Christopher showed courage in many ways throughout the novel. When he found Wellington, a neighbourhood dog, dead in the front yard, Christopher spend time ʺdetectingʺ, or talking to people on his street. This was a difficulty for him, because he did not enjoy talking to people he had never met before. To him, people were hard to understand (Haddon p. 34). Although he knew it would be difficult, he faced it, and got
Firstly, Christopher starts his mystery novel with a gruesome scene of the death of Wellington, a neighbor’s dog who had been brutally killed with no explanation. Christopher is determined to find out who killed Wellington although he is repeatedly put down and told by his father that “it’s a bloody dog, Christopher, a bloody dog” (20) and that he should leave it alone. After his father repeatedly tells him to give up this “game” he believes Christopher is playing, he does not give up, constantly trying to figure out the truth about who killed Wellington. He faces these roadblocks and doesn’t give up. Christopher shows that he has the hero like attributes when he decides to care about Wellington, and to go against his father’s advice.
He’s coming this way” (93). The deeper meaning of this quotation symbolizes that prejudice is on its way, but the citizens of Maycomb are oblivious to it. The reason that prejudice is on its way is because of the trial; the jury convicted Tom Robinson of raping Mayella Ewell, even though there was not even enough evidence for the case to go on trial, and Atticus proved that Mayella could not have been hurt by Mr. Robinson. This is portrayed through the dog because he is making his way towards them; slowly but is still very dangerous. The quote also shows that the citizens are oblivious to prejudice because no one in town notices that there is a mad dog, except for Jem and Scout.
Ed killed the dog because he was angry at his wife, Judy Boone, for having an affair with Mr Shears. Ed took care of Christopher when his wife left them. I think that takes a lot of courage to take care of Christopher because Christopher has Asperger’s. In the end, Ed buys a puppy for Christopher proving he wouldn’t hurt Christopher. Ed said, “Christopher.
I didn’t like him touching me like this. And this is when I hit him” (Haddon,8). Christopher’s learning disabilities do affect him, but do not stop him from pursing his dreams. He knew he wanted to write a book about a murdered dog he found, and he did. There were some obstacles while writing the book, but he managed to push and get through it all.
Even though it is hard to understand when you read further into it you begin to understand not only the story but also Christopher. This book has many different themes, as this story is not only about one thing, one of the themes is tragedy. There are many tragic moments for Christopher, including when he finds one of his neighbours Mrs. Shears dog Wellington dead with a garden fork pocked all the way though the dog. Christopher decides he wants to find out who killed Wellington so he starts writing a novel to find the killer. Another tragedy is when Christopher finds out that his mother is not dead but is in fact living in London with Mr. Shears, Mrs. Shears husband.
In the book, from the very start Christopher’s father does not want him to try and solve the mystery of the dead dog. This hints that he doesn’t want Christopher to find out who killed the dog because it was him, Christopher’s father. He also says many times throughout the book that he does not like Mr. Shears. Even though Mr. Shears is gone now, killing his old dog could be a way to try to emotionally hurt him. Another literary device in this book is symbolism.
Ten Key Events: Disorder of Life 1. The book started in Chapter 1 with the murder of Wellington. As Christopher discovers the body of Wellington, he becomes mystified. He ends up hugging Wellington as he likes dogs. He is discovered by Mrs. Shears and runs away due to her screaming.
People diagnosed with a communication disorder can have straining social interactions causing a division between their world and the societal world. In Mark Haddon’s implausible novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time he writes about Christopher Boone, an autistic 15-year old boy, who accounts for the other percentage of autistic children that are highly intelligent, but have a hard time communicating it. Christopher is trying to solve the murder of his neighbor’s dog, but throughout his investigation he finds out more than he expected about secrets within his own family and even himself. Haddon creates an opportunity to view the disorder through Christopher’s eyes and the eyes of others; but most importantly he is determined to prove that his disorder will not limit his aspirations. The narrative explores the way in which Christopher’s mind operates in contrast to those without autism, how this mindset affects his interactions with others, and how these experiences led to his personal goals.
Dear Editor, I would like to respond to Hans Wergin’s letter about abandoned dogs. I strongly disagree with Hans Wergin and feel that his idea of making people register as dog owners is of little value. The government should take other actions for tackling this severe problem. According to SPCA, the stray dog population in Hong Kong is escalating continuously. Dogs will be forced to take euthanasia if they were not adopted for a period of time.