Christopher Boone

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon tells the story of a boy named Christopher John Francis Boone who sees the world in a unique way. The book does not directly state the disability that Christopher has, but I would suspect that he has either Asperger’s syndrome or is on the Autism Spectrum. In the beginning of the novel, Christopher explains, “I know all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,057” (Haddon 2). Christopher later goes on to say that he has a difficult time with the simple task of reading people’s facial expressions. He cannot identify any feeling other than happy or sad. Christopher is unable to imagine anything that he has not directly experienced. He is

He decides he wants to become a “detective” and solve the crime. As the days go by, Christopher begins to write a novel about his experiences. His father finds the book and hides it. One day, Christopher decides to get the book back, and he ends up discovering letters from his mother addressed to him that his father hid. Christopher’s father told him that his mother had died, so Christopher is surprised to find letters from her that were sent after the day he thought she had passed on. Christopher soon learns that his mother was having an affair with Mr. Shears, and they ran off together to London. Ed, Christopher’s father, was trying to shield Christopher from this pain. Christopher decides he is going to take his pet rat Toby and run away to London to find his mother, even though he hates being surrounded by strangers and doing things by himself. Finally, the police and Ed track him down, and they all return to Swindon where Christopher takes his A-level math exams and receives a puppy from his father with hopes of making amends. Overall, this is a story that teaches us to accept others no matter how different a person may

Through Christopher, we gain a bit of insight into the mind of someone who does not think like an average person does. He is extremely smart, but simple social tasks we need to function in every day society are just not there for him. In a way, the book shows us how important it is to be empathetic for people with social disabilities. It gives us the ability to understand the way they process their thoughts and interpret what other people say. When explaining what his interactions with other people are like, Christopher says, “I know that they’re working out what I’m thinking, but I can’t tell what they’re thinking. It is like being in a room with a one-way mirror in a spy film” (Haddon 22-23). Christopher helps us recognize how difficult it may be for someone with a social disability to interact with another person, which we might think is the simplest task in the world. I think one of the main lessons that this book teaches us is compassion for those with