Analysis Of Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night

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Misunderstandings and different communication styles often lead to people becoming angry and can cause one to resort to violence to express feelings. In Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Ed Boone has trouble understanding his son, Christopher. Although it is never specifically addressed in the novel, Christopher exhibits behaviors and attributes of someone who is on the autistic spectrum. The disorder impacts how Christopher thinks and how he communicates his thoughts to others, specifically his parents. As the novel is written by Christopher in the first person, the audience can see an abusive relationship between Christopher and his father that stems from their lack of communication. Through the unique perspective…show more content…
The list of “problems” also highlights how Christopher communicates differently than most people, causing his parents and others to have a hard time understanding his needs. Christopher recounts, “Sometimes things [Behavioral Problems] would make Mother and Father really angry and they would shout at me or they would shout at each other. Sometimes Father would say, ‘Christopher, if you do not behave I swear I shall knock the living daylights out of you’” (Haddon 48). Christopher’s unique style of communication revolves around expressing himself using noises or actions instead of words to describe how he is feeling. Christopher describes that when his parents do not understand his motions and what he wants, they become angry with him and each other. In this specific situation, Christopher’s father threatens to hit him because he is frustrated that he can not understand his son. Christopher’s perspective shows that his parents want to help him but they are unable to do so because they do not comprehend Christopher’s behavior. They both resort to threats and violence in attempt to force Christopher to communicate or “behave” in a way that would be clearer to them and would not be
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