Is the Novel “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” TIME Worthy?
Most love to read because it gives them a different experience. With this, you get to imagine each event unlike just watching a film. If you are finding something to read, I recommend the novel “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” written by a British writer named Mark Haddon. There were some parts I did not like; however, it was still very enjoyable to read. If you are still undecided about whether you should read this novel, do not worry because I will be critiquing it. However, do be informed that there may be some spoilers throughout the discussion.
The story revolves around a kid with a mental disorder named Christopher. It starts when Christopher discovers that his neighbor's dog had been murdered. Because of this incident, he started investigating. However, while investigating, he finds out some revelations like how his father lied about his mothers death and that he was the one who killed the dog. Because of this, Christopher was afraid that his father may also murder him, so he ran away and went to live with his mother in London. In the end, Christopher still ends up living with his mother but comes back to his hometown, while his father slowly tries to gain his trust again.
The characters, setting, and plot were pretty simple. The characters were just normal people except Christopher of course, while the settings in the novel were also very common. Due to the similarities of the aspects to society, it makes the story sound nonfiction. On the other hand, even though the plot was simple, it was very well written which made it a whole lot better. The narrator walks you through the story in a very detailed manner which makes you imagine each event so much better. It makes you feel like you are in the story itself. Because of this, even though some scenes weren’t so shocking, I still felt some emotion because the details made me feel how Christopher felt during those scenes. Also, the structure of the plot was very well constructed. It wasn’t flat at all and had a good flow and momentum overall. As stated earlier, there were some parts that I did not particularly like because they were hard to understand. These were those science facts Christopher was talking about. However, it played its part by showing more of Christopher’s characteristics.
Christopher, the main character, is portrayed in the story as a kid who is special. It’s seen in the text how he doesn’t act like other kids his age. However, he is also very good at mathematics and sees things differently than most people. During his adventure of trying to find and live with his mother, it could be seen that he was slowly breaking his boundaries and was actually improving like how he overcomes passing through a lot of people by thinking about other things. In addition, the text itself somehow shows Christopher's development. From the first chapters to the middle, every event was so detailed. Christopher described everything to the bone; however, the chapters nearing the end were written much more generally. Because of this, you get to see how he is slowly understanding that everything doesn’t have to be in order and too detailed. The mother, on the other hand, may have changed a little by the end, but it was still too little to be highlighted. Some may say that she is the worst character because she was annoying. However, even though she was annoying and selfish, I understood why she did those things. If you look at it from her perspective, she is just a woman who was so tired of her life. If I were her, I may have also done the same thing because of how difficult Christopher is to deal with. It may be wrong, but everyone still deserves to be happy no matter what. The mother somehow represents those modern moms who do whatever they want to achieve their happiness and are much bolder. Those mothers who put themselves first for the first time. This changes those stereotypes on mothers.
On the contrary, the father didn’t develop that much since he was already good from the start. He isn’t the best person, but within the situation, he is doing his best. The father was mature enough to understand Christopher and tries his best to keep calm even if his son is already annoying. Even if he isn’t like his son, he still tries to understand him. You could see this when he knows that Christopher doesn’t like things changed, like their furniture. Because of this, he never changes anything without his son’s permission because he knows Christopher hates it. He doesn’t disregard how Christopher feels even though he doesn’t feel it himself. On the other hand, Siobhan the teacher of Christopher also showed some empathy. Even though she isn’t like Christopher, she gets to understand how he feels, think, and doesn’t judge him at all. She places herself in Christopher’s position and tries to help him from there. She also helps Christopher in other things even if it is not required. Siobhan also played an important part in Christopher's life because she taught Christopher things which greatly contributed to his development.
Overall, the story was good even though the plot was pretty simple. The ending on the other hand, didn’t exceed my expectations which made me disappointed. However, if you think about it, there couldn’t have been any other ending given the circumstances. On the other hand, the story actually gives a handful of messages and insights. Christopher wasn’t trying to become better than those around him but was just trying to fit in. This could be seen in the chapter where he says his desire to make all normal people vanish. This may be because it is very hard for him to fit in and without them, he could just do anything he wants. This made me realize that in our society, we see those people who aren’t like us as weird or someone who doesn’t fit in. I realized that we should stop looking at them differently no matter how they act. We shouldn’t make them feel that they have to fit in with us. This forces them to fit in with us. On the other hand, this doesn’t actually only apply for those with mental disabilities. We all try to fit in the society we live in. No one wants to be seen differently by others, so we try to act the same way as most do.
In addition, the story also shows us how problems can be an opportunity to become better and grow. Christopher wouldn’t have gone beyond the perimeter of his neighborhood if he had not discovered those letters and his father's secrets. However, because of this, he learns how to cope with those unfamiliar and unwanted experiences, such as riding a train and walking beside a lot of people. The problems in the story also helped the father and mother grow even though it was very little. Christopher was their problem from the start. Without Christopher, the father may not be who he is right now. A loving, caring, and understanding father. Also, due to the straightforwardness and hard-headedness of Christopher, the father and mother are still somehow growing as a person throughout the story. This made me realize to not always see problems as something that pulls me down, but to help me up. In the end, this novel isn’t all about the story, but the messages it brings to its readers. You may want to consider reading this novel because this would surely change your perspective about a lot of things like how it did to me.
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