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  • Essay / Coming of Age in "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"

    The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is the story of the adventures of Christopher John Francis Boone as told by him. The protagonist, Christopher, wrote the book as a murder mystery, describing his investigation into the murder of Mrs. Shears' dog, Wellington. However, as he tells his story, the reader gets a clearer picture of Christopher's life, discovering his mother and all the secrets present within his family. Boone has mental and behavioral problems. Throughout the text, he must struggle with his own issues as he investigates the poodle's murder and searches for his mother. Through The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon presents the themes of coming of age and courage. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Christopher John Francis Boone of Swindon is a unique individual, but genuine, honest and innocent. The protagonist clearly suffers from a mental and behavioral disorder, which gives him many eccentricities. Some of his behavior problems include "not talking to people for a long time, not eating or drinking anything for a long time, not liking being touched, yelling when [he is] angry or confused, and not liking yellow or brown things.” (46). When the policeman tried to remove his watch, “[he] screamed” (13), behavior uncharacteristic of a teenager. He “doesn’t like to hug people” (16), even his own parents. This makes him uneasy and uncomfortable. These behaviors are not normal for a fifteen year old boy. Additionally, he never responds to statements, only questions. He “finds people confusing” (14) because he has difficulty reading people's facial expressions to understand their emotions. When he doesn't "know what someone is saying, [he asks] them what they mean or [he leaves]" (3), and this is strange but normal behavior. for him. He sometimes has difficulty picking up and understanding his father's emotions, tending to only understand himself. When Christopher's father was "sitting on the couch, watching snooker on television and drinking scotch, tears came out of his eyes" (21). The protagonist cannot understand his father's distress after picking up his son from the police station. Finally, Christopher decides “to leave him alone because when [he] is sad, [he] wants to be left alone” (21). Additionally, Boone makes a strange comment that one might think in private, but would never say out loud. For example, he adds that “Jason at school smells bad because his family is poor” (38). He is unaware that it is socially reprehensible for him to make such a comment. Finally, he never lies because he claims that he "can't lie" (19), a mindset that most children unfortunately do not have. Christopher clearly has a disability, but he doesn't let his disability stand in his way. Just because Christopher has a mental disability doesn't mean he lacks intelligence; it's quite the opposite. Christopher notices everything down to the smallest details, even the "little red hole in the policewoman's tights on her left ankle and the red scratch in the middle of the hole" (6). He notices minute details that others wouldn't notice. “The world is full of obvious things that no one, by chance, ever observes” (73), but Christopher takes the time to make these observations. Christopher describes his memory as a movie: When people ask me to remember something, I can just press Rewind, Fast Forward and Pause likeon a VCR, but more like on a DVD player, because I don't have to rewind everything in between to find a memory of something from a long time ago. And there are no buttons either, because it's all happening in my head. (76)The protagonist describes what appears to be a photographic memory unlike any other. He sees the world slightly differently than others, but creates a creative comparison. However, he claims that he is not intelligent and that "[he] just notices how things happen, and that [is] not intelligent" (25). Moreover, he even has talents that are out of the ordinary. For example, he knows “all the countries in the world and their capitals and all the prime numbers up to 7,057” (2). Obviously, he is good at mathematics and is even preparing to take the A-level mathematics exam, for which he will later receive an "A" grade. When he examines a question or problem, he always uses logic and mathematics to answer his questions. Christopher comments that "sometimes things are so complicated that it is impossible to predict what they will do next, but they only obey very simple rules" (102), when discussing how to decipher the animal population. He comments to his readers that when theta "is greater than 3.57, the population becomes chaotic...proving that people can die for no reason at all, simply because that's how the numbers work" (102). Some things that would seem very complex to the average person are simple to Christopher, as he uses his knowledge of mathematics and logical reasoning to draw conclusions, showcasing his intelligence. Mark Haddon has a theme of coming of age, of maturation, that runs through his text. Christopher has to live with his disabilities, and sometimes these problems can get in his way. Throughout the text, the protagonist shows growth in maturity in the sense of becoming more independent and self-reliant in the face of his mental and behavioral disabilities. At the beginning of the text, Christopher must deal with his particularities, notably his fear of being touched. Towards the end of the text, when he is with the policeman, he has clearly not overcome his handicap, but he recognizes that he has one. He tells the policeman: “You must not touch me…because I got a warning for hitting a policeman, but I didn't want to hurt him and if I do it again I'll be in even bigger trouble” (150 ). . He knows that if the policeman catches him, he will be overwhelmed and will react negatively. Aware of his weakness, he warns the police officer, a sign of maturity. At the beginning of the text, Christopher has to rely a lot on others and feels a lot of insecurity about talking to others. He admits his insecurities while saying, “It takes me a long time to get used to people I don't know” (35). Recognizing your faults goes a long way towards managing them more effectively. When he wants to go to London to live with his mother, Christopher takes matters into his own hands and does not count on his father's help. Showing independence, he arrives in London in one piece. Additionally, Christopher is going through a difficult time emotionally. He finds it difficult to feel sad. When telling his readers that his mother is dead and Mr. Shears is no longer around, Boone comments that "to feel sad about something that isn't real and doesn't exist... would be stupid » (75). However, later, when he discovers that his mother has actually been alive for years, "[he] feels sick" (112). He was incredibly upset by what his father had done. Christopher matures because he overcomes the handicap that stands in his way. At the end of the text, Christophe has more confidence in himself and believes in himself. He..