Asperger’s, according to Asperger Autism Spectrum Education Network, is a neurobiological disorder on the higher-functioning end of the autism spectrum. In Mark Haddon’s British novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Christopher Boone, a fifteen year old child with this disorder, tries to solve the murder of his neighbor’s dog, Wellington. Along the way, he overcomes multiple obstacles Asperger’s provides him. I am clearly unlike Christopher for various reasons. Christopher and I differ in affection, parents, and coping mechanisms. Readers will learn the differences in challenges between a disabled child and a normal child along with the complication associated with each of them. Specifically, Christopher Boone and I are
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Christopher’s parents split up because Judy Boone, Christopher’s mom, could not handle a disabled child. She realizes that him and his father, Ed Boone, could manage without her. In addition, she starts to have an affair with her next door neighbor, Roger Shears, which accelerated the separation. In one of her letters to Christopher, his mom writes, “And I couldn’t walk properly for a month, do you remember, and your father had to look after you. And I remember looking at the two of you and see you together and thinking how you were really different with him. Much calmer. And you didn’t shout at one another. And it made me sad because it was like you didn’t need me at all. And somehow that was even worse than you and me arguing all the time because it was like I was invisible. And I think that was when I realized you and your father were probably better off if I wasn’t living in the house. Then he would only have one person to look after instead of two”(108-109). In the letter, Judy explains that she feels invisible when Christopher plays with his father because Christopher becomes a different person. Since she feels as though the house will do better without her around, she decides to move out. In addition, when the parents meet each other, a fight breaks out between them about Christopher. They argue about Judy sending letters every week with no response and how his dad takes care of him everyday and performs the hard tasks. His dad states, “I cooked his meals. I cleaned his clothes. I looked after him every weekend. I looked after him when he was ill. I took him to the doctor. I worried myself sick every time he wandered off somewhere at night. I went to school every time he got into a fight. And you? What? You wrote him some fucking letters”(196-197). Ed explains that even though Judy writes letters every week, he performs all the tasks in taking care of Christopher. He implies that
Christopher’s parents split up because Judy Boone, Christopher’s mom, could not handle a disabled child. She realizes that him and his father, Ed Boone, could manage without her. In addition, she starts to have an affair with her next door neighbor, Roger Shears, which accelerated the separation. In one of her letters to Christopher, his mom writes, “And I couldn’t walk properly for a month, do you remember, and your father had to look after you. And I remember looking at the two of you and see you together and thinking how you were really different with him. Much calmer. And you didn’t shout at one another. And it made me sad because it was like you didn’t need me at all. And somehow that was even worse than you and me arguing all the time because it was like I was invisible. And I think that was when I realized you and your father were probably better off if I wasn’t living in the house. Then he would only have one person to look after instead of two”(108-109). In the letter, Judy explains that she feels invisible when Christopher plays with his father because Christopher becomes a different person. Since she feels as though the house will do better without her around, she decides to move out. In addition, when the parents meet each other, a fight breaks out between them about Christopher. They argue about Judy sending letters every week with no response and how his dad takes care of him everyday and performs the hard tasks. His dad states, “I cooked his meals. I cleaned his clothes. I looked after him every weekend. I looked after him when he was ill. I took him to the doctor. I worried myself sick every time he wandered off somewhere at night. I went to school every time he got into a fight. And you? What? You wrote him some fucking letters”(196-197). Ed explains that even though Judy writes letters every week, he performs all the tasks in taking care of Christopher. He implies that