Sarah Kim

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

Topic 1: Character Development
Chapter
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Summary of the
Episode
Relevance / Analysis Significant
Quotation
Quotation
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Ch. 167 Christophers life is
changed when he
discovers a secret
his own father has
been keeping from
him for years. For his
whole life,
Christopher had
believed that his
mother passed
away from a heart
attack, but he is
proven wrong by
the letters he finds in
his fathers room
that were sent by his
own mother.
Confused, he
confronts his father
about it where he
admits to lying to
Christopher and
eventually admits to
murdering
Wellington.
In the beginning of
the book, the
relationship between
Christopher and his
father is that of a
typical father-son
relationship.
Christophers father is
the only person that
he can trust as they
are both honest with
each other.
However, when
Christophers father
admits to lying about
Christophers
mothers death,
Christopher is
shocked. The
confession to killing
Wellington that
followed shortly after
further shocked
Christopher, leading
him to completely his
father.
I had to get out of
the house. Father
had murdered
Wellington. That
meant he could
murder me,
because I couldnt
trust him, even
though he had
said Trust me,
because he had
told a lie about a
big thing.
122
Ch. 193 Christopher made a
timetable wherever
it was applicable.
When he played
with his train set, he
made a train
timetable. When he
lived with his father,
he made a
timetable of his day
with approximations
so he would know
when everything
The fact that
Christopher likes to
know when
everything is going to
happen shows that
he is a very
organized person. He
likes things to be in
an orderly fashion
and does not like to
be spontaneous. He
wants everything to
be under his control,
When I used to
play with my train
set I made a train
timetable because
I liked timetables.
And I like
timetables
because I like to
know when
everything is going
to happen.
155
was going to
happen. He also
explains that
timetables are like a
map of time so
another reason why
he liked timetables
was so that he
could make sure not
to get lost in time.
and everything to run
exactly how he plans
it to be.
Pg. 182-
184
Christopher brings
his Swiss Army Knife
to any place where
he is unfamiliar in
throughout the
book. Whether it be
as unthreatening as
a neighbors house
or to a train station,
Christopher brings
his knife regardless.
In this specific
episode, Christopher
is at a train station in
Britain and is asked if
he needed any
help. In response, he
pulls out his knife to
protect himself.
This shows that
Christopher is
paranoid and is
untrusting of others.
Earlier in the book, he
also mentions that he
cannot trust people
until he has been
around them for a
while and observed
them to see if they
are safe. The fact
that he is in an un
familiar place with
unfamiliar people
makes Christopher so
cautious that he
threatens the people
who only wanted to
help him.
And if she was a
teacher at school I
could have said,
Where is 451c
Chapter Road,
Willesden, London
NW2 5NG? but
she was a stranger,
so I said, Stand
further away,
Because I didnt
like her being so
close. And I said,
Ive got a Swiss
Army knife and it
has a saw blade
and it could cut
someones fingers
off.
184
Ch. 181 Christopher
describes how most
people view things
as lazy. Most
people, when
looking out at the
countryside would
state brief facts such
as I am standing in
a field that is full of
grass or There are
some cows in the
fields. Christopher,
on the other hand,
would state facts
like, There are 19
cows in the field, 15
Unlike most people,
Christopher
remembers
everything he sees
by fact. The way his
mind sees something
is very straightforward
with not many
emotional or
opinionated thoughts
added into them.
Christopher is very
observant, but he is
very logical in his
observations instead
of intuitive.
I see everything. 140
of which are black
and white and 4 of
which are brown
and white.
Siobhan draws some
faces for
Christopher. He
recognizes the
happy and sad
faces but is unable
to comprehend
what the other
faces (winking, evil,
confused, and
surprised) mean.
Christopher is only
able to understand
the basics of human
expressions and
emotions. He
understands that a
smile means that one
is happy or a frown
means that one is
sad, but he does not
understand what the
other facial
expressions mean as
they are different for
everyone. He does
not seem to interact
with other people by
observing their
expressions or body
language, but only
by words.
Then she drew
some other
picturesbut I was
unable to say
what these meant.


Topic 2: Thematic Development
Chapter
/ Page
#
Summary of the
Thematic Pattern
Relevance / Analysis Significant
Quotation
Quotation
Page #
Ch. 229 Christopher has one
of his favorite
dreams. In his
dream, everyone
dies from a virus that
spreads through
meanings of what
people say. The only
people who survive
are special
people like himself
who dont pay
attention to others
and like to be on
their own.
Christopher likes this
Christopher is
struggling to find his
way in the world
himself. He seeks
independence, but
his Aspergers
prevents him from
becoming
completely
independent. In
addition to the
dream that he had,
Christopher also
showed signs of
wanting to be
independent earlier
And eventually
there is no one left
in the world
except people
who dont look at
other peoples
faces and who
dont know what
these pictures
mean; and these
people are all
special like me.
And they like
being on their own
and I hardly ever
see them because
198-199
dream because he
can do whatever he
wants and go
wherever he wants
without anyone
interacting with him.
in the book. When
Christophers father
told him to leave
Wellingtons murder
alone, Christopher
disobeyed him and
continued to
investigate. When
Christopher says that
this dream is his
favorite one, I think it
is his favorite
because he thinks
that normal people
prevent him from
becoming
independent. People
are everywhere,
which means that in
order to go wherever
he would like, he
would need to
interact with them
which Christopher
dislikes.
they are like okapi
in the jungle in the
Congo, which are
a kind of antelope
and very shy and
rare.
Pg. 202 Christopher had
only just arrived at
his mothers house
when he mentions
the math test he
needed to take in
order to get into the
A level maths class.
Despite
Christophers
mothers protesting,
Christopher
continued to press
on.
Christopher feels the
need to take the
math test because
he wants to
accomplish
something. By asking
his mother several
times even after she
said no, he showed
determination.
Christopher also
shows determination
when he wanted to
solve the mystery of
Wellingtons murder
and find his mother.
Through his struggles,
he was able to
Im going to get
an A grade. And
thats why I have
to go back to
Swindon. Except I
dont want to see
Father. So I have
to go to Swindon
with you.
202