Christopher and Junior’s Journey from Home in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

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Recommended: A study of child with autism

Christopher, the main protagonist in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon and Junior, the main character in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexi, face difficult problems through their teenage years which they eventually overcome. Christopher, a fourteen year old boy from Great Britain struggles for social acceptance as a result of his autism. He struggles with empathy and understanding nuances in relationships and as a result, dislikes all forms of interaction. In The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Junior is a boy who struggles as he transfers from his reservation high school to a white high school. He also has hydrocephalus and is susceptible to seizures. Both boys have mental impairments which become struggles in their lives. These teenage boys experience the same relationships as regular boys but they use their differences to their advantage. Christopher and Junior use mathematics and drawings to escape the hardships in their life. During their journey’s, both boys experience fear, transitions, and death. Junior and Christopher both leave their homes because of fear. InThe Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Christopher leaves home because his father killed Wellington (their neighbor’s dog). He was afraid of living with a man who killed an innocent dog, so he escaped to his mother’s apartment in London. “I had to get out of the house. Father had murdered Wellington. That meant he could murder me, because I couldn’t trust him, even though he had said ‘Trust me,’ because he had told a lie about a big thing.” (122) Junior, in The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, needs to escape the reservation. All of the Indians at the re... ... middle of paper ... ... Mr. Boone killed Wellington because Ms. Shears and Mr. Boone used to date until something broke them apart. He killed Wellington for revenge. But what Mr. Boone did not know was that Christopher decided to investigate who killed Wellington. Later in the book, Mr. Boone tells Christopher that he killed the dog, “I killed Wellington, Christopher.” (120) Christopher then runs away to London to live with his mother because he is scared of his father. Christopher and Junior alleviate their pain and mourning by drawing cartoons or practicing math. Christopher and Junior are both adolescent boys that faced mental challenges and struggle to overcome their problems. These teenage boys both had the courage to do what would benefit themselves and benefit others. Christopher and Junior use their differences to their advantage, and overcome problems by never giving up.

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