Curious Incident Of Nighttime Autism

Improved Essays
There is no doubt that “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” is the greatest book to be read in a grade 9 English class. Written in 2003, this book shows a real understanding of autism and the struggles people with autism face. The award-winning author, Mark Haddon, not only created one of the most believable, original and heart-wrenching books of the decade but he gave the readers an opportunity to see the world through the eyes of a person with autism, a feat which has not been achieved before. The readers follow Christopher Boone’s quest to solve the murder of the neighbor’s dog and see him overcome fears and grow as a person. This is simply a fantastic book for so many reasons, but specifically, it should be taught to grade 9 students because of its teaching about autism, its understanding of the struggles teenagers face and its funny and alternative writing style.

Autism is a complicated neurological disorder that affects one in every eighty people. The brains of people with autism function differently than the brains of brain normative people and that is why it is so spectacular
…show more content…
While “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” starts of as a murder mystery the story soon begins to present themes of coming of age and bravery. Christopher Boone’s bravery is not the classic conquering monsters and saving princesses kind of bravery but the equally respected bravery associated with overcoming fears. Through overcoming fears, Christopher manages to become a more independent individual. Like any teenage, independence is one the most desired things in Christopher’s life. Sadly , being a person with autism, independence is extremely difficult to achieve for Christopher Boone. The readers get to watch Christopher grow as a person and mature through the book and finish as a more self-confident and positive

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    Cynthia Lord's Rules

    • 1603 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The book Rules stands out amongst other novels in the literary genre of children with disabilities. It not only chronicles the challenges that David, a boy with Autism, faces, but also illustrates his struggles from the perspective of someone on the outside, specifically his sister Catherine. The simplest abilities that most people take for granted, such as interpreting social cues and demonstrating appropriate manners, are the same abilities that people with Autism lack. This novel shines a light on how pertinent these capabilities are for living a so-called “normal life,” however, it also questions if having a “normal life” can always be a possibility. Catherine learns by the end of the book that although her brother David may not be like…

    • 1603 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, the main character Christopher Boone arguably has a form of autism known as Asperger’s Syndrome. Christopher continuously shows symptoms that are generally associated with Aspergers. In this novel Christopher is constantly struggling with the fact that his neighbor’s dog, Wellington has died. Throughout the course of this novel, we see that Christopher has many peculiar habits and mannerisms. These habits are arguably similar to those with Asperger's Syndrome.…

    • 99 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nighttime Characteristics

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Since Christopher has such a busy life, and a disease, he easily gets sidetracked, he misses big details, and he takes everything so literally which makes him not the best…

    • 1060 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    How does Haddon’s portrayal of the relationship between Christopher and his world move us to a deeper understanding of acceptance? It’s not so easy to talk about love in “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time” due to the narrator, Christopher Boone, struggling with acceptance of love. Christopher can recognize love when he sees it, but this can’t come close to accepting love. Exploring Chris and his relationship with his world will move us to a deeper understanding of acceptance.…

    • 711 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Bersani Ableism

    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages

    This is showing he likes isolating himself from others and being in closed spaces and alone. This made me think of the Meyers and Bersani Ableism article when they asked the question “8. Does the book promote positive self-image for people with disabilities?” And as Christopher’s character if I wouldn’t have been told that he had a disability in the beginning I wouldn’t have noticed his disability. Christopher is just like every other kid with a want for more when he sees something that sparks his interest.…

    • 925 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ed Boone

    • 1667 Words
    • 7 Pages

    A novel can do many things that make us think. In 2003 The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time by Mark Haddon shows us a look on one situation through three very unique people. The story contains many moments that give you a look at the character’s motives. Such moments are when Judy leaves the family because she can't handle Christopher (pg 106) or when Ed told Christopher that he was the one killed wellington (pg 121).…

    • 1667 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The theme of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon is that it is well worth it to learn who somebody really is. As a result of Christopher’s Autism, people don’t take the opportunity to get to know him or the reasons behind his actions. For example, Christopher has a strong aversion to the colors yellow and brown to the point where he won’t eat anything of those colors. “Mrs. Forbes said that hating yellow and brown is just being silly.” (Haddon 85)…

