The Curious Case Of The Dog In The Nighttime Parent Child Relationship Essay
The connection between a parent and a child is one of the most important relationships that there is. In The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, the parents of the main character Christopher, have separated from each other due to disputes about how to raise their son. Both parents carry out different actions which affect Christopher, and neither person is perfect. They both make mistakes at some point in the story; however, Father is the better parent for Christopher because he is always there for him and has his best interests at heart. After Christopher’s mother runs away with Mr. Shears, Father is the only available caretaker. He obviously loves Christopher; that is evident from the beginning when Christopher is being
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held at the police station and Father comes to retrieve him. He arrives as soon as possible, demanding to know why his son is locked up. Christopher says that instead of hugging, which he does not like, him and his father touch hands instead. He says: “We do this because sometimes Father wants to give me a hug, but I do not like hugging people so we do this instead, and it means that he loves me. “ (Haddon 16) It is also evident that Father often spends time with Christopher. “The next day was Saturday and there is not much to do on a Saturday unless Father takes me out somewhere on an outing to the boating lake or to the garden center.” (34) Father is willing to bond with Christopher and spend time with him, exhibiting parental stability. Contrary to the events that take place in the story, Christopher describes Father as a “levelheaded person”, and instead describes Mother as the hot-tempered one. This seems doubtful, as Father gets very angry a handful of times throughout the book. It can be gathered that the amount of stress he is feeling just pushed him over the edge.
Mother suffers from different flaws than Father does.
In her letter, she says that she left with the intention of making things easier for Christopher. This may have been her intention, but her actions were not appropriate. Leaving the family and running off with someone else is not going to help the situation; let alone make it better. She also says: “And I think that was when I realized you and your father were probably better off if I wasn't living in the house.” She often lost her temper when trying to get Christopher to do things he didn’t want to do. Although, she is not all bad. Mother instantly took Christopher in when he arrived at her door without warning. When she sees him, she quickly recovers from her shock and says: “Come on, Christopher, let's go inside and get you dried off." This shows that she at least doesn’t mind caring for Christopher. She also took it upon herself to leave Mr. Shears after realizing she was not in a good situation.
Father is not faultless. Christopher’s behavioral problems often cause Father to lose his temper and acts recklessly. After being Christopher’s guardian for 15 years, he should know that his son’s problems are something that he cannot control. Father also lied to Christopher, telling him that Mother was dead, and hiding the letters she had sent. When Christopher finds the letters, Father tells him: “ I was in such a mess . . . She left a note and. . . Then she
rang and. . . I said she was in hospital because. . . because I didn't know how to explain.” Although it’s true that it may be very painful for him to face reality, he is not doing either of them any good by covering up the facts. Christopher would have had to find out at some point, and better sooner than later. If he was told the truth from the beginning, it would have relieved a burden from Father, and Christopher would not be lied to. Not only that, but Christopher would have been able to accept the truth early on. The longer someone holds on to a truth, the more they accept it to be true, and therefore the more betrayed they feel when it is revealed as a lie. Mother, on the other hand, is not much better. Two parents are always better than one; no matter how volcanic the relationship may be (within reasonable bounds). If Christopher was able to grow up with both parents around, even if they didn’t always get along, he would have had a much more healthy childhood. In her letters, Mother says “Christopher, I never meant to hurt you. I thought that what I was doing was the best for all of us. I hope it is. And I want you to know that this is not your fault.” Mother definitely does not have malicious intentions, but she was too quick to make a decision. She could have tried other options first before leaving. Mother could have taken a long vacation, or gone to therapy, or taken some other route, but instead performed actions that maximized the amount of pain to her family. Besides, simply being there is literally the bottom line when it comes to raising a child. Abandoning the family demonstrates a huge lack of responsibility and selfishness as opposed to trying to mend the situation, even with the greater good at heart. She did send letters, but the attempts to communicate stop there. Considering all of these facts, Father is the better parent. Although he did get angry sometimes, he took care of Christopher when no one else could, and he was always there to protect him.
