Through out the book, Chris is prompted to make many small decisions in order to determine how he will live the rest of his life. From the moment he decided to go onto the road from Virginia to the West Coast, then landing in Alaska, he made small mistakes due to ignorance to fine details. During the most part of the book, Christopher McCandless is struggling without himself knowing of it. Many people he sees and meets along the way have warned him about the dangers of traversing the wilderness, alone with very little supplies and experience. After journeying into the deep Alaskan wilderness, Chris's actions show that with ignorance to small details, suffering will soon follow.…
Christopher changes when he decides to solve Wellington's murder since he must socialize with neighbors and strangers, something way out of his comfort zone. Because of his mental disability, he's not very good at having conversations and doesn't feel comfortable around people and has trouble understanding social cues. He also hates it when people touch or grab him, which leads to him getting arrested for hitting a police officer: "I didn't like him touching me like this. And this is when I hit him." His arrest happened when the police showed up to his neighbor Mrs. Shears's lawn, the scene of the crime.…
Determination and confidence provokes Christopher to do things that might not seem achievable for an autistic kid. Just because he has a disability, it does not mean Christopher cannot do anything. A famous tennis player once said, that confidence motivates people to do unseen things.…
He struggles in social scenarios and cannot read emotions, but flourishes in theoretical areas (such as mathematics). His social isolation is emphasised in his first person narration. “They are lies about things which didn’t happen and they make me feel shaky and scared.” He cannot cope with ‘normal’ social situations and is dislocated from society. This alienation drastically impacts the decisions he makes throughout the novel, and impacts his relationships. “…and it was dark in there and there was no one in there with me …and I did some quadratic equations like 0=437x + 103x + 11.” Christopher’s use of equations allow him to forget about his social struggles, and allow him to detach himself from reality. He functions in his own unique and logical world. This social solitude and Christopher’s unique condition greatly impacts the personal choices made throughout the novel, and the ramifications of these on…
I enjoyed reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time because the author, Mark Haddon, used such an engaging writing style. The use of the first person for the narrator allowed the readers to connect with the main character at a deep level and to understand his disease of Asperger's Syndrome. This point of view encourages the reader to empathize with the character and to experience his overwhelming mix of emotions. In addition, the use of graphics and illustrations was an interesting way of portraying how Christopher thinks. Lastly, the book being written in first person had both advantages and disadvantages.…
When dealing with new situations, Christopher seems to react in a weird way when he is fazed by uncomfortable situations or new situations. He hates unpredictable situations and dislikes anything new. For example, when Christopher appears upon a dead dog, he copes with this new situations differently. (Haddon 1). He's willing to spend his whole life finding who killed Wellington and even write a book about it. Another example is when Christopher found his mother's letters in his father's room. He didn’t know how to react. He…
When Christopher set off for his journey, he didn't tell anyone where he would be going. He simply left everything behind him like it was nothing. Getting lucky, Christopher found people to stay with and work under the table for. These jobs were only temporary for him as he would go from place to place often. Since he didn't bring a lot of food or supplies, it made it really hard on him to manage. Because he chose to not be more prepared like Gene, Christopher…
Some cannot wait to become adults, while others wish nothing more than for time to slow down. Wanting to grow up and being forced to out of necessity have many different effects on a young mind. Christopher wants nothing more than to receive his A level math and be like any other boy his age. He has never seen himself any more challenged than other children, often thinking of himself as superior to them. Unlike the others, Christopher feels he thrives in solitude and loves to be on his own. “When I was asleep I had one of my favorite dreams... and in that dream nearly everyone on the earth is dead” (Haddon 198-199). Christopher has no realistic knowledge of how to fend or care for himself, but as far as he knows,…
Christopher has strict, yet special rules for his everyday life that is not common among other people. In one of the lists he made about…
A scream emerges. Everyone looks around, surprised to see a young adult, crying and rolling on the ground. Someone tries to help him. He hits the person and screams again. This is Christopher John Francis Boone, the main character of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. This novel doesn’t have one specific theme because it is written with the perspective of Christopher, an autistic young adult who doesn’t get typical things the way I, and most people do.…
With the mindset Christopher had, this did not stop him, McCandless paddled down the river with extreme enthusiasm and excitement, in that moment he felt so alive and free. Christopher knew nothing was going to stop him from paddling down that river, not even the twelve year waiting list. That exact scene provides one example of how Christopher fulfills his everyday life, he takes a dangerous situation and runs with it. He started off turning down the excitement and focusing on his parent’s beliefs, now he enjoys every minute of the unexpected. As expressed many times before Christopher wanted nothing less than living his life to its fullest potential. Throughout his incredible but life altering journey, McCandless encounters many interesting…
Christopher being with his mother also created bad experiences for Christopher. Christopher and his mother would fight some times, and Christopher did not know how to control his temper. He once broke his mother's toes, " . . . you grabbed the chopping board and you threw that and it hit my foot" (Haddon 108). Keeping Christopher's mother out of Christopher's life was safer for both Christopher and his mom. The decision was an ethical decision, since it kept the family safe from each other.…
What is a perfect family? In the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, the family of a 15 year-old boy is broken and disproportionate. He is ignorant as to what goes on in his family because family related issues are kept hidden from him. Similarly, in Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the families that are discussed in the play deal with multiple issues as well. In both texts, family is a vital theme but is portrayed in a negative way. Haddon and Shakespeare both emphasize and exaggerate the flaws that occur in family relationships to resemble the reality that it is “normal” to have a “not normal” family. These defects are shown through the mistrust between family members, broken relationships…
"So many people live within unhappy circumstances & yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of Security, Conformity and Conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind. But in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit of a man than a secure future...." ( pg 58). Christopher’s hermartia was that he became antisocial. He did not…
Christopher’s condition directly results in a few minor conflicts in the novel, but more significantly, it factors to different degrees in the major conflicts between Mother and Father, between Father and Mrs. Shears, and between Father and Christopher. The minor conflicts often arise from Christopher’s trouble with social interaction. Early in the novel, for instance, Christopher hits the policeman because Christopher severely dislikes being touched. The policeman arrests Christopher, so Father has to come pick Christopher up, leading to a small argument between Father and Christopher as they drive home from the police station.…