    • 210 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Logic is the reasoning assessed on the principles of validity. Emotion is the intuitive feeling as distinguished from reasoning. The rule of balance defines the way an individual’s morals bristle with prejudice, evaluating their motivation by pride and vanity in the discovery to reach new insights involving logic and one’s plight of present perception. These concepts can be evident with reference to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, a novel-to-play adaption by Simon Stephens, through questioning the thought of subjecting logic with emotion and observing themes that alert the stability in the conflict of forming individual identity. Its main character, and narrator of the book, fifteen-year-old Christopher is mathematically…

    • 1118 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Following this, Christophers reflects back on one of his teachers, Mr. Jeavons, “He said I liked maths because it meant solving problems and these problems were difficult and interesting but there was always a straightforward answer at the end” (61). Mr. Jeavons understood his way of thinking, and was able to use this knowledge to help Chris learn how to live in the real world when not everything is straightforward. This is a big step for Chris as he’s so used to looking at the world from his own point of view and have him step out of his own safety zone. (just finished this one wasn't blue…

    • 1034 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Irony is the use of language to signify the opposite of one’s meaning, usually to emphasize meaning or create humor. In the novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the author, Mark Haddon, uses irony to convey the mentality of Christopher, a child with Asperger's syndrome, and give the reader a deeper understanding of him and his disorder. The format of the book and genre were specifically chosen by the author to give the reader an initial idea of how Christopher is different. Distressing settings are also used to further differentiate Christopher from the reader.…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Christopher has a very special relationships with both his parents; however, one might be better than the other. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a novel by Mark Haddon in which a teenager with Asperger Disease takes you on his own personal crime mystery. Throughout the book Christopher runs into issues with his parents. At a moment in time he thought that one of them was dead and when he finds the truth he starts to separate himself from the one that lied. It's a battle between Father and Mother to see which one is the most merited for Christopher.…

    • 290 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Regarding education and friendship, significant learning is not able to develop without meaningful relationships. This idea is prevalent in Rules, a novel by Cynthia Lord. Rules tells the story of twelve-year-old Catherine and her struggle to find a balance between caring for her brother David, who has autism, and discovering her place in life. Preteen Catherine yearns for a “normal” life; one that doesn’t include frequently babysitting her brother and one not worrying about other people’s judgments of her family. Rules prove to be important in her family, as shown by Catherine, as she creates a set of rules for her brother that exceed the average house rules, such as “no taking off your pants.”…

    • 1448 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Parents often find themselves frustrated and lost when they fail to understand the actions of their children, but try their best to adapt to new situations. In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, the protagonist, Christopher Boone is a fifteen year-old autistic boy living in a dysfunctional family. Ed Boone and Judy Boone, the father and mother to Christopher, are estranged, with Ed being the primary caregiver to Chris. Ed faces many difficulties in raising his son alone in a world where few understand autism and where he himself does not fully comprehend this disorder. Furthermore, readers demonize Ed, and do not stop to consider how he positively influences Christopher by complying to his needs; asks for forgiveness…

    • 1032 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the Curious Incident, Christopher is shown to be different through his behavior problems, inability to socialize and his odd choices of likings. Mark Haddon’s novel, The Curious incident of the Dog in the Night-time was published in 2003, and was hugely criticized for its inaccurate interpretation on the Asperger’s syndrome, by the people suffering from it if not directly pointed at. However, this was one of Christopher Boone’s, the main character’s, most defining features as it made him unique. This made it difficult to talk to others and interact with them very well, making his investigation on the death of the dog just that more harder and intriguing. Another feature that made him more interesting was his thought process, which was detailed,…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Through his journey, there are lies, curious incidents, and strange happenings that intrigue and delight the reader. In addition, Christopher's Curiosity in this novel relates to many other scenarios involving human…

    • 1159 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays