“Normality is to be different. Every person is a different person. And one day you need to be aware of your difference. Aware that you are not the same as the others. That is to be normal.” Through his quote, Alejandro Jodorowsky creates a reflection upon what he thinks the idea of normality in society should be. ("Alejandro Jodorowsky Quotes." BrainyQuote.com). In the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Haddon alludes the idealistic thoughts on normality in today's society. In the world today, society expects the individuals to conform to what is thought to be normal. As humans, one strives to adapt to societal standards. Normality within society is considered something different for those that refuse to conform to the expectations …show more content…
He uses Christophers language and communication to unveil the reality of the idealistic thoughts of normality in society. If one can’t interact with others the way one is thought to, they are not considered normal by society's standards. One that is socially awkward can’t be deemed normal per society's expectations. Christopher communicates in an effortless and honest way. In the Novel, Haddon signals the difference in how people deal with encounters. When Christopher associates with Mrs. Alexander, he chooses to not make small talk with her. Haddon helps his readers understand how Christopher is feeling when he says “I didn’t reply to this either because Mrs. Alexander was doing this thing called chatting.” (The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, 40). The truth about normality through communication and language is brought to light. People handle encounters with others differently. It is normal to interact with one another through words and speaking. Upon further review of society's views on normality, one is to interact directly with the words spoken. In his novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night- Time, Haddon focuses on the ideal normality of interactions by expressing that Christopher does not like to be touched, therefore both Christopher's father and Christopher fan out their fingers and make their fingers and thumbs touch “and it means that he loves me” (16). Society's standards of the normality of communicating are very much wrong, and being able to understand Christopher's communication revealed the
Most people want to be normal. The definition of normal however, depends on the culture of the person making the judgment. Far too often, normal is defined in America by looking at the actions and beliefs of the average white middle class family. This definition of normal fails to let other cultures to be accepted, creating distance and misunderstanding.
With every decision one makes. There will always be consequences. In Haddon’s, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the character Christopher and his parents find that their bad decisions could lead to a negative outcome. Mrs. Boone’s choice to leave home and Mr. Boone’s choice to lie to Christopher lead to him leaving home to search for his mother. A common theme of the actions of the characters is acting before thinking. The theme of decisions and consequences reveals the imperfections of each character, ultimately demonstrating the quintessential impatient need for growth.
According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, lying means to tell an account of an untrue event or give false information.
Point of view can greatly affect the way a reader feel about a novel. Point of view affects how the characters are perceived and how well the readers know them. It also provides a means for readers to feel connected with characters, or to better understand what a character is going through. The author’s way of thinking also has a very large impact on the point of view based on how they themselves see a situation. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is narrated in a very diverse way, by being narrated by a boy with a disorder, it could be very different if told by a different character, and it would change drastically if narrated by someone without autism.
In Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, a Marxist critic would be interested in the socioeconomic power that Christopher lacks in comparison to the people he encounters on the train and at the train station. This results in him being oppressed by those encounters.
Anger is one of the hardest emotions to control. Often, people hold it in, allowing it to build until it bursts, causing damage. In Mark Haddon’s novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the parents of a child with autism struggle to keep their cool around their son. Christopher’s mother fails to mask her emotions around her son, leaving his father to take care of him. Although his father tries to maintain calm, he often yells at Christopher as his son watches on in careful concentration. Haddon’s authorial choice of making Christopher’s parents lash out reveals irony in that Christopher is the one with the disorder yet is calm, analyzing situations objectively.
As highlighted by the author, Mary Louise Adams in her article, “Excerpts from The Trouble with Normal”, ‘a norm’ “can be defined as something that is usual, typical or standardized” (Hacking, Adams, 2003). Norms are often already so established that most individuals do not realize how much they have shaped society and the people who live in it. Audrey Lord tells us that being a “White, thin, young, heterosexual, Christian, male” defines the characteristics of being “normal” and “privileged,” in which she calls “the mythical norm” (Perry, 2011). We use our sexuality, race and class as a way of giving ourselves an identity for the world to see. This identity will ultimately allow us to understand our place in the world and give
What screws us up most in life is the picture in our head of what it's supposed to be.
