Most teens change in drastic ways as they grow into adults. Coming of age is a process that everyone undergoes, where one transitions from childhood into adulthood. This is typically seen in young adults. Two vital elements of this process are the change in one’s perception of their parents and the experience of love. The change in perception is shown in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, where Christopher’s perception of his parents fluctuates throughout the novel. In Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Romeo is changed by his love for Juliet. Many young adults experience a change in their perception of their parents. How and when this happens can vary, but this change occurs in almost everyone. In The Curious Incident …show more content…
Christopher had always trusted his parents and was protected by them from the outside world, making him lack experience in social interactions and uncomfortable situations. However, this all changes when Christopher finds recent letters from his mother in his father’s bedroom showing that his mother is alive. Not only this, but Christopher’s father reveals that he had killed the neighbor’s dog, Wellington, while dealing with the divorce from Christopher’s mother. This leads Christopher to believe that his father is not only a liar, but also a killer. As a result of this change of perception, Christopher is driven to be more independent while running away from home. As he travels alone to his mom’s house in London, Christopher becomes more experienced with navigation and how to act in social interactions. The novel states, “There were lots of people on the train, and I didn’t like that, because I don’t like lots of people I don’t know, and I hate it even more if I am stuck in a room with lots of people I don’t know, and a train is like a room and you can’t get out of it when it’s moving. . So I stood very still in the train carriage and didn’t move.” (Haddon