Students Study Guide for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the NightTime

Like all well-written books, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon, generates many questions and ideas from many different angles. The purpose of this study guide is to expose you to as many of these questions, ideas, and angles as possible, in order to stimulate your interest, encourage you to re-read passages, and engage you in the book s complexity as you examine it by yourself or discuss it with others. !y reading the book this summer, and by using this study guide, you will be amply prepared for the "iscussion #$ent on %ugust &'th( How to Use This Study Guide This is a study guide, not an examination or test( %s you read through this guide, take note of the questions and ideas that pique your curiosity and that encourage you to explore your interests more fully. )pend *+ minutes reading through the entire study guide, not ,ust part of it, before looking at the questions in more detail. #ach section of questions takes you through ma,or aspects of the book and through passages and chapters that are memorable. Then, once you $e familiari-ed yourself with this guide, go back to each section in the guide. .ecommended time spent on this study guide/ * hour. %s you read the book and use this study guide, share your experience and ideas with others. !ring the study guide with you, along with any notes you may ha$e taken, to the "iscussion #$ent on %ugust &'. 0ou are not required to take notes on the book prior to this "iscussion #$ent, but you are guaranteed to ha$e a better grasp of the book if you do ,ot down some notes before you arri$e on campus. 1%nd because you ll be taking lots of notes during your uni$ersity years for all of your classes, you might get into the habit of doing this now, with this book2(3

First: An important, 5-minute task 4hristopher !oone, the narrator of The Curious Incident, is unique. #$erything about the no$el 5 its plot, pacing, dialogue, characteri-ation, perspecti$es, ideas, format, style, themes, and motifs* 5 takes its cues from this unusual and engaging narrator. !ecause 4hristopher is autistic, the $ery first thing that you will want to do is to spend 6 minutes on-line, looking up Autism and a related cogniti$e condition, Aspergers Syndrome, on the web. 7nowing something about these conditions will enable you to appreciate 4hristopher s 8take9 on life and to understand more fully how and why he sees things the way he does.
*

% motif is a thing, any thing 5 an ob,ect, a color, an article of clothing, a pattern of action, an element of the landscape, a phrase, etc. 5 that is repeated throughout an entire narrati$e, and because it is repeated, this thing takes on special significance and adds meaning to the story. :or example, 4hristopher s many graphs and charts become one of the story s important motifs.

General

uestions a!out your "eadin# $%perien&e

The following questions ask you about your impressions 5 your 8gut9 response or your sub,ecti$e response 5 to the no$el. These questions also ask you to explore how this book may or may not be different from other stories that you ha$e read. .ead the six questions listed here, attempting to formulate answers, in your mind, to as many as you can. *. ;hat was your first impression upon reading the first few pages of this no$el< &. =n what ways did your first impression about the book change, as you continued to read the story< ;hy did it change< =f your first impressions did not change, why is this the case< >. ;hat made reading this book an unusual, engaging, and sometimes challenging experience< ?. =t is safe to say that most of you ha$e not read a book such as this one before. !ecause you ha$en t, the no$el will strike you as 8different9 in many ways. =n what ways is this no$el different from many of the other no$els or short stories that you ha$e read< #xamine e$erything about the no$el, from its style 1word choice, $oice, sentence structure, and sentence length3 and characteri-ation, to its plot and formatting 1e.g., chapter numbers, use of italics, boldfacing, etc.3 and make a list in your mind, or on paper, of all the ways in which this no$el does @AT fit your usual idea of a no$el. 6. "espite the no$el s many oddities, the author of the work, Mark Haddon, has still told you a story that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. =n other words, The Curious Incident makes use of literary con$entions common to many, if not all, works of fiction or similar genres.& ;hat aspects of The Curious Incident remind you of other stories that you ha$e read, or e$en films that you ha$e watched< ;hat con$entions of all no$els are also followed and de$eloped in this story< B. Cenerally speaking, what did you appreciate the most about this story< The least< %nd why< uestions a!out the 'arrator "escribe anything and e$erything about 4hristopher Dohn :rancis !oone that you can remember 1and if you can t remember certain things, then take a few minutes to re-read portions of the story that strike your fancy, so that you can get a 8feel9 for this narrator3. )ince the whole story is filtered through his ga-e, the more you try to see the world through his eyes, the more you ll come to appreciate the special way in which he tells his story. uestions a!out the 'arrator, &ontinued: *. ;hat does 4hristopher like< ;hat does he not like< "oes he offer any rationali-ation for his likes and dislikes< &. ;hat does 4hristopher eat<
&

;e use the word genre to describe certain kinds or classifications of literature. @o$els are one genreE short stories are anotherE poetry is still another, sonnets are a sub-genre of poetry, and so on.

