A New Mindset Shaped by Regret In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon the characters tensions and social interactions suggests that one should not judge a person based on their actions, but instead try to understand what led them to act a certain way. To start off, Christopher’s relationship with Mrs. Shears demonstrates how quickly a person makes an assumption based on an action. In the beginning of the novel when Mrs. Shears finds Christopher hugging Wellington, he recalls, “I had been hugging the dog for 4 minutes when I heard screaming. I looked up and saw Mrs. Shears running toward me from the patio…She was shouting, ‘What in fucks name have you done to my dog?’” (Haddon 4). This quote shows Mrs. Shears strong …show more content…
If Mrs. Shears tries to understand Christopher’s connection to animals, she would then be able to figure out why Christopher is holding the dog in the first place. Furthermore, their relationship would not be strained. This event illustrates theme, as it shows the consequences involved when judging one's actions. This is important because it displays how we as a society tend to look at an individual’s character and personality by their actions, rather than trying to understand them. Next, Christopher’s social interactions demonstrate the importance of understanding reasoning behind an individual’s action. Near the middle of the novel when Christopher is trying to get to his mother’s house using the subway, he begins to feel overwhelmed and sits on a bench. Christopher recounts, “And the people kept coming into the little station so that it was even more crowded than the big station. And then I couldn’t see the walls anymore and the back of someone’s jacket touched my knee and I felt sick and I started groaning really loudly and the lady on the bench stood up and no one else sat down.” (Haddon 175). Christopher’s reaction in a crowded and overwhelming environment causes people around him to assume he is unstable, therefore choosing