THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE

THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME A NOVEL BY MARK HADDON

ABOUT THE AUTHOR & BACKGROUND Mark Haddon • Born in 1962 Northampton • Studied at Oxford university and Edinburgh university • He worked with children and adults with mental and physical disabilities • Mostly writes children books • Writes poetry • Won the Whitebread book of the year for Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime • He’s married with two boys

2003 • The Columbia Space Shuttle disaster • Concord final flight • SARS (sever acute raspatory syndrome) • The fifth Harry Potter Book is released Words that were added to the dictionary: • Binge-watch • Flash mob • Muffin Top • Manscaping • Unfriend

NOVEL SETTING Time and Place This book starts off in Swindon, England but then travels to London, England. This book took place in April of 1998. Evidence of this show on page 98 & 101. One of the events that took place in 1997 that we found very interesting was that the measles vaccine causes autism

MAIN CHARACTERS There is only one main character and his name is Christopher Boone. Christopher is 14 year old boy with autism. But Christopher is very smart and loves space sciences and maths. • Christopher cannot understand emotions as well as the rest of us. But he understand logic very well.

CHRISTOPHER'S RELATIONSHIPS • Christopher doesn’t really have many good relationships • There are rocky moments with his dad and mother. • Has a good relationship with a teacher from school, Siobhan, and his pet rat named Toby.

CHRISTOPHER'S PERSPECTIVE • Pg. 140"I see everything. That’s why I don’t like new places. If I'm in a place I know, like home, or school, or the bus, or the shop, or the street, I have seen almost everything beforehand all I have to do is to look at the things that have changed or moved. " Christopher observes way more than the average person and he has a really good memory and remembers almost everything.

SIDE CHARACTERS - ED BOONE Christopher’s father • Ex-husband to Christopher’s mother • Strong relationship with Christopher built on trust • Good father • Doesn’t fully understand Christopher • Killer of Wellington • Lied about Christopher’s mother being alive • "But father was a more levelheaded person, which means he didn't get angry as quickly and he didn't shout as often. " Pg. 82.

SIDE CHARACTERS - JUDY BOONE • Mother of Christopher • Ex-husband of Christopher’s father • Is thought be dead for most of the book • She ran away with Mr. Shears • Amities that she was not patient with Christopher • She says she's a bad mother

SIDE CHARACTERS Mrs. Alexander • Christopher’s neighbour • Could be a Grandmother figure to Christopher • Christopher doesn’t trust her • She knows about the affair between Mr. Shears and Christopher’s mother Siobhan • Christopher’s school teacher • The only person in the book who understands Christopher • Supportive “If you do start to feel sad about this, I want you to know that you can come and talk to me about it. Because I think talking to me will help me feel less sad. And if you don’t feel sad but you just want to talk to me about it, that would be OK, too. ” (page 75)

SIDE CHARACTERS • Christopher’s mother’s boyfriend • Ex-husband of Mrs. Shears • He doesn’t like Christopher living in his flat • Christopher suspects him of killing Wellington Christopher’s neighbour The owner of Wellington (the dead dog Christopher finds) Ex-wife of Mr. Shears. She’s resentful toward Christopher’s mom for dating Mr. Shears • She becomes cold towards the Christopher and his father after the death of Wellington • She took care of Christopher and his father after his mother left them • •

CONFLICTS We chose 3 different conflicts in this book. 1. "mind your own business" person vs. Person 2. mother isn't dead and murderer of Wellington person vs. Self 3. over all the conflict is person vs. Society, being special

CONFLICT 1 PERSON VS. PERSON "Also I don't know what father means when he says "stay out of other peoples business" because I do not know what he means by "other peoples business"" - pg. 29 Wellington was killed and Christopher wanted to know who did it so he went investigating

CONFLICT #2 PERSON VS. SELF "And he said, "I killed Wellington, Christopher. " I wondered if this was a joke, because I don’t understand jokes, and when people tell jokes they don’t mean what they say. " - pg. 120 Christopher finds the letters from his mother who is presumably dead and then the person he trusts most is the murderer of wellington.

