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Andria Rojas
Mrs. Nicastro
English, Period 1
September 15, 2008
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Essay
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is a novel written by
Mark Haddon, which tells about Christopher, a boy with Aspergers Syndrome, a form of autism who is trying to discover the human mind. Christopher explains the different experiences he has with human minds. At times he tries very hard to understand people. Sometimes people never give him a chance to understand him and his condition. His condition puts a strain on the communication he tries to have with the people he knows. In understanding
Christopher we learn that his mind works totally different than others. His way of analyzing and comprehending others words is sometimes complex but the way he explains himself is sometimes so simple.
Throughout the novel, Christopher explains how his mind works in different ways. Christopher’s understanding of the human mind changes throughout the course of the novel. “The mind is just a complicated machine”
(page 116). This quote explains what Christopher thought of the human mind when he was comparing them to a computer. Human minds to Christopher are just a confusing thought to him. “I decided that I was going to find out who killed
Wellington even though Father had told me to stay out of other people’s business. This is because I do not always do what I am told. And this is because
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Rojas 2 when people tell you what to do it is usually confusing an d does not make sense”
(pp.28-29). There are certain situations that involve him and how he tries to understand how the human mind works. When he is told to be quiet, the person that is telling him does not tell him how long to be quiet for and what Christopher needs is detailed information when he is told to do something. He wants the entire explanation as to why he should be quiet. Sometimes his father says things that are confusing and he does not entirely understand it but when
Siobhan, his teacher, tells him something he knows exactly what she means.
“When Siobhan tells me not to do something she tells me exactly what it is that I am not allowed to do ” (pg. 29). Christopher has a better understanding of the human mind if people are more specific when they say something to him.
Christopher’s different way of understanding shows us there are diverse ways to explain things. If they explain themselves clearly Christopher will be able to understand the human mind and not feel so confused.
During the course of the novel Christopher observes how the human mind thinks. He thinks that the minds complexity consists of too many parts for him to understand. “I got Siobhan to draw lots of 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” (pg. 3). This explains how the facial expressions are difficult for Christopher to comprehend. He needs to associate pictures with the words in order to remember them. By associating pictures with
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Rojas 3 words this makes his comprehension easier and he does not get nervous about what he is suppose to do. His mind is different than others and this type of association makes life easier for Christopher. “I like Sherlock Holmes and I think that if I were a proper detective he is the kind of detective I would be” (pg 73).
Christopher thinks as himself being Sherlock Holmes because he thinks he is like him in a lot of ways. One of these traits is the remarkable way he detaches his mind at will and this is what Christopher does. “Eventually there’s no one left in the world except people who don’t look at other people’s faces and who don’t know what these pictures mean and these people are all special like me” (pp.
198-199). Christopher wants a world where he does not have to be around minds that are not like his. Human minds are too complex for Christopher to understand them. Christopher’s favorite dream is when humans are not around to complicate everything. In his own way, Christopher tries to understand people but because of his condition his mind operates differently.
Christopher’s way of thinking is different from most people. He analyzes thoughts differently than those around him. His comparison of the mind to a machine reveals that he thinks unlike others . “People think computers are different from people because they don’t have minds” (pg. 116). Christopher explains why people are wrong and why they are just like computers. His thoughts and explanations of these thoughts are different than his family and others in his life. “And that is why people think that computers don’t have minds and why pe ople think that their brains are special and different from computers”
(pg. 118). He explains why both computer and the human mind are special
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Rojas 4 because they are alike. People do not want to be compared to a plastic machine that is made of nuts and bolts a nd parts that they don’t understand. “Also people think they’re not computers because they have feelings and computers don’t have feelings” (pg. 119). Christopher says this because he knows people don’t think themselves as computers because humans have emotions and feelings unlike computers. People think just because they have feelings that computers are not likely to have the same feelings as us. Christopher thinks the mind as a computer and that people do not agree with that assumption.
During the novel we see a new way of thinking through Christopher ’s thoughts. He opens our eyes to the diverse ways he processes his feelings, views, and thoughts. Although Christopher explains himself clearly to us he will never really understand how others think. At times he does understand the human mind only when we explain ourselves clearly to him.
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