The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time '

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time Rough Draft

Literature, such an intriguing form of art yet so complex. As Critic Roland Barthes states, “Literature is the question minus the answer.”, that question helps set a path of thought and discussion towards what’s presented in the work, rather than providing an answer. In the book The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time, a dog named Wellington is found dead in a garden. It poses a question; who killed Wellington? While that question is in fact answered, the story redirects to the issues revolving around Christopher Boone, the narrator and main character of the book. The way the author treats this question allows the reader to dwell on other topics that surround the central

After finding out that it was his own father that had killed Wellington, his neighbor's dog, Christopher decides that he can no longer live with him. When Christopher states, “I had to get out of the house. Father had murdered Wellington. That meant he could murder me, because I couldn’t trust him, even though he had said ‘Trust me,’ because had had told a lie about a big thing”(Haddon, 122), he loses all respect for his Father, so much so that he becomes frightened of him. This is important because his constant mentioning of lying isn’t noticed until he’s faced with a huge lie; the fact that his mother was still alive, and not dead; from the only person he trusts. This is an example of the extent to which the author provides an answer to a

Throughout the story, Christopher goes through many trials to rediscover everything that had been buried from him, such as finding out Wellington’s murderer was actually his own father and his mother still being alive. The extent of which the author makes Christopher go to find out about these issues are shown when he literally runs away from home, travels for hours alone to find his mother, and being chased by police. All of which stemming from a “ridiculous bloody detective game”. This extent may represent a character’s ability to break through their restrictive shell of want vs will. The author of this book interprets this through Christopher’s narration, when he says, “And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery of Who Killed Wellington? and that means I can do anything”(Haddon, 221). At the end of the day, Christopher finds a balance between the extent of his abilities, and the question asked