The document discusses Mark Haddon's novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. It provides background information on the novel, including that it is narrated by the protagonist Christopher Boone, a 15-year-old boy with Asperger's syndrome. The document then examines various themes, narrative elements, characters, and symbols in the novel, such as Christopher's reliance on logic and struggle to understand emotions. Finally, it provides guidance on how to analyze the novel and write a successful essay response.

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What do we notice so far?
Cover
Back cover information

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Let’s spend some time discussing
covers-
Which one is meant for adults?
Younger readers?
Hidden meaning?
Misleading?
Which one do you thing is best?
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3. The Curious Incident of the Dog in
the Night-Time
– Close Study of Text
by Mark Haddon
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4. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
• Type Of Work · Novel
• Genre · Mystery novel; Family drama; Children’s
book
• Language · English
• Time And Place Written · Early 2000s,
Oxford, England
• Date Of First Publication · 2003
• Publisher · Vintage Contemporaries, a division of
Random House Publishing Inc.
• Narrator · The novel’s mildly autistic protagonist,
Christopher John Francis Boone, narrates in the first-
person.
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Ok let’s listen to
Chapter 2 and see
what all we can put
together ….

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7. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
• The ‘curious incident’ is a metaphor for Christopher’s
growth and determination to attain his goals
• By exploring the world of Christopher Boone, a 15-
year-old boy with Asperser's Syndrome (Haddon does
not actually identify his condition), but his condition
does not enable him to connect with other people –
• Haddon then utilizes the first person narrator but is
able to incorporate emotional detachment, so we can
explore and empathise with Christopher's many
behavioural problems,
• However, it is soon clear that it is not
only Christopher that has these.
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8. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
• What the novel shows is that both this
parents have behavioural problems of their
own which cause the family to fall apart.
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9. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
• The author’s use of language and his unique
style explores how Christopher views the
people and events which surround him.
• Taking this disability – how does it move the
story forward?
– the unreliable narration of the first-person
perspective is often made even more skewed
because of how differently Christopher views
things, or is it reliable?
– How important are the minor characters to
Christopher and to the story?
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10. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
• Christopher’s limited world perspective -
– is closed, frightened and disorientated –
– and results in his fear of, and inability to
understand the perplexing world of people's
emotions.
– this often means his description of events can
be somewhat unreliable as he is unable to see
the real truths that lie before him.
– as he narrates, readers are confronted with his
peculiarities - whether it is not liking to be
touched, his fear of germs, strangers and
crowds and his inability to eat foods with
particular colours.
– Do you agree or disagree? Explain
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11. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
• The importance of Things and Places such as
– Wellington’s death expand Christopher’s
horizons
– Significant places – his home, his
neighbourhood, Swindon’s Train Depot,
London and his mother’s flat
– Help him understand the truth about his mother
and the murderer of Wellington.
– After finding about these things, his life
shatters into pieces due to confusion, but in the
end, he manages to get his life back to normal
and adjusted to the changes - evolving
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12. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
• Significant Objects such as
– Three-pronged folk – 3 possible outcomes
in Ch 101 – also his family unit
– Swiss Army Knife – metaphor for ‘usefulness’
and can be used to solve problems
– Purloin (stolen – representing the deception
by dad) letters from his mother
– Red cars, yellow cars – harbingers (omens) for
good and bad days
– Electric train set – structure and organisation
And Equations to calm him as well as listening to
‘white noise’ as a means to escape
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13. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
• Christopher Boone, exhibits the personality trait of
anxiety and is extremely sensitive
 many things make him anxious such as
changes in his environment, things that have
rules that are not followed, specific colours,
and being touched
 and is only comfortable in familiar surroundings
and with familiar people
 However whilst trying to solve the mystery of
the dead dog, Christopher must face the real,
adult world, where webs of lies, deception, and
complex emotions reside i.e. come out of his
comfort zone
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14. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
Style – Point of View and Setting
– Told in first person
– A fifteen year old genius but autistic narrator
– The nature of his strengths (problem solving) and
weaknesses (changes) suggest Asperser's Syndrome
– Emotional outbursts matter-of-fact, episodes of rage
distant – only deals with what he can understand
Setting – only 2 different locations
– his hometown where everything is ordered, logical and
comfortable
– London, disorientating yet he learns to focus on ordered
networks of the trains and symmetrical pattern of a
man’s socks – these function as the bridges between his
old world order and his new world order
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15. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
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– Structure – Narrative elements
• graphs, smiley faces, topography, plans,
drawings, illustrations, drawings and
mathematical equations, prime numbers
and mathematics all illustrate
Christopher’s need to
– Physically and mentally record the world and
his actions in it – work through his problems
– They help him remember, how to predict and
deal with certain situations and things

16. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
Language, metalanguage – specific vocabulary and words
and meaning
– Simple and straightforward
– Cannot understand figurative language –
masks the ‘truth’
– Cannot tell a lie, but tell ‘white lies’
– Believes in nothing that is not real – absolute
– Often narration digresses as Christopher tries
to understand the surrounding complications
– Writing lacks emotions
– Logic and maths are a refuge
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17. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
Themes
– Individual and conformity
• Christopher does not fit into ‘normality’ yet his struggle
highlights ‘valuing individual freedom
– Spirituality and Darwinian Survival
• Conundrum –
– Religion (Creation Myths) vs Evolution
– (Logic and Reasoning) Adapting to Changes
– A World of difference
• Importance of interaction with people
– Relationships and Values
• Limitations of relationships and the complexities
– Acceptance –
• using strategies to cope with pain and distress
– Truth
• What is ‘truth’ or is a ‘perspectives’? – [eye of the beholder]
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18. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
Key events
– Discovery of the dead dog
– Decides to investigate the mystery
– The key to the mystery is all in the ‘deduction’
– Father angered and forbids any further detective work
– By chance finds unopened letters from his mother
– Distressed that his father has lied to him
– Flees believing he will be the next ‘victim’
– Disoriented by the journey but uses logic
– Reunites with mother, followed by heated arguments
– Anxious to return to Swindon to take his ‘A’ level Maths
– Achieves top results
– Lives in rented bed-sitter with his mother
– Partial reconciliation with his father
– Continues with his studies to become a scientist
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19. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
• Finally impress the examiners by
demonstrating your
– Personal perspective through a
– deep understanding of an idea or related
ideas, drawing on detailed textual knowledge –
key quotes (textual evidence) which
– explain the how and why of your argument also
– Use of metalanguage appropriate to the novel
– Christopher as a reliable narrator
– Graphic elements – unusual in literary fiction
but are used by Christopher to communicate
his confusion/instability and problem solving
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20. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
• To enhance meaning Haddon uses symbols and
motifs to communicate Christopher’s confusion
and instability and
• as Christopher grapples with changes in his
limited world he uses of graphic elements such as
– graphs, smiley faces, topography, plans, drawings,
illustrations, drawings and mathematical equations – e.g.
the symbol (lots of cars) on the Get Well Card for his
mother indicating the strength of affection for his mum
• which help him understanding the metaphor of life
and ‘the curious incident’
• In other words – dealing with people and
emotions is less difficult when expressed visually
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21. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
• Your introduction should clarify and define key
terms and phrases of the question
• Take at least 5 – 10 minutes to plan – Mind Map
• Outline (briefly) the main issues to be tackled
• Articulate your main argument (thesis)
• Do not
– repeat topic in opening sentence
– Simple agree or disagree
– Disregard the topic and rewrite a pre-planned essay that
is irrelevant to the topic
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22. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
• Your personal response to any question should
demonstrate a knowledge and an understanding of
– Issues explored in the novel – themes, and ideas
– Distinctive characteristics which shape meaning
• i.e. connection between meaning and
• techniques used to shape/make meaning, and
• How author uses language, setting, style, structure, themes
and characters to create meaning
– Express your ideas clearly and succinctly with reference
to the novel – quotes which support your response
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23. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time – Close Study of Text
• In assignments or tests will be assessed on your
ability to construct a cohesive, fluent, relevant
and personal response that engages with the
topic throughout and explaining how the text’s
distinctive qualities shape meaning
• Example Questions
1. Distinctive ideas are at the heart of every novel.
2. In what ways does the author draw you into the
novel?
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