Curious something

Summary

On the surface, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a story about a unique young man
setting out to solve an unusual crime and record his progress in a novel. The young man is Christopher
John Francis Boone, and he is unique because iis severely autistic. He is also a savant genius who knows
the capital city of every country in the world, every prime number up to 7,057 and much more of equal
importance, which he makes sure his readers know as well before the tale is finally told. Christopher has
many delightful quirks of character, including a preference for prime over cardinal numbers. He
numbers his chapters according to primes: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 etc., continuing through Chapter 233.
Christopher cannot stand to be touched or caught up in the confusion of being around many people,
especially in small spaces. He reacts to such negative stimuli by screaming, moaning, hitting, hiding and
threatening people with his Swiss Army knife, which has a saw blade that could cut off a finger. The
unusual crime the fifteen-year-old autistic genius sets out to solve is the midnight murder of a standard
poodle named Wellington, whom Christopher finds impaled with a three-prong garden fork. 8While
Christopher circulates among his neighbors in Swindon, England, his special school and his own home
where he lives with his father, trying to solve the mystery of who killed Wellington, he keeps uncovering
clues that the real world is not what he has been told it is. This becomes apparent to the reader almost
from the outset, but Christopher doesn't realize it until the last one-third of the book. The real mystery
is not about what happened to a dog, but about what happened to Christopher's family, especially his
mother, whom Christopher believes is dead. After a delightful and remarkably insightful look into the
workings of this autistic mind, it is revealed that Christopher's mother is not dead. She has run off to
London with a neighbor, Mr. Shears, in large part because she could not bear the stress of living with her
special needs son. In the meantime, Christopher's father has attempted a domestic liaison with Mrs.
Shears, which ended in anger and resentment. When his father admits to Christopher that he is the one
who killed Wellington, Christopher goes ballistic. He gathers up his pet rat Toby, and armed with his
father's bankcard, he heads to London to find Mom. His adventures, attempting to navigate in the world
outside his own head, are fascinating, occasionally scary, funny and tragic all at the same time.
Christopher manages to reach London, where he enters an already tense and argumentative
relationship between his mother and Mr. Shears. After an uncomfortable period, Mom leaves with
Christopher, taking him back to the house in Swindon. What is concerning the young detective most at
this point is whether he will be able to take his advanced math placement exams, which will pave his
way to university--and do wonders for his self esteem. Christopher does take his exams, and he aces all
three sections. He and his mother settle in a rooming house in Swindon. Christopher has never forgiven
his father for killing Wellington and lying to him about his mother's death. In several scenes,
Christopher's father--who clearly loves the boy deeply--pleads for forgiveness, often in tears. In the end,
Father buys Christopher a golden retriever puppy, which will have to live at his father's house because
pets aren't allowed at Mom's rooming house. Christopher begins to relate to his father again. In the end,
everything ties up nicely. Christopher sits in the catbird seat, having successfully manipulated the rest of
the world into a condition that is acceptable to his real world--the one in his mind. Oh yes, Toby the rat
also dies of old age.

Literary Theories and 21st Century Literature

Defamiliarization is one of the hallmarks of the Russian Formalists, a literary movement that is
immensely influential until now. Defamiliarization is an artistic way of making the familiar seem strange
or unfamiliar. For example, it is quite different to simply walk from point A to point B and to travel the
same points while dancing. It is also how jazz evolved and how familiar melodies were made different by
certain changes in the music. In the Novel to be discussed entitled The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Night-Time, defamiliarization is done well when it comes to trying toexplore the mind of an autistic
child. This is also done in other modern novels such as A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron, and
others.

Guide Questions
1.What are your reactions to the story? How is it Different from your expectations?

2. Did you find the funny story? Why?

3. How does the story affect the way you look ay people with autism? Why?

4. What do you think of Christopher's understanding of metaphors? Do you think he is right or wrong----
or is he both? Explain your Answer.

5. Would you call him intelligent? Why or Why not?

6. Does he make you look at things in a different way? Why is that important?

7. Do you agree with him that people are confusing? Why or Why not?

8. How can you relate with him?

9. He ends the story with the sentence, "I want my name to mean me." What does this mean?

10. What is the social significance of the story?