English Standard Year 12 -The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: Language, Style and Context

Writing Style

The writing style of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is unique to Christopher’s voice, which is matter-of-fact and childlike. The matter-of-fact style contains metafictional elements, which is when the narrator directly refers to the book he or she is writing and reminds the readers that they are reading a work of fiction...continue reading...

Point of View

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is written in the first-person point of view. Christopher Boone acts as both the protagonist and the narrator of the novel, meaning the reader experiences the story from his point of view. The novel is organized as a written account of Wellington’s murder and Christopher’s subsequent investigation...continue reading...

Historical Context

Christopher is likely on the autism spectrum, though this is never explicitly stated in the book. Autism was not recognized until the twentieth century, and for many years, it was regarded without question as a disorder for which a cure needed to be found. The autism rights movement began in the late 1980s and is still gaining strength, led by autistic people who believe that they need no cure; instead, society needs to change its perspective on autistic people. People on the autism spectrum, they argue, function differently than others, but not in a lesser way. In fact, they have many qualities that allow them to excel in particular areas. Curious Incident could certainly be read as expressing support for this point of view. For his part, Mark Haddon claims to know little about autism (and makes it clear that he never specifically diagnoses Christopher), saying that Christopher matters more as a character for his unique perspective on the world than for the fact that he is probably on the autism spectrum.

Christopher Boone - A Reliable Narrator?

In many ways, Christopher is an exceptionally reliable narrator because of his excellent memory and unsentimental nature. Christopher is uniquely observant and remembers every physical detail of his surroundings, including entire conversations, facial expressions, and even smells. [However], Christopher could also be considered an unreliable narrator because he often lacks the emotional intelligence to understand more nuanced realities and easily becomes overwhelmed...continue reading...

Experimental Narration in the Post-Modern Detective Story

This article, written by Bethan Mai Roper for Medium, discusses how contemporary novels such as The Curious Incident merges genres, forms and structures to disobey 'expected' narrative rules.