Everyone is taught that honesty is crucial to living peacefully; Christopher Boone however cannot say the same. In Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Christopher encounters countless problems when he lets his curiosity get the best of him. Through a psychoanalytic lens, readers are able to spot several different themes throughout the novel, feel the ultimate struggles the characters go through, understand the rough feelings of frustration with the main character whom has a form of autism, put themselves in Christopher’s shoes even though he views the world much differently, and still be shocked with every page turn.
Several themes are portrayed though out this book; the utmost powerful theme is that certain things …show more content…
First, Christopher’s mother is driven to cheat on her husband most likely due to frustration with her sons’ disability. Unaware of the horrible way his mother dishonored their family, Christopher went to his neighbor for information when it was too late, “And she said ‘No Christopher. I am not sure that you do. I meant that they were really good friends” (Haddon 60). The affair was so apparent that even neighbors were able to unearth what had been taking place, but still Christopher and Ed were completely oblivious. Second, lies often lead to something bigger than imagined. For example, Ed lied to Christopher about what had happened to his mother. Out of feeling betrayed, he told his son that she passed away, but really, she left them to move to London with Mr. Shears. Soon Christopher finds out that his father had been lying to him, Ed tried to explain his actions, “I never meant to lie. I just thought…I just thought it was better if you didn’t know” (Haddon 144). If Ed had told Christopher the truth in the beginning, he never would have broken his trust. Last, a family full of lies is an unhappy and complicated one. Christopher is scared of his father and decides to run away; “It involves a fraught and frightening journey to London to search for his mother and reveals in the process, some problematic familial relationships” (Muller 2). Christopher’s life never would have been …show more content…
For starters, the death of wellington sparks up Christopher’s interest. On the way home from the police station, Christopher is speaking with his father about the incident, “I thought for a little and I said ‘I am going to find out who killed Wellington’” (Haddon 20). It’s not his dog but yet he still feels the need to uncover the truth. Next, his curiosity gets in the way of one of his honesty and trustworthiness. Frustration overwhelmed Ed, resulting in him stipulating rules for Christopher and he tried to find sneaky ways to disobey them, “Christopher thinks of all kinds of ways to interpret his father’s demand as specifically as possible… so he can still do all of his detective work while somehow not disobeying him” (Shmoop 1). He goes the extra mile to try to follow the rules while still getting what he desires. Christopher’s curiosity gets him in great
Several themes are portrayed though out this book; the utmost powerful theme is that certain things …show more content…
First, Christopher’s mother is driven to cheat on her husband most likely due to frustration with her sons’ disability. Unaware of the horrible way his mother dishonored their family, Christopher went to his neighbor for information when it was too late, “And she said ‘No Christopher. I am not sure that you do. I meant that they were really good friends” (Haddon 60). The affair was so apparent that even neighbors were able to unearth what had been taking place, but still Christopher and Ed were completely oblivious. Second, lies often lead to something bigger than imagined. For example, Ed lied to Christopher about what had happened to his mother. Out of feeling betrayed, he told his son that she passed away, but really, she left them to move to London with Mr. Shears. Soon Christopher finds out that his father had been lying to him, Ed tried to explain his actions, “I never meant to lie. I just thought…I just thought it was better if you didn’t know” (Haddon 144). If Ed had told Christopher the truth in the beginning, he never would have broken his trust. Last, a family full of lies is an unhappy and complicated one. Christopher is scared of his father and decides to run away; “It involves a fraught and frightening journey to London to search for his mother and reveals in the process, some problematic familial relationships” (Muller 2). Christopher’s life never would have been …show more content…
For starters, the death of wellington sparks up Christopher’s interest. On the way home from the police station, Christopher is speaking with his father about the incident, “I thought for a little and I said ‘I am going to find out who killed Wellington’” (Haddon 20). It’s not his dog but yet he still feels the need to uncover the truth. Next, his curiosity gets in the way of one of his honesty and trustworthiness. Frustration overwhelmed Ed, resulting in him stipulating rules for Christopher and he tried to find sneaky ways to disobey them, “Christopher thinks of all kinds of ways to interpret his father’s demand as specifically as possible… so he can still do all of his detective work while somehow not disobeying him” (Shmoop 1). He goes the extra mile to try to follow the rules while still getting what he desires. Christopher’s curiosity gets him in great