It has become paramount that composers utilise various techniques in order to influence an individual’s perception of the world. As seen through the eyes of an Aspergers sufferer, Christopher Boone, Mark Haddon’s inventive novel entitle ‘The Curious incident of the Dog in the Night Time’, skilfully portrays how the decisions of significant characters and their relationships shape the overall message about the difficulties of living with a limiting social condition. This is challenged from the unique perspective of Christopher and explicitly seen through the relationship between the protagonist and both his parents. Haddon employs a myriad of techniques through the concepts of the conflicting nature of love, the desperation for a world of order and stability, and the value of truth. Along with the reoccurring allusions to mathematics and science in order to display the complexity of human interaction, as he skilfully depicts how both relationships attempt to deal with the issue in their day to day lives.
Whilst the concept of autism and what it means to be autistic is still widely unrecognised by many, Mark Haddon’s use of conventions of prose fiction and language amplifies the distinctive qualities of the text. Haddon exemplifies key themes such as the struggle to become independent, the nature of difference and the disorder of life through the strategic placement of literary devices.
The world is plagued with an inseparable mix of good and evil. People make mistakes, but often start out with good intentions. Often times actions live in the grey zone, a combination of good intentions but bad outcomes. In Mark Haddon’s novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time there are many decisions that could be considered morally ambiguous. The story is told from the perspective of an autistic fifteen-year-old, Christopher Boone, who is investigating the death of his neighbor’s dog. His mother, Judy Boone supposedly died two years back, when in actuality she ran off to London with another man and, in turn, has been shut out of Christopher’s life. His father, Ed Boone hides the truth involving Christopher’s mother, pretending
Judy’s most notable adjustment is displayed after Christopher and she meet outside of her apartment. When Christopher goes to London to live with Judy, he does not alert her to his coming. When he arrives, it is a surprise to her. She goes to hug him, forgetting he does not like to be touched in that way. When he flinches away, she instead "held up her right hand and spread her fingers out in a fan" (Haddon 191). Judy displays an important example of adapting in this moment because in the heat of the moment, she wanted nothing more than to embrace him, but because of his reaction she immediately adjusts and does the hand touch. The hand touch is their family’s way of displaying love with minimal physical contact as Christopher does not like to be hugged. She has not seen or talked to Christopher in years but still remembers their old way of showing their love to each other. Along with Judy, Christopher’s father also demonstrates the importance of adapting for relationships when called
A few aspects of Asperger Syndrome include limited understanding, outburst of blunt honesty, as well as phobias to specific ideas depending on the person. This affects the individual’s social interactions by making them awkward because they do not understand clichés. Asperger also influences an individual’s academic growth because, though they become intelligent, it takes longer for them to comprehend what he or she is learning. For example, in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the character, Christopher, dislikes the color yellow because he fears that it will cause his day to become awful, or as he refers to it, a “Black day”. He also does not let people touch him, so to hug his parents, they will just touch palms; however,
Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 2004. 4, 8, 120, 133, 158, 184, 204, 220, 221. Print.
One of the most obvious things that we are noticing in our everyday lives is that people are distinctly different. There are 7 billion people sharing the earth. But how many are considered “normal”? When are people considered abnormal? To be normal is to adhere to a standard or norm, but unfortunately, normality is an impossible and unlikely dream that we will continue to strive for all our lives. We strive for it because it gives us that sense of self that we need to reassure us that we fit in. While undefined, depending on your upbringing, generation and culture, what you consider normal may not be normal for someone else because other countries and cultures have different traditions and practices that they view to be routine; and what in the past has been viewed as normal has evolved throughout the course of time.