The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Book Review Rough Draft

In the novel “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” by Mark Haddon, an autistic boy named Christopher narrates his perspective of life as he tries to solve a mystery of a murdered dog. As the story plays out, Christopher’s autism is viewed by the readers
“The next day I saw 4 yellow cars in a row on the way to school, which made it a Black Day, so I didn’t eat anything at lunch and I sat in the corner of the room all day… another Black Day too, so I didn’t speak to anyone and for the whole afternoon I sat in the corner of the Library groaning with my head pressed into the join between the two walls and this made me feel calm and safe. But on the third day I kept my eyes closed all the way until we got off the bus because after I have had 2 Black Days in a row I’m allowed to do that.”(53)
This is an example of Haddon allowing the reader to understand how an autistic person thinks and acts to their surroundings. The quote shows Christopher reacting to something someone that isn’t autistic wouldn’t naturally react to.  A person without autism wouldn't normally notice the color of the cars, and even if they did, they would not isolate themselves in a corner and groan at school or work. They might find it weird or even funny, but that would be all they care for that row of same-colored cars. All of this is why I think Haddon’s purpose of this book is so that the reader understands why some autistic people act a way. He wants to show that autistic people don’t really want to do what they do on purpose, and they know their limits and how to control themselves. After two consecutive days of sitting in the corner alone, Christopher gets the willpower to avoid another day of repeating his Black Day ritual.
“And he said, “what’s 251 times 864?” And I thought about this and I said, “216,864… And I said, “Is that right?” And Rhodri said, “I haven’t got a bloody clue…”(66)
This quote also shows how Haddon wants the reader to understand autistic people more. Christopher immediately solves the math problem, but after saying out the answer, he explains to the reader how he got that answer in a step by step method. This shows how autistic people have abilities that “regular” people usually do not have, and that autistic people can be just as smart as “regular” people, if not more since Rhodri, the person asking Christopher the question, didn’t even know the answer himself.
Another impact of his autism towards his life is the relationship he has with his father. His father stays very patient with him even though he is merely impossible to work with.
“Father said, “Promise me you will stop doing these things. Promise that you will give up this ridiculous game right now, OK?” I said, “I promise.”(50)
This shows how Christopher's father tries to give his son the what is best for him through thick and thin. Even though Christopher blankly promised that he would not be nosy and investigate, he still does it. He simply convinces himself inside his mind that his father wasn't clear enough for him to follow the rules.
“I wasn't going to say anything because I didn't want to get into trouble. Then I thought that this was a Super Good Day and something special hadn't happened yet, so it was possible that talking to Mrs. Alexander was the special thing that was going to happen. And I thought that she might tell me something about Wellington or about Mr. Shears without me asking her, so that wouldn't be breaking my promise.”(55)
This part of the story shows just how disobedient Christopher is. He would follow his own mind even though he knew what was right and what was wrong. He simply twisted his father's words into something that was just supposed to be broken and avoided in any way. Though I am a little mad at Christopher for being so ignorant, I am impressed that he found a way to slide through such a promise. It seemed so straightforward and clear, but Christopher's mind found an easy way to avoid the guidelines.
Christopher later gets caught and seems to not even care for what his father has to say. What is worse is that the second Christopher finds out that his father killed the dog, he forgets all of the things that his father did because he loved him. All of the times his father stood by his side were immediately erased from Christopher's mind. All he thought about was that his father was evil and untrustworthy, and that he needed to run away from him. This really shows how the author wanted the reader to see how an autistic person acts to what is happening around him.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Mini Book Review 2

In the novel “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” by Mark Haddon, an autistic boy named Christopher narrates his perspective of life with his father. His father stays very patient with him even though he is merely impossible ti work with.

“Father said, “Promise me you will stop doing these things. Promise that you will give up this ridiculous game right now, OK?” I said, “I promise.”(50)

This shows how Christopher's father tries to give his son the what is best for him through thick and thin. Even though Christopher blankly promised that he would not be nosy and investigate, he still does it. He simply convinces himself inside his mind that his father wasn't clear enough for him to follow the rules.

“I wasn't going to say anything because I didn't want to get into trouble. Then I thought that this was a Super Good Day and something special hadn't happened yet, so it was possible that talking to Mrs. Alexander was the special thing that was going to happen. And I thought that she might tell me something about Wellington or about Mr. Shears without me asking her, so that wouldn't be breaking my promise.”(55)

This part of the story shows just how disobedient Christopher is. He would follow his own mind even though he knew what was right and what was wrong. He simply twisted his father's words into something that was just supposed to be broken and avoided in any way. Though I am a little mad at Christopher for being so ignorant, I am impressed that he found a way to slide through such a promise. It seemed so straightforward and clear, but Christopher's mind found an easy way to avoid the guidelines.

