11GEDRA -The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: Home

Christopher is 15 and lives in Swindon with his father. He has Asperger's Syndrome, a form of autism. He is obsessed with maths, science and Sherlock Holmes but finds it hard to understand other people. When he discovers a dead dog on a neighbour's lawn he decides to solve the mystery and write a detective thriller about it. As in all good detective stories, however, the more he unearths, the deeper the mystery gets - for both Christopher and the rest of his family.

• First chapter excerpt
• Listen to Mark Haddon read the first chapter

Bildungsroman is the combination of two German words: Bildung, meaning "education," and Roman, meaning "novel." Fittingly, a "bildungsroman" is a novel that deals with the formative years of the main character - in particular, his or her psychological development and moral education. The bildungsroman usually ends on a positive note with the hero's foolish mistakes and painful disappointments over and a life of usefulness ahead.

Characteristics include:

• A search for meaning by the protagonist, who is usually foolish and inexperienced at the beginning of the narrative. The story typically centers on the maturation process of a single person.
• Some kind of inciting incident that pushes the protagonist into their journey. It's usually something akin to a great emotional loss, like the death of a parent.
• The journey will not be easy. In fact, there will be many failures along the way. The hero will be tested, and he will fight tooth and nail to survive the unwavering rules and limits of society.
• Usually an epiphany, or a flashing moment where the hero finally 'gets it.' This lucidity changes them as a person. They learn what it takes to be a grown up in the real world.
• The hero will eventually find his place in society by accepting its values and rules. The ending isn't necessarily about closure. We often do not know exactly what's going to happen to the hero. We do know that he has grown as a person from page one, and at the very least he is equipped with the maturity and knowledge to have a chance in life.

Comedy that uses satire to lighten unpleasant or taboo subjects is called black (or dark) humour. How can Christopher’s interviews be considered black humour? 

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How does being autistic equip Christopher to best solve the mystery presented in this text? What skills and attributes are required to live, work, or interact effectively with Christopher because of this condition? What devices does the author use to convey what life is like for Christopher throughout this book?

A online collection of magazine and newspaper articles as well as interview transcripts, images and videos. You can sort your results by publication, full text versions and even date. Online databases are available through the portal and many require specific login details.

Both EBSCOhost and Gale INFOTRAC have specialized databases so use these first. 

Suggested articles would include:

• The curious incident of the dog in the night-time: The article discusses an incident in a young boy's life. The incident refers to his visit to a police station for killing a dog. The policemen made him take out his shoe laces and empty his pocket. The boy said that his pocket had things like a Swiss knife, a piece of string, wooden puzzle and a pellet of rat food. The boy was questioned about his family. He then describes the police cell where he was placed for some time. Later the father of the boy came to his rescue. His father asked him if he has actually killed the dog. The boy refused it. The article investigates the whole process by unraveling feelings of the boy and the way he looks at the world.

• Postmodern Investigations: The Case of Christopher Boone in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time: Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the first novel to be published simultaneously for the UK adult and children’s market, exemplifies the phenomenon of crossover literature better perhaps than the “Harry Potter” series, whose appeal to a dual-aged audience had caught the publishing industry by surprise. This article identifies Haddon’s engagement with the genre of detective fiction as one of the reasons for the novel’s crossover success: while the mystery plot offers a compelling narrative “hook” for children and adults alike, the postmodern twists on the detective formula open up deeper levels of satisfaction, without alienating the less experienced members of the audience. Analysed within the context of contemporary crime fiction, Curious Incident also appears to be tapping into a relatively recent literary trend that sees detective novels focusing on young characters as victims, witnesses and even perpetrators of crimes—itself a reflection of our changing attitudes towards the Romantic view of childhood as an age of innocence.

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Literary elements in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time:

• Allusion
• Digression
• Foreshadowing
• Irony
• Metaphor
• Simile
• Symbolism

Can you think of any others?

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