Sarbani Sengupta

Ms. Foster/Ms. Sankiewicz

9 Honors English

24 October 2021

Ignorant Perceptions

“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 and read my A-

level maths course book,” describes Christopher John Francis Boone, the narrator of Mark

Haddon’s book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Rather than breakfast or the

weather, the order of passing cars decide Christopher’s mood for the day, as revealed by his

narration. In the novel, a dog named Wellington is killed in Christopher’s hometown, Swindon,

and Christopher sets out to find the killer. In the process, he learns shocking new information

about the people he is close to. It is clear that that point of view impacts the story by helping the

reader empathize with Christopher, and creating a more engaging reader experience.

One way that point of view affects the story is by helping the reader better empathize

with Christopher. In the middle of the story, Christopher’s father reveals that he is the one who

killed Wellington. As a result, Christopher becomes very afraid of his father. He reasons that,

“Father had murdered Wellington. That meant he could murder me, because I couldn’t trust

him… because he told a lie about a big thing” (Haddon 122). From another point of view,

Christopher’s reaction to the news may seem overdramatic, since killing a dog does not

necessarily make one capable of killing a person, much less his son. However, by describing how

he views his father after learning the truth about Wellington, the reader can understand how lying
is the ultimate betrayal to Christopher. The reader can realize that Christopher’s relationship to

his father does not change the fact that Christopher thinks his father is capable of murdering him,

because Christopher can only register the lie his father told and the dog he killed. Knowing this,

the reader can truly step into Christopher’s shoes, knowing how fearful he is and that his entire

world is shattered by this information. Another example of how point of view impacts the story

can be shown when Christopher visits Mrs. Shears to investigate further into Wellington’s

murder. When Mrs. Shears first answers the door, she begins by saying, “Christopher, I don’t

think I really want to see you right now” (Haddon 30). Despite this, Christopher continues

questioning Mrs. Shears. This shows how Christopher doesn’t have a good understanding of

boundaries between people. Without Christopher’s narration, it would seem like Christopher was

disrespecting Mrs. Shears’ boundaries or was simply being rude. Although through his

description of events, the reader can tell that Christopher doesn’t understand any of Mrs. Shears’

words or actions as a signal to leave, he can only understand her words literally. For these

reasons, first person point of view impacts the story by helping the reader empathize with

Christopher.

Another way first person point of view impacts the story is by creating a more engaging

reader experience. Although Christopher has many intellectual capabilities, he lacks the social

and emotional abilities that typically shape perceptions. For example, when Christopher’s father

tries to explain his relationship with Mrs. Shears to Christopher, he says, “I thought she might

carry on coming over” (Haddon 121). The reader can understand that the father’s relationship

with Mrs. Shears is much more than just a friendship, because he enjoyed when she came over

and was upset when she did not. However, since Christopher never mentions so in his narration,

the reader can assume that Christopher does not comprehend what exactly his father meant to
say. Therefore, the reader knows something Christopher does not, creating dramatic irony,

adding suspense and even humor to the story. Another time point of view engages the reader is

when Christopher is sitting inside of the shelf of the train going to London. As he sits, a group of

drunk men approach him. One says, “Perhaps we should feed him some nuts” (Haddon 167). By

itself, this quote does not seem malicious, however drunk people who seem out of control are

saying rude things to Christopher. Suddenly, there is an almost ominous mood in the story,

considering that Christopher does not provide the reader any hint of knowing that these strangers

could be dangerous. The reader holds their breath in anticipation for something terrible to

happen, but the men just walk away. Due to first person point of view, the reader knows exactly

what is going on in Christopher’s mind, but also has the opportunity to interpret what is really

going on, adding more tension and suspense to the story. Hence, first person point of view

impacts the story by creating a more engaging reader experience.

In the book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, the narration through the

protagonist’s, Christopher’s, point of view greatly impacts the story. Through Christopher’s

narration, the reader can empathize with Christopher in a way not possible otherwise. This

reinforces an idea most are taught in childhood, to step into each other’s shoes and work to

empathize with one another. While Haddon uses point of view to teach readers to seek to

empathize, he also uses point of view to make a more captivating story, luring the reader in for

more. For these reasons, point of view impacts the story, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the

Night-time.