Christopher later gets caught and seems to not even care for what his father has to say. What is worse is that the second Christopher finds out that his father killed the dog, he forgets all of the things that his father did because he loved him. All of the times his father stood by his side were immediately erased from Christopher's mind. All he thought about was that his father was evil and untrustworthy, and that he needed to run away from him. This really shows how the author wanted the reader to see how an autistic person acts to what is happening around him. 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Mini Book Review

In the novel “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time” by Mark Haddon, an autistic boy named Christopher narrates his perspective of life as he tries to solve a mystery of a murdered dog. As the story plays out, Christopher’s autism is viewed by the readers

“The next day I saw 4 yellow cars in a row on the way to school, which made it a Black Day, so I didn’t eat anything at lunch and I sat in the corner of the room all day… another Black Day too, so I didn’t speak to anyone and for the whole afternoon I sat in the corner of the Library groaning with my head pressed into the join between the two walls and this made me feel calm and safe. But on the third day I kept my eyes closed all the way until we got off the bus because after I have had 2 Black Days in a row I’m allowed to do that.”(53)

This is an example of Haddon allowing the reader to understand how an autistic person thinks and acts to their surroundings. The quote shows Christopher reacting to something someone that isn’t autistic wouldn’t naturally react to.  A person without autism wouldn't normally notice the color of the cars, and even if they did, they would not isolate themselves in a corner and groan at school or work. They might find it weird or even funny, but that would be all they care for that row of same-colored cars. All of this is why I think Haddon’s purpose of this book is so that the reader understands why some autistic people act a way. He wants to show that autistic people don’t really want to do what they do on purpose, and they know their limits and how to control themselves. After two consecutive days of sitting in the corner alone, Christopher gets the willpower to avoid another day of repeating his Black Day ritual.

“And he said, “what’s 251 times 864?” And I thought about this and I said, “216,864… And I said, “Is that right?” And Rhodri said, “I haven’t got a bloody clue…”(66)

This quote also shows how Haddon wants the reader to understand autistic people more. Christopher immediately solves the math problem, but after saying out the answer, he explains to the reader how he got that answer in a step by step method. This shows how autistic people have abilities that “regular” people usually do not have, and that autistic people can be just as smart as “regular” people, if not more since Rhodri, the person asking Christopher the question, didn’t even know the answer himself.

Response to Vignettes

After reading many vignettes, I have decided to respond to the ones Devin, Mercedes, and Sam did because they all have a vignette that relates to how teachers affect their school lives. I found that Devin was a little bit mad, Mercedes was happy, and Sam was upset. 

A teacher sees this conversation and comes over.“Both of you are getting another detention,” he says.

In Devin's situation, the teacher is punishing Devin for something that was not Devin's fault. It was Devin's friend who kept talking, and it should have only been him that should have gotten in trouble. Devin is wronged by the teacher, and has to pay the price for the teacher's mistake.

On top of that, the teacher was in-comforting.  He would literally have temper tantrums and throw instruments against the wall.  I, as a trumpet player had to empty the water build up in my instrument that after a few songs would appear.  To do this I had to open a little valve and blow through the instrument.  When the teacher grew angry, I still had to use this same process.  When he heard someone emptying the water, he would scream at them, so I had to blow out of my trumpet as quietly as possible.  I slowly would allow the clear water to leave the instrument, the water of the trumpet mixing with the sweat dripping from my for head.  I wanted nothing more then for the period to end.  When it did, I just went home scared not relieved.

Sam seems to be pressured by the band teacher. This is shameful towards the band teacher for an obvious reason, teachers are at school to guide students to success, not scare them from trying to reach it. The band teacher has no reason to get angry at a student for releasing their puddle of spit when he does it himself too. In fact, every brass player has to do this, so becoming angry at a student for doing what they are supposed to do is unreasonable and unbelievable. Sam should not have to be scared of school. The whole point of a public school in an environment like Alameda is so that students could feel safe everyday they step onto campus. Sam's mental abuse by the band teacher must have changed his perspective of school. Sam probably did not like going to school as much.

 I was in the advanced core class. The supposed "GATE" class, though no one really cared. Thankfully, I had a good teacher. Making things somewhat better.

Unlike Devin and Sam, Mercedes' mentioned teacher was supportive. This lead to Mercedes liking school more even with her being the school's alien. This shows how a great teacher leaves a student feeling better about themselves and what they are doing.

In the end, my point is that teachers should be more considerate towards their students since helping students succeed and feel safe is the main reason of being a teacher.