Thesis: In the post-modern literature novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon there are persistent themes of both coming-of-age and emotions versus logic which are supported by the various elements of fiction developed by Haddon, the protagonist Christopher’s interior dialogue, and several flashbacks and the use of ambiguity. Outline: I.         Introduction A.       Attention grabber B.       History/info on Haddon and novel C.       Thesis II.       Body Paragraph 1 – Theme: Coming-of-Age A.       What is a coming-of age? B.       In this novel, the protagonist Christopher faces some hard truths, faces his fears, and solves a mystery. The storyline showcases Christopher learning and growing, and in the end, he looks back at what he has accomplished and has set some new goals for himself with confidence. 1.        “And I am going to pass it and get an A grade. And in two years’ time I am going to take A-level physics and get an A grade. And then, when I’ve done that, I am going to go to university in another town. And it doesn’t have to be in London because I don’t like London and there are universities in lots of places and not all of them are in big cities. And I can live in a flat with a garden and a proper toilet. And I can take Sandy and my books and my computer. ” (Haddon, p. 131) III.      Body Paragraph 2 – Theme: Emotions vs. Logic A.       Explanation of emotions vs. logic B.       “like Father, who has to carry a little packet of artificial sweetening tablets around with him to put in his coffee to stop him from getting fat, or Mrs. Peters, who wears a beige-colored hearing aid, or Siobhan, who has glasses so thick that they give you a headache if you borrow them, and none of these people are Special Needs, even if they have special needs. (Haddon, p. 43-44). Ray explains how Christopher uses logic in this passage “This passage suggests that it is the need that defines disability, not the person. Therefore, disability is relative.” (Ray) C.       Christopher has a difficult time , but reading others facials expressing and expressing his own emotions, but can easily rattle off the prime numbers up to 7,057. To help Christopher with this one of his teachers named Siobhan would draw circle faces with different emotions and label them. 1.        “I got Siobhan to draw lots of these faces and then write down next to them exactly what they meant. I kept the piece of paper in my pocket and took it out when I didn’t understand what someone was saying. But it was very difficult to decide which of the diagrams was most like the face they were making because people’s faces move very quickly.” (Haddon, p. 13) IV.      Body Paragraph 3 – Interior Dialogue A.       What is interior dialogue B.       Why is Christopher’s interior dialogue important to the story? It gives us insight into who Christopher is, what he likes, what he doesn’t, how is mind processes, etc. C.       “The process of novel-writing that struc ...

1. Thesis: In the post-modern literature novel The Curious
Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon there
are persistent themes of both coming-of-age and emotions
versus logic which are supported by the various elements of
fiction developed by Haddon, the protagonist Christopher’s
interior dialogue, and several flashbacks and the use of
ambiguity.
Outline:
I. Introduction
A. Attention grabber
B. History/info on Haddon and novel
C. Thesis
II. Body Paragraph 1 – Theme: Coming-of-Age
A. What is a coming-of age?
B. In this novel, the protagonist Christopher faces some
hard truths, faces his fears, and solves a mystery. The storyline
showcases Christopher learning and growing, and in the end, he
looks back at what he has accomplished and has set some new
goals for himself with confidence.
1. “And I am going to pass it and get an A grade. And in
two years’ time I am going to take A-level physics and get an A
grade. And then, when I’ve done that, I am going to go to
university in another town. And it doesn’t have to be in London
because I don’t like London and there are universities in lots of
places and not all of them are in big cities. And I can live in a
flat with a garden and a proper toilet. And I can take Sandy and
my books and my computer.
” (Haddon, p. 131)
III. Body Paragraph 2 – Theme: Emotions vs. Logic
A. Explanation of emotions vs. logic
B. “like Father, who has to carry a little packet of artificial
sweetening tablets around with him to put in his coffee to stop
him from getting fat, or Mrs. Peters, who wears a beige-colored

