In life, the most successful and strongest of figures would be, and are nothing without the support of the people around them, no matter how simple or in what form. People oftentimes overlook slight but crucially impactful acts of assistance when they come from unconventional or seemingly insignificant figures, when in reality, they are anything but. Mark Haddon’s critically acclaimed novel the curious incident of the dog in the night follows not a powerful or celebrity-like protagonist, but Christopher Boone, a brilliantly curious 15-year-old who suffers from autism. The story revolves around his quest to uncover and make sense of his buried family secrets, with the help of a number of minor characters along the way. Many of the novel’s minor
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Although several of his Behavioural Problems cannot be changed, such as his hatred for yellow and brown things or his disdain towards moving furniture, as the story progresses, Christopher is able to deal with his fears head on with more confidence. Before the investigation, Christopher never felt safe around strangers and found them hard to understand. “For example, when there is a new member of staff at school I do not talk to them for weeks and weeks. I just watch them until I know that they are safe.” That is until he was forced to interview all of his neighbours for the sake of the investigation. Having to talk to and interview numerous strangers made Christopher much less hesitant towards the idea of interactions, which greatly benefited him in the process of finding his mother. “And I asked the policeman, "How much does it cost to get a ticket for a train to London?"” Christopher has had negative experiences with police officers before, yet he had essentially overcome his fear by initiating a conversation with one without hesitation, which shows extreme growth in Christopher’s mental strength and capabilities. Therefore, I believe that despite not contributing to the investigation, the neighbours Mr. Thompson, Mr. Wise, and Mrs. Alexander all had a hand in contributing to Christopher overcoming his fear of
Although several of his Behavioural Problems cannot be changed, such as his hatred for yellow and brown things or his disdain towards moving furniture, as the story progresses, Christopher is able to deal with his fears head on with more confidence. Before the investigation, Christopher never felt safe around strangers and found them hard to understand. “For example, when there is a new member of staff at school I do not talk to them for weeks and weeks. I just watch them until I know that they are safe.” That is until he was forced to interview all of his neighbours for the sake of the investigation. Having to talk to and interview numerous strangers made Christopher much less hesitant towards the idea of interactions, which greatly benefited him in the process of finding his mother. “And I asked the policeman, "How much does it cost to get a ticket for a train to London?"” Christopher has had negative experiences with police officers before, yet he had essentially overcome his fear by initiating a conversation with one without hesitation, which shows extreme growth in Christopher’s mental strength and capabilities. Therefore, I believe that despite not contributing to the investigation, the neighbours Mr. Thompson, Mr. Wise, and Mrs. Alexander all had a hand in contributing to Christopher overcoming his fear of