The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is the fictitious account of fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone, who discovers that their neighbour's dog has been killed and wishes to figure out who committed the crime, despite his disapproving father. Christopher, however, has Asperger’s Syndrome (AS), a form of Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Haddon illustrates the mind of Christopher clearly, giving us an insight into the thinking patterns of people with Asperger’s. The story starts with Christopher discovering the death of the dog, and then leads us through his investigation. He questions his neighbourhood, analysing the scene carefully and making his predictions accordingly. As Christopher starts collecting clues, he stumbles upon many more secrets that hit closer to home, and suddenly finding the answer matters immeasurably more. The deeper he digs, the more he uncovers and the simple murder mystery escalates into a web of mysteries, all of which Christopher is tangled in. He decides to face his fears and discover what truly happened to the dog in the night time. …show more content…
One key element of the story is the way the chapters are labelled. The very first chapter is labelled 2, and it continues with 3, 5, 7, 11 and so on - prime numbers. This sequence is known as one of the most irregular mathematical arrangements, as there is no connection between the numbers. Christopher comments on them in Chapter 19, saying he “likes them”, and compares them to life - “they are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them”. This provides a fascinating view on AS - the disorder is commonly thought to be a disadvantage, but the novel shows that although understanding people and human behaviours is harder for them, they are able to make connections that none of us would have