1. Is Christopherʼs father a good father?
Diane Guo
What makes a good father? Not abandon the child, just simply provide
them food? Those are the basic things a parent should do, and being a good
parent should do way more than that. In the novel ʻThe curious incident of the
dog in the night- timeʼ by Mark Haddon, main character Christopher was a kid
with aspergers. He could not communicate with the society as well as other
people, which made him very different and hard to took care than others.
Christopherʼs father is a competent father, especially with a child that has
aspergers. All the things he had done, such as being patient to Christopher,
showed that he has the quality of being a good father.
Christopher was a very unique child, always got in trouble, his father
was very patient about that. At the beginning of the novel, Christopher went in
to the police station because he hit a policeman. His father wasnʼt very mad
at him as other kidsʼ father would do; he explained to Christopher clearly that
donʼt get in to other peopleʼs business and trusted Christopher didnʼt do it on
purpose. Usually a parent knows that his/her child had gone to the police
station, he/she will get really pissed off by the child, then they would yell and
blame at the kid. However, Christopherʼs father did not yell or blame at
Christopher, because he knew that yelling will just make things worse. He
had to be more patient than other parents, and talk about the problem with
Christopher. Being nice and patient with a good attitude to the child makes
him a good father.
A good father will never abandon his child, that seems pretty obvious,
but in this situation it is not always that easy to achieve. Christopher has a
condition of aspergers, it was hard to always feel pleasant while with him. In
fact, Christopherʼs mother left Christopher because she could not stand him
being unreasonable and embarrase her in public. Although his father lied to
him that his mother had died from a heard attack, but all he was trying to do
was to protect Christopher from being too depressed. After his mother left,
Christopher was still as unreasonable as before, pissing off his father quite
recently, but his father did not leave him. He taught Christopher how to be
good nicely and said he will love him forever. He did whatever he could do to
take care of Christopher, tried to educate him better and gave him tons of
love, that makes him better than other regular father.
To be sure, no matter how noisy, unreasonable Christopher was, his
father never gave up on him. Christopher was more difficult to take care than
other kids, but also much more clever. He was extremely good at physics and

2. maths, he was a genius in some ways. Christopherʼs father noticed that, and
communicated to Christopherʼs teacher, to let Christopher take a test and go
to A level maths. He doesnʼt look Christopher as a ʻsickʼ person, he did not
give up on Christopher like most of the parents with kids with aspergers
would do. He still thinks that Christopher can be a successful person, he is
not that different than normal kids. In this way, while Christopher was growing
up, he felt that he was not special, he was the same as the other kids. His
father made him felt more confident with himself, and the way he supported
Christopher got him closer to the image of a being a competent father.
Being responsible as a parent is very important, if not than it will be
hard to take good care of your child. Christopherʼs father cared about
Christopherʼs school work, everyday he would ask Christopher how was
school, and what has he done in school. He even went to Christopherʼs
school and asked the teacher to arrange a test for Christopher on his A level
maths and physics. He once hit Christopher because he was so angry at him,
but the next day he apologized to Christopher and took him to the zoo. He
showed Christopher he did not hit him on purpose and wanted Christopher to
forgive him. He was responsible for his actions, and he explained to
Christopher why he did it, so Christopher could understand. If he did not
explain, than Christopher might leave “shadow” in his mind, especially he has
a condition of aspergers. His father did not want him to leave any “shadow” in
his mind, and that makes him a good father.
Indeed, Christopherʼs father was not a perfect father, or the best father
in the world, but he tried his best to be one. He was patient, always looking
forward, and responsible, that shows he has the quality and the potential to
become a good father.