2. hearing aid, or Siobhan, who has glasses so thick that they give
you a headache if you borrow them, and none of these people
are Special Needs, even if they have special needs. (Haddon, p.
43-44). Ray explains how Christopher uses logic in this passage
“This passage suggests that it is the need that defines disability,
not the person. Therefore, disability is relative.” (Ray)
C. Christopher has a difficult time , but reading others
facials expressing and expressing his own emotions, but can
easily rattle off the prime numbers up to 7,057. To help
Christopher with this one of his teachers named Siobhan would
draw circle faces with different emotions and label them.
1. “I got Siobhan to draw lots of these faces and then write
down next to them exactly what they meant. I kept the piece of
paper in my pocket and took it out when I didn’t understand
what someone was saying. But it was very difficult to decide
which of the diagrams was most like the face they were making
because people’s faces move very quickly.” (Haddon, p. 13)
IV. Body Paragraph 3 – Interior Dialogue
A. What is interior dialogue
B. Why is Christopher’s interior dialogue important to the
story? It gives us insight into who Christopher is, what he likes,
what he doesn’t, how is mind processes, etc.
C. “The process of novel-writing that structures Haddon's
work functions as an account of Christopher's struggles with his
own Theory of Mind--that is, with his on-again, off-again
ability to interpret the mindsets of those around him. By writing
an autobiographical novel in which he consciously reflects on
his own ToM, Christopher effectively shows not only how he i s
different (a fact that he presents as self-evident, not as
remarkable), but also how he is similar to his prospective
readers.” (William) William explains how Haddon uses
Christopher’s interior dialogue to let the readers inside his mind
and get to know him.
D. As Christopher is in the beginning of his detective work
to find out who killed Wellington, he visits Mrs. Shears.
1. “When I looked through the window I could see a fork

3. that looked exactly the same as the fork that had been sticking
out of Wellington. It was lying on the bench by the window and
it had been cleaned because there was no blood on the spikes. I
could see some other tools as well, a spade and a rake and one
of those long clippers people use for cutting branches which are
too high to reach. And they all had the same green plastic
handles like the fork. This meant that the fork belonged to Mrs.
Shears. Either that or it was a Red Herring, which is a clue
which makes you come to a wrong conclusion or something
which looks like a clue but isn’t.” (Haddon, p. 28)
V. Body Paragraph 4 – Flashbacks
A. What is a flashback?
B. The author uses flashbacks in the novel to both set the
stage and for added context. For example, in the following
quote Haddon sets the stage for why Christopher’s mother is not
in the picture any more.
1. “Christopher arrives home from school one day and, when no
one answers the door, he lets himself in with a key that's hidden
outside. His dad gets home, but neither of them knows where
Christopher's mom is.” (Haddon, p.23)
VI. Body Paragraph 5 – Ambiguity
A. The meaning of ambiguity
1. “Ambiguity about diagnosis influences both Haddon’s
and Stork’s novels,
with notably different results.” (Orlando, p. 324) Ambiguity as
a writing technique can have different effects, and while only
the author knows it’s true intent, in Christopher’s case we are
left to make our own conclusions.
2. “Readers are never explicitly made aware of what makes
Christopher "not normal," but his ostensible "disability"--
possibly Asperger's Syndrome, a high functioning form of
autism--shapes the narrative. In this article, I offer a disability
studies analysis of the text, and conclude that the novel presents
a liberatory model of disability, in part precisely because
Christopher's disability is never named, raising the possibility
that disability is in the eye of the reader, not the character

4. himself.” (Ray)
3. Much like the ambiguity, surrounding the differences of
Christopher, the author Haddon also uses ambiguity through the
other characters. A great example of this is when Christopher’s
father tells him he won’t be seeing his mother for a while,
“Your mother has had to go into the hospital… She needs rest.
She needs to be on her own… It’s an ordinary hospital. She has
a problem…a problem with her heart.” (Haddon, p. 24) The way
the author ambiguously sets this scene, prompts the reader to
think something is up, foreshadowing if you will.
VII. Body Paragraph 6 – Examples of postmodern literature
A. What is postmodern literature:
B. Characteristics of this genre: “According to Lewis ( 2001
), boundary breaking, excess, indeterminacy, parody, and
performance are five strategies or devices evident in
postmodern picturebooks (and novels).” (Pantaleo, p. 325)
C. Support: “link between the crossover success
of Curious Incident and its postmodern revisitation of the
detective formula.
Haddon’s decision to play with the conventions of the clue-
puzzle version of the
genre presents the reader with both a gripping, and humorous,
plot and some clever
metanarrative reflections, in a brilliant example of the ‘‘dual
address’’ (to use
Barbara Wall’s (1991) term) that is the mark not only of many
great postmodern
texts but also of classic children’s literature.” (Ciocia, p. 321)
VIII. Conclusion
A. Relate back to intro
B. Restate thesis
C. Clincher
Module 04 Content