Father is the better parent, but both characters have their ups and downs. They both made mistakes, but they also did good things. Although, in the end, both parents would be in a better situation if Mother had not left. Father would not have gotten angry at Mrs. Shears and wouldn’t have killed Wellington, would not have hidden Mother’s letters, and therefore would still be in good standing with Christopher. Mother would be in good standing with Father, and they would probably still be united.
held at the police station and Father comes to retrieve him. He arrives as soon as possible, demanding to know why his son is locked up. Christopher says that instead of hugging, which he does not like, him and his father touch hands instead. He says: “We do this because sometimes Father wants to give me a hug, but I do not like hugging people so we do this instead, and it means that he loves me. “ (Haddon 16) It is also evident that Father often spends time with Christopher. “The next day was Saturday and there is not much to do on a Saturday unless Father takes me out somewhere on an outing to the boating lake or to the garden center.” (34) Father is willing to bond with Christopher and spend time with him, exhibiting parental stability. Contrary to the events that take place in the story, Christopher describes Father as a “levelheaded person”, and instead describes Mother as the hot-tempered one. This seems doubtful, as Father gets very angry a handful of times throughout the book. It can be gathered that the amount of stress he is feeling just pushed him over the edge.
Mother suffers from different flaws than Father does.
In her letter, she says that she left with the intention of making things easier for Christopher. This may have been her intention, but her actions were not appropriate. Leaving the family and running off with someone else is not going to help the situation; let alone make it better. She also says: “And I think that was when I realized you and your father were probably better off if I wasn't living in the house.” She often lost her temper when trying to get Christopher to do things he didn’t want to do. Although, she is not all bad. Mother instantly took Christopher in when he arrived at her door without warning. When she sees him, she quickly recovers from her shock and says: “Come on, Christopher, let's go inside and get you dried off." This shows that she at least doesn’t mind caring for Christopher. She also took it upon herself to leave Mr. Shears after realizing she was not in a good situation.
Father is not faultless. Christopher’s behavioral problems often cause Father to lose his temper and acts recklessly. After being Christopher’s guardian for 15 years, he should know that his son’s problems are something that he cannot control. Father also lied to Christopher, telling him that Mother was dead, and hiding the letters she had sent. When Christopher finds the letters, Father tells him: “ I was in such a mess . . . She left a note and. . . Then she
rang and. . . I said she was in hospital because. . . because I didn't know how to explain.” Although it’s true that it may be very painful for him to face reality, he is not doing either of them any good by covering up the facts. Christopher would have had to find out at some point, and better sooner than later. If he was told the truth from the beginning, it would have relieved a burden from Father, and Christopher would not be lied to. Not only that, but Christopher would have been able to accept the truth early on. The longer someone holds on to a truth, the more they accept it to be true, and therefore the more betrayed they feel when it is revealed as a lie. Mother, on the other hand, is not much better. Two parents are always better than one; no matter how volcanic the relationship may be (within reasonable bounds). If Christopher was able to grow up with both parents around, even if they didn’t always get along, he would have had a much more healthy childhood. In her letters, Mother says “Christopher, I never meant to hurt you. I thought that what I was doing was the best for all of us. I hope it is. And I want you to know that this is not your fault.” Mother definitely does not have malicious intentions, but she was too quick to make a decision. She could have tried other options first before leaving. Mother could have taken a long vacation, or gone to therapy, or taken some other route, but instead performed actions that maximized the amount of pain to her family. Besides, simply being there is literally the bottom line when it comes to raising a child. Abandoning the family demonstrates a huge lack of responsibility and selfishness as opposed to trying to mend the situation, even with the greater good at heart. She did send letters, but the attempts to communicate stop there. Considering all of these facts, Father is the better parent. Although he did get angry sometimes, he took care of Christopher when no one else could, and he was always there to protect him.
Father is the better parent, but both characters have their ups and downs. They both made mistakes, but they also did good things. Although, in the end, both parents would be in a better situation if Mother had not left. Father would not have gotten angry at Mrs. Shears and wouldn’t have killed Wellington, would not have hidden Mother’s letters, and therefore would still be in good standing with Christopher. Mother would be in good standing with Father, and they would probably still be united.