&

>. ;here does he li$e< ;ith whom< ?. ;hat kind of school does 4hristopher attend< ;ho are his teachers< 6. ;hat does 4hristopher see in the world around him< ;hat details and things in this world does he share with his readers< ;hat information about the world does he omit< ;hy does he include information about some things but omit information about other things< B. How does he see the world around him< ;hat might be his attitude toward the world around him/ other people, animals, his mother and father, his teacher, nature, the neighborhood in which he li$es, his home, his belongings, etc.< '. How does 4hristopher make sense of his en$ironment< ;hat makes sense to him and what confuses him, and why< F. To what extent does 4hristopher change or grow during the narrati$e< G. =n what ways would you describe 4hristopher as a static, &-dimentional character or a dynamic, >-dimensional character< Affer some explanations for your answers. *+. .egardless of whether or not 4hristopher is autistic, in what ways are 4hristopher s $iewpoints, attitude, and beha$ior the same as some of our own< Hlay 8de$il s ad$ocate9 for a moment, as ask yoursel$es how 4hristopher is more like than unlike us. ;hat do you learn about yoursel$es when you compare yoursel$es to 4hristopher< ;hat do you learn about your world when you see the world through 4hristopher s eyes< **. How would this story change if we didn t ha$e a first-person narrator but had instead, say, a third-person omniscient narrator<

(ther )hara&ters *. ;ho are the other characters whom 4hristopher discusses or describes< )can through the book, listing as many persons as you can. &. How do others respond to 4hristopher< >. ;hat function do these persons play in 4hristopher s life< ?. "oes 4hristopher seem to ha$e a fa$orite person in his life< "oes he treat all persons the same throughout the book< 6. To what extent is 4hristopher s world 8peopled9 by other people< =f people do not occupy a central part in his life or thinking, then what does occupy him<

uestions a!out the *lot % story s plot in$ol$es the chronological sequencing of e$ents within the story. Talking about the plot of a story, as well, often cannot take place without talking about the characters in the story that gi$e the plot its shape or without discussing the narrator who

>

tells us the story. :inally, we can ha$e plots and sub-plots, the latter of which may be re$ealed as the primary plot unfolds. *. ;hat is the plot of this story< ;hat happens first, second, third, and so on< &. ;hat is the plot of this story, condensed into a few sentences< >. ;hat are a few examples of 4hristopher s digressions from the plot< ;hen he digresses, what does he talk about< #xamine the digressions as a group. ;hen does 4hristopher digress< =s there any rhyme or reason to the timing of his digressions< =s there a pattern to the digressions< How might the digressions relate to the plot in some fashion, or help us understand 4hristopher better< ?. =f the primary plot of the story in$ol$es 4hristopher s disco$ery and sol$ing of the neighbor dog s $iolent death, what might the no$els sub-plots be< How do these sub-plots get re$ealed through the course of the story< How do the sub-plots relate to the story s ma,or plot< 6. Take the ma,or plot of the story 5 the murder mystery 5 and re-tell the story from a non-autistic person s point of $iew. How might the plot change<

uestions a!out *assa#es and )hapters &> questions about the story follow below. They take you from page * of the no$el to the $ery end. These questions focus your attention on key e$ents in the plot, on certain digressions in the story, on certain characters 1especially 4hristopher3, on the book s style, on some of the book s dialogue, and on important interactions between 4hristopher and others. .ead through all of the questions, if possible, circling se$eral 5 eight to ten 5 questions that interest you. How might you answer some of these questions< *. .ead the first paragraph of the no$el 1p. *3. ;hat do you learn about 4hristopher by reading this passage< ;hat do you learn about what is important to him< How does he see things< How might he be different from you, or e$en the same< ;hat kind of narrati$e style characteri-es this passage< &. ;hy does 4hristopher tear up the piece of paper that )iobhan> has drawn for him 1p. >3< >. #xamine the footnote on p. 6 of the book. ;hen does 4hristopher use footnotes< Hage F also has an example of numbered lists, and page 6> has an example of boldface. ;hen does 4hristopher resort to such additions or 8flourishes9 in his storytelling< ;hat do these font changes, lists, and so on, tell us about this narrator< ?. 4hristopher pro$ides insight into his beha$ior on p. ' when he begins to press his forehead on the ground, ignoring the policeman. Howe$er, the policeman does not ha$e the $antage point that we ha$e. =f we were ignorant about 4hristopher in the way that the policeman is, what would we think of 4hristopher< =f the policeman had known what we know about this narrator, how might he ha$e approached 4hristopher differently<
>

