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Writing 'The Other' Through Inadequate Narrators
- 1. WRITING ‘THE OTHER,’ AND THE USE OF INADEQUATE NARRATORS In Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night time.
- 2. MARK HADDON Born in Northampton, England, in 1962 Studied undergrad at Oxford University Completed masters in English Literature at Edinburgh University First children’s book: Gilbert’s Gobstopper, 1987 Most well-known novel: The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time, 2003
- 3. MARK HADDON 2004 “WRITING FOR CHILDREN IS BLOODY DIFFICULT; BOOKS FOR CHILDREN ARE AS COMPLEX AS THEIR ADULT COUNTERPARTS, AND THEY SHOULD THEREFORE BE ACCORDED THE SAME RESPECT.”
- 4. THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME Published in 2003 by Anchor Canada, Random House #1 International Bestseller Untraditional crime-fiction novel Shining a light on the minds of mentally- challenged persons
- 5. AWARDS FOR THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME: Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize, 2003 Costa Book of the Year, 2003 Waverton Good Read Award, 2004 Whitbread Book of the Year, 2003 “On the fifth day, which was a Sunday, it rained very hard. I like it when it rains hard. It sounds like white noise everywhere, which is like silence but not empty.”
- 6. THE GAZETTE MONTREAL “IN MARK HADDON’S DEFT HANDS, [CHRISTOPHER] IS THE KIND OF HERO TOO SELDOM FOUND IN CONTEMPORARY FICTION, OVERCOMING ODDS THAT WOULD SHAME MOST OF US TO FIND A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORLD AND HIS PLACE IN IT. NO ONE WHO READS THIS BOOK IS LIKELY TO FORGET HIM.”
- 8. UNRELIABLE VS. INADEQUATE UNRELIABLE NARRATOR Usually first person Has had their credibility compromised Is mentally ill, or lying Blinded by their emotions INADEQUATE NARRATOR Also first person Trustworthy, always tells the truth Innocent Limited by their language
- 9. UNRELIABLE VS. INADEQUATE UNRELIABLE NARRATORS Humbert Humbert, Vladimir Nobakov’s Lolita Nick Carroway, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby Patrick Bateman, Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho The unnamed narrator, Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club INADEQUATE NARRATORS Christopher Boone, Mark Haddon’s The curious Incident Of the Dog In the Night-time Celie, Alice Walker’s The Color Purple Benjy Compson, William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury Pamela, Samuel Richardson’s Pamela
- 10. CHRISTOPHER AS AN INADEQUATE NARRATOR Mentally challenged Sees finite details, but fails to grasp the bigger picture Does not understand human emotion Has a mind for maths, not people
- 11. ‘THE OTHER’
- 12. ‘THE OTHER’ CHARACTERISTICS Race Age Gender Disability Sexual preferences Cultural standards
- 13. LITERARY DEVICES Narrated by Christopher in a journal-like format Chapters are prime numbers e.g, 2, 3, 5, 7, 11 Diagrams
- 14. SHOULD YOU EVEN TRY?
- 15. INTERLUDE
- 16. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
- 17. HOW TO WRITE ‘THE OTHER’ AND INADEQUATE NARRATORS Research! Take chances Treat characters as individuals Get into the head of the character: think, feel, act
- 18. THANKS!
Editor's Notes
- Mark Haddon was born in Northampton, England, in 1962. He studied at Oxford University, and later in life completed his masters in English Literature at Edinburgh University. His first children’s book, Gilbert’s Gobstopper, was published in 1987, leading up to his phenomenally successful youth novel, The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime, published in 2003.
- In an interview for his then newly-released novel, The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime, Haddon said this now well-known passage:
- Haddon’s youth novel took him to “best seller status,” with the story receiving praise and critical acclaim from all corners of the globe. The Curious Incident of the Dog In the Night-time was one of the first novels to be published for both children and adults alike, opting for different covers to cater to the different audiences.
- The novel is narrated by Christopher John Francis Boone, a fifteen year old boy with Asperger’s Syndrome, or what Ian McEwan describes as an “emotionally dissociated mind.” Christopher relates well to animals, but has no understanding of human emotion. He also detests the colour yellow.
- The novel is narrated by Christopher through a diary or journal-like sequencing The chapters are numbered in prime numbers, as Christopher enjoys maths and knows every prime number up to 7,057 Haddon, through Christopher incorporates diagrams into the novel, such as diagrams used by Christopher’s therapist, Siobhan, and maps of the stars
- A common question asked by writers and editors alike is this: Should you even try? Yes, you should.
- In this short piece, I have written from the perspective of a man: a man in love with a woman. Personally, I am not a man, nor have I been in love with a woman. The characters in the story live where I have never lived before, experiencing life the way I have not. To write the other, one must delve deep into the minds of her characters, and to research, profusely, since those characters are far different to herself.