In Mark Haddon’s novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, readers observe the world through the eyes of an autistic fifteen-year-old boy named Christopher Boone. Christopher discovers his neighbor’s poodle, Wellington, was mysteriously murdered so he becomes committed to solving the murder. After discovering his father killed the dog, the story’s external conflict evolves from solving Wellington’s murder to Christopher’s perilous journey to find the mother who he recently found out was still alive.
Christopher’s internal conflict becomes more prominent as the turn in events force him to struggle against his autism’s limitations. Throughout this escapade, Christopher’s character continues to develop. Haddon depicts how Christopher’s logical way of thinking aids and hinders his journey, causing him to adapt. Haddon also shows how Christopher slowly steps out of his comfort zone to achieve his goals and becomes increasingly independent throughout the novel. Christopher’s distinct perception of the world becomes apparent right from the start.
Readers quickly learn that Christopher has a deeply logical way of processing information, has difficulty empathizing, and lacks the imagination most people take for granted. He explains his incapability of telling lies, promptly adding that it has nothing to do with him being a good person, but that “there is only ever one thing which happened at a particular time and a particular place… And if | think about something which didn’t happen I start thinking about all the other things which didn’t happen,” and “this makes me feel shaky and scared,” (19).
This key characteristic guarantees the truth in all the events relayed by Christopher and his lack of an imagination allows him to objectively analyze facts that present themselves later in the book. However, while at first Christopher’s logical way of thinking seems to enhance his detective abilities, later this attribute prevents him from figuring out the truth as quickly as someone without a deficient imagination. In the beginning, Christopher discloses that two years ago his mother died, at least that was what his father had told him.
Later he finds letters that his mother had written to him after the date she had presumably passed away, but he knew his father loved him and “loving someone is .. telling them the truth” (87) so he thought it was impossible for his father to lie to him. Instead of quickly deducing that his father had lied about his mother’s death, it takes Christopher days. These events introduce to Christopher the concept that not everything can be logically explained.
Haddon’s skillful development of this characteristic, produces an intriguing outlook and a truly fascinating story. The unique way Christopher deals with new or confusing situations develops continually throughout the novel. He finds great comfort in order, organization, and situations that he can easily make sense of. For example, if someone merely moves the furniture in his house to vacuum, he must return it to the precise position it was previously in. An unfamiliar environment or the slightest sense of chaos frightens him, making him feel out of control.
Many people can tune out a situation that frightens them or overlook changing from one environment to the next, but Christopher later explains that when he enters a new place, he will immediately “see everything” (140). It becomes difficult for him to function when bombarded by scores of new information like a computer crashing. He has “to close [his] eyes and put [his] hands over [his] ears and groan, which is like pressing CTRL + ALT + DEL and shutting down programs and turning the computer off and rebooting,” (143).
This seems like a regular obstacle in Christopher’s life, but when he faces the challenge of finding his mother by himself, he doesn’t allow this impediment to prevent him from achieving his goal. He finds new ways to deal with the frightening sounds and crowds of the London Underground such as closing his eyes and focusing on the rhythm of the sounds around him like the trains coming in and out of the station. His admirable determination gradually triumphs over the challenge that had shaped the majority of his life.
Readers witness Christopher becoming increasingly independent as the story progresses. When the police assume he killed Wellington and arrest him, Christopher relies on his father to help him out of the situation. Later, however, he begins to find ways of relying on his own skills. For example, despite his father’s fervent requests to “stay out of other people’s business,” Christopher approaches Mrs. Alexander and uncovers his mother’s affair with Mr. Shears He also repeatedly fantasizes about living alone in space or being the last person on earth, emphasizing his desire for independence.
After no longer feeling safe in his own home, Christopher builds the confidence to set out on his own to find his mother. In the final chapter he states: “I am going to go to university in another town… And I can live in a flat with a garden and a proper toilet…. And then I will get a First Class Honors degree and I will become a scientist. And I know I can do this because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery of Who Killed Wellington? and I found my mother and I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything. (221) With this statement, Haddon implies that Christopher’s independence will continue to grow along with his confidence in himself.
Mark Haddon portrays a character who was dealt unfortunate circumstances but learns to strive beyond his own limitations. Christopher Boone, a largely misunderstood person, created his own path by reaching his full potential and exceeding other people’s expectations. With this best selling novel, Haddon teaches his audience that there is no one way of reaching success and with the right amount of determination, anything is possible.
