The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night

Trust is the foundation of all relationships, so when trust is broken, it’s an uphill battle to reform it. The concept of broken trust was shown in the novel “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon and was written to represent the coming-of-age experience from the perspective and through the growth of a teenage boy with autism named Christopher. Christopher encounters many challenges throughout the story as he solves the murder of a neighbor’s dog and uncovers the secrecy surrounding his mother’s death. Throughout the novel, he develops the theme that when trust is broken people can react in unexpected ways; through irony and characterization.

First off, the theme is shown throughout the novel through the use of

My stomach hurt… And I had been sick because there was sick all over the bed and on my hands and arms and face” (Haddon 113). Christopher’s reaction shows situational irony because his actions directly contradict his previous behavior to emotional trauma. His earlier reaction to the emotional trauma of his mother’s death was almost nonchalant, which contrasts with his later reaction where he is so upset that he throws up; the contrast demonstrates situational irony as his actions are not what the reader would expect from Christopher. Later in this portion of the novel, Christopher's father finds him: “He took my jumper and my shirt off and put them on the bed. Then he made me stand up and walk through the bathroom. And I

The characterization of Christopher is seen when he states: “Then I stopped reading the letter because I felt sick. Mother had not had a heart attack… And father had lied about this” (Haddon 112). In this scene, Christopher’s trust in his father is broken as he finds out his father lied about his mother's death, which causes Christopher to feel a wide range of emotions including shock, betrayal, and upsetness. These emotions characterize Christopher because they show how his character has changed over the course of the story from being seen as out of touch with his emotions and insensitive to events that would cause emotional trauma to others. So his emotions prove the theme that when trust is lost, people can behave out of the ordinary. Christopher’s characterization is then built upon as he tries to rationalize the letters: “I tried really hard to think if there was any other explanation but I couldn’t think of one. And then I couldn’t think of anything at all because my brain wasn’t working” (Haddon 112). The effect on the text overall when Christopher explains how he can't think properly and can’t figure out a reason illustrates a drastic change in Christopher’s character. In the beginning, Christopher is always trying to solve a problem or mystery but because he is unable to figure out the reason behind this mystery he is left feeling lost