The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time can be seen as a Bildungsroman, which is also known as a coming of age novel. Christopher the main character undergoes many challenges, steps outside of his comfort zone, and adapts to the “adult” world. Christopher has a mental illness known as Aspergers which affects his ability to effectively socialize and communicate with others. In the novel he begins to learn about the real world and grows throughout finding out who killed a dog named Wellington.
Christopher grew up without knowing much about the world and life it self. He acts as what many would say a child. This is due to his Aspergers. In the beginning of the novel Christopher explains what he thinks of life. “ Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.” (12). The quote explains how Christopher thinks of life and the world in the beginning of the novel. Christopher’s view on both are very limited compared to others. He explains that life to him is very hard to understand no matter how long he thinks of it. When Christopher goes on the investigation of who killed Wellington his view on life and the world will change
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Christopher starts out by acting as Aspergers controls him. Christopher runs away from social interaction and communication. He goes on to challenge his Aspergers when he finds out that his father has been lying to him his whole life about his mother being dead. In the end Christopher sees the real world for what it is and doesn’t shelter himself through it. This makes the novel the perfect story the theme of coming of age. Christopher may not grow up with in age, but he grows with in his abilities and learns to cope with his mental