Out of all the novels i have read so far in this course, I think the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and Life of Pi are probably the ones I find my students will be able to relate to the best. I feel that these novels are relate-able to students in terms of that longing teenagers have to find some sort of identity and independence. The reader sees this longing or struggle for independence from the main character Christoper in the Curious Incident… Christopher is like every other teenager in the sense that he wants to be able to do whatever he wants and when he wants; but I think a lot of students, especially those with any sort of learning disability would be able to relate to Christoper very well. Christopher’s autism does not stop him from seeking independence and achieving great success on his A level math test acts as a deeper trigger to pursue independence.- his acceptance into college.
What is interesting is how Christopher’s condition makes him so unique and I think it would allow students to not only empathize with him, but also emphasize the that diversity is unique and special. Regardless, the students will most likely enjoy the murder mystery but I think they would find it interesting to see how the story moves away from the mystery aspect and focuses more on developing the character of Christopher. The relationship between Christoper and his father and learning about his mother would be a great discussion topic with students. I think a lot of social issues could arise from discussing the many themes of the novel. Not only the relationship with family, the longing for independence but also the whole notion of dealing with loss. It would be interesting to discuss how the novel opens with death and ends with death and then tie the themes together and ultimately come full circle with the text. I find the way that the author constantly shifts from the main story line to discuss other issues like physics, but eventually finds its way to the main storyline and links its together with Christopher’s diverse personality is not only engaging but a great example to show students the different ways of storytelling. I think it is also a great idea to show the students the reality that the author evokes in the novel. By this I mean that all the issues that the characters deal with eventually are solved to some degree, but their lives still remain complicated and disorderly. This shows that as humans we need to stay positive and also aide in our attempt to endure whatever life throws at us.
The Element of Visuals in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Like Rupi, I truly enjoyed this book, and I have decided that it is my favourite of all my readings in the course. What I appreciated the most was how well the author was able to get into the psyche of Christopher John Francis Boone, a fifteen year-old with autism. When I was a Special Education Assistant, like Siobhan from the novel, I met a lot of boys with very similar personalities to Christopher.
It is generally accepted that children with autism have difficulties with social and communication skills, and Christopher is no exception. Since the author himself worked with children with autism, he knows that these students react positively to being taught with visuals or “pics” as they are often called. These visuals are helpful because they give the student a concrete example of how something appears in real life. The visuals do not change from one situation to another; they are static. Because Christopher cannot “read” people’s emotionally based social cues , he uses visual cues to translate meaning into the world around him. Subsequently, the author has filled the novel with a litany of graphic symbols to demonstrate how Christopher uses these clues to decode our strange world.
I view Haddon’s writing as a lattice upon which he hangs his graphic illustrations like Christmas ornaments on a tree. As the reader flips through the novel, he or she will come across a myriad of charts, graphs, illustrations, maps, grids, signs, schedules, constellations and even mathematical formulas. The inclusion of these formulas are also significant as Christopher excels in “maths”. It is also typical of some students with autism to be highly intelligent in areas of logic and science. Christopher states, “I said that I liked things to be in a nice order. And one way of things being in a nice order was to be logical. Especially if those things were numbers or an argument” (24).
It is also significant that the author chooses to include in the novel nine pages of the letters that Christopher’s mother wrote to him. Since Christopher’s father has hidden the letters from him, the reader feels the same shock when the truth is revealed. The letters are another example of how Haddon has infused his writing with graphic information. Furthermore, when Christopher is travelling alone, it is his ability to interpret all the bewildering signs, maps, advertisements and train schedules he views along the way that successfully guides him to finding his mother’s house.
If the author had chosen not to include the diverse visuals in the novel, I do not think the story would have the same impact on the reader. It is true that we are fascinated and impressed by Christopher’s desire to find Wellington’s killer, but I think the reader genuinely learns a great deal about what it is like to live with autism. Christopher is a modern day hero, with a twist. The reader gleefully cheers for the boy because he has succeeded in spite of his “disability”.
I completely agree – I read this text once before, (just for pleasure) and so it was interesting to read it again now in the context of how I would like to teach it to others. I would love to teach this text in the high school setting and am really looking forward to teaching it to my grade 10 class during the long practicum.
