xxx In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon suggests that people rationalize even their most hurtful behavior, through the motivations of Judy and Ed Boone. On way in which Haddon suggests that people rationalize their behavior is through the choices of Judy Boone. In letters to Christopher, Judy explains how he and his father made her feel “invisible… and incredibly lonely”(chp. 157,) forcing her to move to London with Mr. Shears. Judy rationalizes abandoning her autistic son with his father by placing blame on them for her departure. She does not accept responsibly for hurt and strain she puts on her family, rather she makes excuses for why she needed to leave. Another example of Judy’s rationalization is in her letter to Christopher where she says how Christopher “and [his] father were better off living in the house.
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Mrs. Shears had just rejected him and he felt that “she cared more for that bloody dog” (chp. 167,) than she did for him. He rationalizes the dog’s murder by saying how hurt he was by Mrs. Shears, and how he felt that she valued her dog more than him. Haddon further exposes how much people are willing to rationalize through Ed Boone’s choice to lie about his wife’s death. Mr. Boone states that ‘“he didn’t know how to explain it…it just so hard it got out of control’” (chp. 157). Christopher’s father does not know how to explain that his wife left him to Christopher so he rationalizes that it is better to lie and say that she passed. In doing so, he completely obliterated any chance of future integration Christopher could have with his mother. He chooses not to own up to his lie, rather to protect himself and his relationship with Christoper. Mr. Boone demonstrates how people make excuses for even the most hurtful choices, because owning up to his decision would be too
Mrs. Shears had just rejected him and he felt that “she cared more for that bloody dog” (chp. 167,) than she did for him. He rationalizes the dog’s murder by saying how hurt he was by Mrs. Shears, and how he felt that she valued her dog more than him. Haddon further exposes how much people are willing to rationalize through Ed Boone’s choice to lie about his wife’s death. Mr. Boone states that ‘“he didn’t know how to explain it…it just so hard it got out of control’” (chp. 157). Christopher’s father does not know how to explain that his wife left him to Christopher so he rationalizes that it is better to lie and say that she passed. In doing so, he completely obliterated any chance of future integration Christopher could have with his mother. He chooses not to own up to his lie, rather to protect himself and his relationship with Christoper. Mr. Boone demonstrates how people make excuses for even the most hurtful choices, because owning up to his decision would be too