christopher was completely overwhelmed. In chapter 157, after having a sensory overload from reading the hidden letters written by his mother, his father comes into Christopher’s room to justify himself, “But once I’d said that… I couldn’t… I couldn’t change it. Do you understand… Christopher…? Christopher…? It's just… It got out of control and I wish…” (Haddon 52) Mr. Boone knew what he did was wrong and stated that the lie had gotten “out of control” and yet he continued to lie to Christopher instead of being honest with him. Christopher’s sensory overload could’ve been prevented if his father had told him the truth about his mother. Although many say he lies to protect Christopher, what Mr. Boone does is create more pain. Trying to protect one’s innocence causes more harm than good. To be specific, in chapter 181, “I see everything. That is why I don’t like new places. If I am in a place I know. . . I have seen

Throughout the book, it’s clear that Christopher’s father has not moved on from his ex-wife having an affair and abandoning them. Because of this grudge, his anger and frustration continue to grow into their home lives. For instance, “I had no memories for a short while . . . I was sitting on the carpet with my back against the wall and there was blood on my right hand and the side of my head was hurting.” (Haddon 37) His father’s bitterness towards the dog, Wellington, reminded him of the abandonment between the two romantic relationships he had. As a result of his anger, Mr. Boone hits Christopher and knocks him unconscious. As the lies continue to grow out of hand, the more bitter and abusive his father becomes. To illustrate, “I killed Wellington, Christopher. . . I think she cared more for that bloody dog than for me, for us. . .And it was like everything I’d been bottling up for two years just…” (Haddon 54) This quote shows the built-up bitterness Mr. Boone had collected over the years. These bottled-up emotions led him to irrationally lash out at an innocent dog and blame the animal for his fallout with Mrs. Shears. There have been two major events in which Christopher’s father result to violence to cope with his issues. Additionally, his violent tendencies create an unsafe environment for Christopher and