The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime

Plot
● Exposition- The story took place around 1998 in the town of Swindon, England. The
narrator of the story was Christopher John Francis Boone, an autistic fifteen-year-old boy,
who discovers the remains of his neighbor’s dog (poodle), Wellington. Since then, he
embarks on an investigation to figure out who was the murderer, and he keeps a notebook
containing every single detail pertaining to it. However, the local police and his father
forbade him from further investigating to prevent problems. As a stubborn boy, he still
continues.
● Rising Action- The problem arises during his investigation. He found out that his father
was in an affair with the dog’s owner, Mrs. Shears. He also learned that their affair began
as a result of the affair of Mr. Shears and his mother. One day, as Christopher came back
from school, he unknowingly left his notebook in the kitchen. His father then reads it and
becomes infuriated. As a result, he hides the book in his closet, and this is when
everything turns south.
● Climax- As Christopher was searching for his book in his father’s closet, he finds letters
addressed to him from his supposedly dead mother. He breaks down and passes away
with the evidence in his hands. When his father arrived, he bursted in tears. He asked for
never ending apologies to his son for holding the letters for too long. He explained that he
only wanted to protect Christopher and later reveals that he was the killer of Wellington,
the poor poodle. Terrified of his father, Christopher sneaks out of his house one evening
to travel to London and see his mother.
● Falling Action- Christopher finally meets his mother in her flat. She had no idea that her
son would come see her, and she never knew that her ex-husband has been keeping the
letters for too long without even showing them to Chrisopher. So, Christopher settles in
the flat of his mother, but not for too long. Tension occurred between them and Mr.
Shears (the new husband of Christopher’s mother). Because of this, Christopher and his
mother left the flat and headed back to Swindon.
● Denouement- Christopher lives a new life with his mother in an apartment. His father
visits him every now and then. Christopher has also been doing well in school. He aced
his math exam and opts to take more in physics for him to attend a prestigious university.
 Notwithstanding his autism, he knew that he could surmount the challenges he faces
because he had solved the murder of Wellington, he found his mother, and he wrote a
book we are now reading.
Characters

Type of Character Characterization / Values

Christopher John Francis ● Protagonist ● Intelligent

Boone ● Static ● Creative
● Persevere

Ed Boone (father) ● Dynamic (At the start ● Selfish (For a long

of the story, he doesn’t period of time, he hid
support whatever the letters addressed
Christopher does to Christopher from
regarding his his mother.)
investigation. In the ● Dishonest (He never
end, he visits and told Christopher the
supports Christopher truth about his mother
in his new apartment until the incident
with his mother.) when Christopher
found out.)
● Supportive (Despite
his shortcomings, he
still portrayed a
fatherly role to his son
in the end.)

Judy Boone (mother) ● Static (She never ● Loving

stopped sending ● Impatient
letters to Christopher
until she knew that her
ex-husband kept all of
them. When she met
her son, she still loved
him.)

Mrs. Shears ● Round ● Inconsiderate

Mr. Shears ● Round ● Unfaithful

Siobhan ● Static (She never ● Trustworthy

changed in helping ● Understanding
Christopher out in
school. Christopher
trusts her as his
 mentor.)

Conflict of the Story

● Character vs. self- Christopher has a mental disorder called autism, and this has been a
challenge for him in terms of socializing with others. During his investigation, there were
times when his disorder became an advantage and also a disadvantage.
● Character vs. character- In the start of the story, everyone, including the father, was
against Christopher and his investigation. His father has also been the reason why he has
never been in touch with his mother.
Symbols
● Public symbol- Christopher is a symbol reminding us that despite how much life horribly
constrains us, we can still view it with sufficient imagination that can make everything
seem infinite.

Source:
https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time/summary/
https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time/characters/