The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nightime

Essay: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

       The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a book written and publiched by Mark Haddon in 2003. This novel is the first work of the author, it avhieves a great success and is printed in several million copies. The plot is about a young boy of fifteen years old, Christopher, who decides to investigate the murder of his neighbor's dog. Through the chapters, we realize that he have his own way of thinking and exprissing himself, notably in his social interactions...                                                                                              I'm going to show you to what extents Christopher's communication skills are both a burden and an asset in his everyday life.

    Firstly,  his communication skills are a real burden, and this for some reasons. Christopher have a real problem with talking to every person he doesn't know in general, he can't talk to strangers without being really stressed and overwhelmed; and he cannot tolerate physical contact, even with his family. He gets himself in dangerous situations without even knowing, like in the chapter 227 in the metro, and when people want to help him he just don't want to being touched: "And the lady said, 'Are you OK?' and she touched my arm so I screamed again." (page 225). He doesn't understand people in general when they speak, he explains this in chapter 29: "I find people confusing. This is for two main reasons. The first main reason is that people do a lot of talking without using any words. [...] The second main reason is that people often talk using metaphors.". He doesn't speak the same way as most people and therefore has difficulty understanding them. He also doesn't understand facial expressions, except “happy” and “sad” expressions: “Then she drew some other pictures but I was unable to say what they meant. [...] And now if I don't know what someone is saying I ask them what they mean or I walk away.” Christopher can be violent if he's surprised or doesn't understand what's happening. For example at the beginning of the book in chapter 11, when the policeman asks him questions about the dog, he is upset and afraid, and the policeman is talking too fast for him. “He was asking too many questions and he ws asking them too quickly. They were stacking up in my head like loaves in the factory where Uncle Terry works.[...] I rolled back onto the lawn and pressed my forehead to the ground again and made the noise that Father calls groaning.[...] The policeman took hold of my arm and lifted me onto my feet. I didn't like him touching me like this. And this is when I hit him.”

         However, these quirks and communication problems can be an asset in certain situations. Indeed, I could notice that Christopher is really  honest. He is frank and straight with the rare people with who he's talking, mostly when he has an idea in mind. This is because he can't lie, he says it himself in chapter 37 : “I do not tell lies. Mother used to say that this was because I was a good person. But it is not because I am a good person. It is because I can't tell lies.” It's a thing that can be very helpful because people can trust him when he says something. Being that way also helps him when he decide to investigate about the murder and go interrogate his neighbors in chapter 67. His questions are straightforward, like “Do you know who killed Wellington?”.

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