CONFLICT #3 PERSON VS. SOCIETY "But that is stupid too because sometimes the children from the school down the road see us in the street when we're getting off the bus and they shout, "special Needs! Special Needs!"" - pg. 44 Christopher is on the autistic spectrum which gets him labeled as "special needs"

EMOTIONAL SETTING At the beginning of the book Christopher said that this book is a murder mystery. This book has happy and sad parts. But no over all emotional setting.

Christopher is on the autistic spectrum. SOCIAL CONDITION Labels “All the other children at my school are stupid. Except I'm not meant to call them stupid, even though it is what they are. I’m meant to say that they have learning difficulties or that they have special needs. But this is stupid because everyone has learning difficulties” – pg. 43

AUTHORS WRITING • “father was standing on the carpet a meter in front of me looking down at me and he was holding my book in his right hand, but it was bent in half and all the corners were messed up, there was a scratch on his neck and a big rip in the sleeve of his green and blue check shirt and he was breathing really deeply. ” – pg. 83

SEMINAR DISSCUSION

THE QUESTIONS One of the unusual aspects of the novel is its inclusion of many maps, drawings and diagrams. How effective are these in helping the reader see the world through Christopher's eyes? Identify a key pictograph in the novel, describe how Christopher uses it, and explain what insight it grants into his character. Discuss the difference between Chris’ understanding of events (due to his condition) and the reader’s understanding of events. They are obviously different. Discuss some examples. How do these situations contribute to your understanding of his condition and Chris in general? Give examples.

QUESTIONS PT. 2 Think about what Christopher says about metaphors and lies and their relationship to novels [pp. 14– 20]. Why is lying such an alien concept to him? In his aversion to lies, Christopher decides not to write a novel, but a book in which "everything I have written. . . is true" [p. 20]. Why do "normal" human beings in the novel, like Christopher's parents, find lies so indispensable? Why is the idea of truth so central to Christopher's narration? What complex, philosophical thoughts about God, Nature, and animals are revealed through Chris’s unique perspective?

FINAL QUESTION • What was each person’s (in your group) biggest ‘takeaway’? Why do you think the author wrote the book? What is the author’s insight into the Human Condition? Would you recommend this book and why?

IMAGE SOURCES Slide 2 - https: //literature. britishcouncil. org/writer/mark-haddon Slide 3 - https: //www. amazon. co. uk/Harry-Potter-Order-Phoenix-Book/dp/0747551006, https: //www. aviationcv. com/aviationblog/2016/top-10 -interesting-facts-about-concorde Slide – 4 http: //chris-curiousincident. blogspot. com/2009/05/cahpter-151. html Slide – 8 https: //www. theguardian. com/stage/video/2013/feb/26/curious-incident-dog-night-time-video-interviews Slide – 9 https: //www. bbc. com/bitesize/guides/zx 2 x 6 sg/revision/4 Slide 10 - https: //www. independent. co. uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/first-night-the-curious-incident-of-thedog-in-the-night-time-national-theatre-8002387. html , https: //newsok. com/article/5627216/curious-theater-cityrep-stagesregional-premiere-of-tony-winning-play-for-autism-awareness-month Slide 11 - https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=60 a 2 bnhuf 5 o, https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=5 o. Aihqh 8 Re 8 Slide 13 - http: //clipart-library. com/investigate-cliparts. html Slide 14 - https: //www. tlnt. com/your-employees-may-be-overwhelmed-heres-how-you-can-help/ Slide 15 - http: //clipart-library. com/autism-symbol-cliparts. html Slide 18 - https: //seniorsummerreading 08. wordpress. com/2015/08/24/christophers-parents/ Slide 19 - https: //www. imdb. com/title/tt 3786680/