Oliver Chen Laurel Recker ENL03 3/17/2011 Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

provides an interesting perspective on our own perception and point-of-view. Christopher is an outside observer; his objective reasoning provides a sharp contrast with the public's point of view. Christopher's logical reasoning makes the reader question their own seemingly absurd reasoning. In this regard, Christopher seems almost like a robot; his mind and decisions seem more mechanical than anything else to the reader. Because of this, he is easy to describe but difficult to understand; his careful reasoning, while easy to lay out in front of the reader, seems so different that it is almost illogical. Christopher feels or at least expresses very few emotions throughout the book. This serves to alienate him from the audience; it is difficult to relate to someone who is completely different. Perhaps because of this, he has great difficulty understanding and interpreting the feelings of others. In fact, at one point he even points out that he has difficulty understand facial expressions beyond happy and sad. In unfamiliar situations, too, Christopher has great difficulty reacting to the comments of others. He explains that he even has to do a Search through his memory in order to see if any similar situations have come up so he knows how to react. This points out how unreasonable even everyday happenings are in human life; though we often respond automatically to stimulus, Christopher simply does not have the capability to understand the illogicality of life. In fact, this inability to read simple gestures seems almost comical to the reader; he explains that if someone is lying on the floor at school, I do a Search through my memory to find a picture of someone having an epileptic fit and then I compare the picture with what is happening in front of me. Even the difference between an epileptic fit and a nap is questionable for Christopher. This provides a brief uplifting from the dark undertones of the story, and leads the reader to question how we understand the world around

us. Christopher's perspective provides a sharp contrast with the the perspective of the average person. Christopher's point of view is far separated from the point of view of everyone else. One indication of this is that he sees everything in black in white, while the rest of the characters often know that there are shades of gray between. This seems absurd to the reader, and leads us to question Christopher's seemingly illogical feelings. For example, when he finds that his father killed Wellington, his father instantly becomes a murderer in his eyes. Though it is clear to the reader that his father simply had a lapse in judgment, Christopher sees him as a dangerous criminal. This difference between Christopher's perspective and reality serves as a reflection of the common differences between an average person's perspective and reality. Because Christopher's reasoning is so mechanical and computer-like, it seems illogical to the reader that Christopher can undergo such a dramatic change in character through one simple action. There is very little in between for Christopher; only good and bad, black and white. These strange differing points of view between Christopher and the majority of the rest of mankind seems like an illogicality in and of itself. Though Christopher's point of view seems to be mechanical and rigid, it is his absurdities that entice the reader. These absurdities make him seem more human, and to some extent help us to understand Christopher's perspective on the world. To Christopher, his absurdities are his logic; while sometimes his reasoning makes little sense to the reader, Christopher's world is in perfect order when he explains his reasoning. One example of this is when his school psychologist asks him why 4 cars in a row made it a Good Day, and 3 red cars in a row made it a Quite Good Day, and 5 red cars in a row made it a Super Good Day, and why 4 yellow cars in a row made it a Black Day (24). This idea makes no sense to the reader; the colors of cars have no relationship to how good a day is going to be. However, to Christopher this makes perfect sense, and he explains that he simply liked things to be in a nice order (24). These absurdities in Christopher's reasoning provide a sharp contrast with the logical reasoning of Christopher, and provide a much-needed comic relief in the story. Christopher's strange absurdities also point out that everyone has a unique point of view on the world. Though Christopher's

point of view is very different from the rest of the characters, it mirrors the different perspectives of people in reality. The story does not focus only on Christopher's absurdities, but also on those of so-called average people like his father. For example, while Christopher goes to a Special Needs school, he explains that a number of people have special needs but are not considered Special Needs. His father has to carry a little packet of artificial sweetening tablets, Mrs. Peters wears a beige-colored hearing aid, and Siobhan has glasses so thick that they give you a headache if you borrow them, yet none of these people are Special Needs, even if they have special needs (44). The story points out the absurdities of seemingly normal people, which mirrors the unique nature of people in reality. The author seems to imply that Christopher's point of view is not completely separate from that of normal people but merely somewhat unique relative to them. Because of this, the reader can to some extent understand the strange perspective and reasoning behind Christopher's mind. Christopher's condition provides him with a unique perspective on the world. He is not completely different from normal people, but his point of view is separate and unique. Though his reasoning seems mechanical and rigid, his absurdities draw the reader in and allow us to relate with him. His lack of emotions serves to alienate the audience from him, but his uncommon perspective serves to entice the reader. His unique point of view provides an interesting perspective on our own perspective of the world and reflects the often great differences between people.