In Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, an attempt at the Bildungsroman genre is made, by employing many of the characteristics of this genre. Many argue that this novel is not a true Bildungsroman however, I will argue that it is, since it contains almost all of the key aspects of this genre, despite the slight twist near the end. I believe that this novel fits the genre of Bildungsroman and demonstrates the coming of age of Christopher through his various experiences in his hometown, as well as on his journey to find his mother. In this essay I will discuss the main components of Bildungsroman: emotional loss, a journey, and transformation and the way in which they are displayed in this novel through Christopher.
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Later when he is back looking in the box, and reading more letters, his father comes in and sees him, and becomes upset, but then realizes that he must tell Christopher the truth, and he does. Once Christopher realizes that his father has lied to him it affects him mentally: “I doubled 2’s in my head because it made me feel calmer. I got to 33554432 which is 225, which was not very much because I’ve got to 245 before, but my brain wasn’t working very well” (120). Christopher is normally so good at math, and is always thinking, but clearly this news has had quick the impact on him emotionally. Then, Christopher finds out some even more upsetting news that he had not anticipated. His father had confessed to him about killing Wellington, and after explaining himself, he holds out his hand for Christopher to hold, but instead Christopher “screamed and pushed him backward so that he fell off the bed and onto the floor” (122). This situation with the mistrust from his father, and the upsetting news that he had killed the dog was Christopher’s great emotional loss that he …show more content…
When Christopher realizes that his dad has killed Wellington, he thinks that he may be in danger and that he must get out and leave as soon as he can. He makes the decision that he must go on a journey to live with his mother in London and when he is talking to Mrs. Alexander he tells her his plan: “I’m going to live with my mother because Father killed Wellington, and he lied and I’m frightened of being in the house with him” (134). This specific example is of Christopher’s physical journey; however, he does also go through an emotional journey while on his quest to find his mother. He overcomes many of the fears and behavioural problems that he has, doing so all on his own without the support of his father or teacher. When Christopher is in the train station, he knows that he must go through the tunnel to get to the train, but he is extremely scared, and compares it to standing on the edge of a cliff; however he finds a way to overcome his fear, and go through the tunnel: “And it was like stepping off the cliff on a tightrope. And eventually I got to the end of the tunnel” (145). This journey that Christopher is on both physically and emotionally is another one of the key characteristics that classify Haddon’s novel as a
Later when he is back looking in the box, and reading more letters, his father comes in and sees him, and becomes upset, but then realizes that he must tell Christopher the truth, and he does. Once Christopher realizes that his father has lied to him it affects him mentally: “I doubled 2’s in my head because it made me feel calmer. I got to 33554432 which is 225, which was not very much because I’ve got to 245 before, but my brain wasn’t working very well” (120). Christopher is normally so good at math, and is always thinking, but clearly this news has had quick the impact on him emotionally. Then, Christopher finds out some even more upsetting news that he had not anticipated. His father had confessed to him about killing Wellington, and after explaining himself, he holds out his hand for Christopher to hold, but instead Christopher “screamed and pushed him backward so that he fell off the bed and onto the floor” (122). This situation with the mistrust from his father, and the upsetting news that he had killed the dog was Christopher’s great emotional loss that he …show more content…
When Christopher realizes that his dad has killed Wellington, he thinks that he may be in danger and that he must get out and leave as soon as he can. He makes the decision that he must go on a journey to live with his mother in London and when he is talking to Mrs. Alexander he tells her his plan: “I’m going to live with my mother because Father killed Wellington, and he lied and I’m frightened of being in the house with him” (134). This specific example is of Christopher’s physical journey; however, he does also go through an emotional journey while on his quest to find his mother. He overcomes many of the fears and behavioural problems that he has, doing so all on his own without the support of his father or teacher. When Christopher is in the train station, he knows that he must go through the tunnel to get to the train, but he is extremely scared, and compares it to standing on the edge of a cliff; however he finds a way to overcome his fear, and go through the tunnel: “And it was like stepping off the cliff on a tightrope. And eventually I got to the end of the tunnel” (145). This journey that Christopher is on both physically and emotionally is another one of the key characteristics that classify Haddon’s novel as a