Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
O’Brien 1
Will O’Brien
CP09 – 02
Ms. DeMeranville
10 - 3 – 11
Curious Incident Essay Many people lie to one another about small things every day, but imagine lying to someone about their mother’s death? And what if it was their father who had lied? In the novel, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” by Mark Haddon, Christopher’s father makes the mistake of lying to his son about the death of his mother, which results in a loss of trust from his son, and moves the plot forward by making new challenges for both Christopher and his father.
Christopher’s father makes the mistake of lying to his son about his mother’s death. Christopher eventually finds out that his mother is alive. His father tries to explain why he has done this, but Christopher is too shocked to say anything. He eventually finds out that he is being lied to because he goes looking for his detective journal that his father his from him, but ends up finding mysterious letters addressed to him. “There was no date on the letter, so I could not work out if it was mother, or if someone was pretending to be mother.”(98). It takes him awhile to figure out that they are from his mother, because he thought that someone was playing a joke on him, but eventually comes to the conclusion that they are from his mother, and his father has been lying to him his whole life. O’Brien 2
As a result of lying to his son about his mother’s death, Christopher’s father loses his sons trust. When Christopher realizes that it has been his mother sending him those letters, he can’t think or process what is going on. “Then I stopped reading the letter because I felt sick. Mother had not had a heart attack. Mother had not died. Mother had been alive the whole time. And father had lied about it.”(112). The act of lying to Christopher about his mother creates new challenges for both Christopher and his father. When Christopher tells his mother that he has to go
Will O’Brien
CP09 – 02
Ms. DeMeranville
10 - 3 – 11
Curious Incident Essay Many people lie to one another about small things every day, but imagine lying to someone about their mother’s death? And what if it was their father who had lied? In the novel, “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” by Mark Haddon, Christopher’s father makes the mistake of lying to his son about the death of his mother, which results in a loss of trust from his son, and moves the plot forward by making new challenges for both Christopher and his father.
Christopher’s father makes the mistake of lying to his son about his mother’s death. Christopher eventually finds out that his mother is alive. His father tries to explain why he has done this, but Christopher is too shocked to say anything. He eventually finds out that he is being lied to because he goes looking for his detective journal that his father his from him, but ends up finding mysterious letters addressed to him. “There was no date on the letter, so I could not work out if it was mother, or if someone was pretending to be mother.”(98). It takes him awhile to figure out that they are from his mother, because he thought that someone was playing a joke on him, but eventually comes to the conclusion that they are from his mother, and his father has been lying to him his whole life. O’Brien 2
As a result of lying to his son about his mother’s death, Christopher’s father loses his sons trust. When Christopher realizes that it has been his mother sending him those letters, he can’t think or process what is going on. “Then I stopped reading the letter because I felt sick. Mother had not had a heart attack. Mother had not died. Mother had been alive the whole time. And father had lied about it.”(112). The act of lying to Christopher about his mother creates new challenges for both Christopher and his father. When Christopher tells his mother that he has to go