One aspect I might use to approach the text, in addition to the other themes discussed by Lori & Rupi, is the aspect of humour found throughout the text. Personally I found Christopher to have a great sense of humour… even though he claims that jokes and lies are too similar for his liking. What makes this story funny? How does Christopher’s (our narrator’s) voice come through so strongly and humorously, if he doesn’t tell jokes (except ones that demonstrate something that he feels is true). Does the chapter structure and other breaks or visuals contribute to this? I would like to examine, with my students, what the structure of humour is. And then, looking at whether we find elements of humour in the text, pulling out the strong use of irony and focusing the majority of discussion on this aspect of humour and how this works with the narrator’s voice and other textual elements. This could further move into discussion around what we consider to be logical and illogical and how this contributes to the humorous tone. I’d like to circle back at that point to how each of us views ‘logic’ and how this can differ for people. Even Christopher knows his dislike for the colours yellow and brown are somewhat illogical – but he holds logic and order so highly in terms of how he operates in the world. Grappling with this contradiction might be a way to bring to light some other contradictions that the text raises. Definitely this would be a good opportunity to come back to, as Rupi discussed above, the elements of diversity and inclusion. Christopher is certainly an easy character to empathize with and I think that it is due to the fact that the author presents not only a character with a disability in a meaningful way, but also in that he grapples with the same issues of seeking independence that all adolescents do.
Overall I enjoyed the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, but found I was ultimately unsatisfied with its ending. I was disappointed that the father never really came around to seeing his son’s point of view concerning Wellington. One of the things I really appreciated about Christopher was his appreciation and compassion for animals. I felt that he genuinely had a sense of urgency and concern over what he viewed as an issue of justice concerning Wellington’s murder. He did not view Wellington as a ‘bloody dog’ like his father did, but as a life, and one that was equal to that of a human. To him animals are far more preferable companions because he describes them as being what they are. Their emotions and intentions are always real, they do not deceive, and they are therefore more appealing to Christopher as he knows what to expect. With humans he does not get the same luxury.
Christopher’s father certainly represents this as on the surface his motives are well intentioned, but the results of his actions are harmful to Christopher. Because unlike Christopher we do not take the fathers actions at face value we are able to empathize in a way Christopher cannot. Christopher only knows he was deceived. We as the readers however can tell the father genuinely cares for his son and can see that he is there for him when times are both good and bad. The mother however stands in a nice juxtaposition to the father in that we should feel anger towards her for abandoning her son. But, given we have been led to believe she is dead this anger is dissipated when she acts as a saviour for Christopher once he flees his father. As a result of this incident the father is once again vilified for having lied further to Christopher and depriving him of his mother. In reality it is not equitable that Christopher’s mother should be given a chance to be painted in such a saintly light, as she has failed him when he needed her.
By the end of the novel you truly believe that the father is remorseful for the consequences of his actions. What troubles me is that I don’t believe he is actually sorry for what he has done, but only that he was caught. He speaks of building trust and wanting to rebuild a relationship that he has broken and I believe he is sincere in this desire. I just don’t see how that will happen if he is not willing to see Christopher’s views on animals and show some true remorse over the action of killing Wellington not just its consequences.
Like my fellow readers I really enjoyed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night and I think it would a very powerful text to use in the classroom. Although the language used is quite simple, the themes are complicated, well developed and extremely relevant to teenagers. I am teaching a grade 12 Comm class and I think this might be a great book to use. Like Chris I found the relationships between the characters, particularly the mother, the father and Christopher a very interesting part of the novel and could lead to discussions on honesty, courage, betrayal and modern family ties.
I think this book would provide a great background for discussion truth and lies, fantasy and reality. In many ways, Christopher is incapable of fantasy, even though at one point he talks about the day dream where everyone in the world becomes infected by a computer virus (even here he needs to qualify every step with something that could be possible) he does not daydream or fantasize about relationships with people. When confronted by the death of his mother, he cannot picture her in heaven, he can only picture her as tiny molecules floating above them. Likewise Christopher does not like (or cannot comprehend) lies, myths, stories which are untrue or jokes: “And this shows that sometimes people want to be stupid and and they do not want to know the truth…which means that a murder victim is usually killed by someone known to them and fairies are made out of paper and you can’t talk to someone who’s dead.” (90) This could very easily lead into discussions about fantasy and how much we allow for or need fantasy in our everyday lives. Christopher is so committed to everything in the world being as it seems (or as he was told) that when he finds the letters from his mother he goes through every other logical possibility before he accepts that his mother is still alive: “I looked at the letter and thought really hard. It was a mystery and I couldn’t work it out…” Christopher is disassociated from everything emotional that would normally stress us out, his very strong voice describes hyper-emotional events from the perspective of logic and helps us solve the human mystery of why people act the way they do.
Some ideas you could explore with your class:
1. What is important to Christopher in the scene where his father discovers him with the letters, how is this different than how someone without autism would respond?
2. How do we employ fantasy/suspension of disbelief in our everyday lives?
3. The relationship between pets and their owners, how is this also related to fantasy and reality? (How much do we suspend disbelief when we interact with our pets, why does Christopher trust people who own dogs)