5. This project assignment is not a graded Drop Box assignment.
This project deliverable will be submitted as part of your initial
discussion post for the week.
This week, you will submit your outline and revised thesis
statement for peer review in the discussion forum. The outline
is only the plan of what you will be writing and is not your final
product. Think of it as your road map on your way to the
finished paper. It will be your guide as you write the final
course project paper. Please review the Project Introduction
Overview in Module 01, as well as resources in the Course
Guide for writing an outline and crafting a revised thesis
statement.
Content:
You should already be aware that your final paper will be a 6-8
page literary analysis of the novel "The Curious Incident of the
Dog in the Night-time" by Mark Haddon. Your outline should
contain the following items:
An introduction with a well-developed thesis, strongly
supported with evidence.
Clear ideas about how you intend to address the concepts
covered in this course. Literary concepts to be examined in your
paper include, but are not limited to, narrative structure, point
of view, character development, theme, and significance of the
novel's subject matter (i.e., autism).

6. A conclusion for reporting a summary of your findings and how
your ideas support your thesis
Organization:
Your thesis statement should be placed at the top of the outline,
followed by a formal outline with standard formatting, such as
Roman Numerals, for each major section of the paper. You will
want to use capital letters for each sub-section of the outline.
Use numbers under the capital letters for additional information
or resources used. Your final paper will also have an
introduction and conclusion, as well as the body section in the
middle.
Rasmussen's Library and Learning Services team has developed
a LIT3382 Modern World Literature Course Guide which
contains course project information and resources specific to
each project component. Refer to the Writing Guide, APA
Guide, and the Course Project section of the course guide for
more information about writing thesis statements and outlines,
as well as an example of an outline structure. Access to the
guide can be found in your Module 01 course tab. Module
04 Content
1.
Top of Form
This project assignment is not a graded Drop Box assignment.
This project deliverable will be submitted as part of your initial
discussion post for the week.
This week, you will submityour outline and revised thesis
statement for peer review in the discussion forum. The outline
is only the plan of what you will be writing and is not your final
product. Think of it as your road map on your way to the

7. finished paper. It will be your guide as you write the final
course project paper. Please review the Project Introduction
Overview in Module 01, as well as resources in the Course
Guide for writing an outline and crafting a revised thesis
statement.
Content:
You should already be aware that your final paper will be a 6-8
page literary analysis of the novel "The Curious Incident of the
Dog in the Night-time" by Mark Haddon. Your outline should
contain the following items:
· An introduction with a well-developed thesis, strongly
supported with evidence.
· Clear ideas about how you intend to address the concepts
covered in this course. Literary concepts to be examined in your
paper include, but are not limited to, narrative structure, point
of view, character development, theme, and significance of the
novel's subject matter (i.e., autism).
· A conclusion for reporting a summary of your findings and
how your ideas support your thesis
Organization:
Your thesis statement should be placed at the top of the outline,
followed by a formal outline with standard formatting, such as
Roman Numerals, for each major section of the paper. You will
want to use capital letters for each sub-section of the outline.
Use numbers under the capital letters for additional information
or resources used. Your final paper will also have an
introduction and conclusion, as well as the body section in the
middle.
Rasmussen's Library and Learning Services team has developed
a LIT3382 Modern World Literature Course Guide which

8. contains course project information and resources specific to
each project component. Refer to the Writing
Guide, APAGuide, and the Course Project section of the course
guide for more information about writing thesis statements and
outlines, as well as an example of an outline structure. Access
to the guide can be found in your Module 01 course tab.
Bottom of Form