8)iobhan9 is a female =rish name pronounced 8)hi$-awn.9

6. 4hapter *G 1p. **3 pro$ides us with a digression on prime numbers. ;hat do we learn, factually speaking, about such numbers as we read this chapter< ;hat do we learn about this digression on prime numbers $is-a-$is the chapter that precedes it< =n other words, how does 4hapter *G shed light on the sub,ect matter of the pre$ious chapter< ;hat philosophy does 4hristopher extract from his digression on prime numbers 1read the end of 4hapter *G for an answer to this question.3 B. How would you characteri-e the relationship that 4hristopher has with his father< .e-read chapter ?* 1pp. &+-&*3. Try to see the relationship through 4hristopher s eyes, through his father s eyes, and through your own eyes. '. ;hen 4hristopher is told that his mother has died, what is his response 1pp. &B&F, chapter 6>3. =n this chapter, as in many other chapters, he intersperses short sentences into his narrati$e. =n fact, some of his paragraphs in this chapter are only * sentence long. ;hat kind of information is con$eyed in these short paragraphs< ;hat is significant about the beginning of chapter 6G, the $ery next chapter< ;here has the discussion of his mother gone, and why< F. #$erybody processes the ideas of death and dying differently. 4hristopher, on pp. >>->?, discusses his rabbit s death, his mother s death, and the idea of dying. =n what ways does 4hristopher s scientific, factual interpretation also end up being a kind of consolation for him or for us< G. 4hapter B' gi$es us a wonderful glimpse into the world of non-autistic persons, through the eyes of an autistic person. #xamine, for example, the tee-shirt slogan that 4hristopher quotes on p. >B, and his comments on the idea of 8chatting,9 on the top of p. ?+. ;hen you see bits and pieces of your own world isolated and discussed, in the way that 4hristopher isolates and discusses them, how does your own world appear to you now< "iscuss other pieces of our non-autistic world that 4hristopher points out for us throughout the no$el. 1)ee also p. *F? and lots of other pages(3 *+. 4hristopher lists his 8beha$ioral problems9 on pp. ?B-'. ;hat do we learn about our own beha$ioral 8problems9 by reading 4hristopher s list< ;hat do we learn about his parents difficulties as well< **. Mrs. %lexander, a neighbor, ends up being quite con$ersant with 4hristopher. "escribe their relationship 1and check out pp. 6B-B* as well3. ;hat does 4hristopher learn not merely about the dog s murder but about his mother and father as well, from this neighbor< *&. 4hristopher describes the 8Monty Hall9 math problem on pp. B?-6 and he pro$ides us with a description of clouds on pp. B'-G. To what extent are these digressions unrelated to the story< ;hat do these digressions tell us about 4hristopher< :ind other digressions that are interesting to you andIor that may be rele$ant to the rest of the story 1pp. FB, FF, etc.3. *>. 8My memory is like film,9 says 4hristopher 1p. 'B3. He continues to say that he ne$er forgets anything, and from this he deri$es a great deal of confidence. ;hat other tools does 4hristopher ha$e to deal with problems, conflicts, uncertainty, and ambiguity< *?. 8= looked at the letter and thought really hard. =t was a mystery and = couldn t figure it out9 1GG, referring to a letter from his mother that he finds in his dad s

room3. ;hen do 4hristopher s tools fail him< ;hen does the world shake up 4hristopher< #xamine the passage on **> 18= don t know what happened then because there is a gap in my memory, like a bit of the tape had been erased293 and the passage on *&+ 18= killed ;ellington, 4hristopher93 and 4hristopher s response to these two frightening situations. *6. To what extent does 4hristopher de$elop new tools for being in the world, other than the ones he already has, in order to sol$e problems that his usual beha$ior does not permit him to sol$e< =n other words, can you locate a passage or chapters that indicate that 4hristopher is changing in his own way to meet the demands of his life< 8The mind is ,ust a complicated machine,9 says 4hristopher 1p. **B3. How does 4hristopher ad,ust to the complicated world around him by also ad,usting the 8complicated machine9 of his mind< *B. The 8truth9 is $ery important to 4hristopher. ;hen he shares information with us about Arien and other constellations, he says, 8%nd that is the truth9 1*&B3. How does 4hristopher react when the truth becomes grey or fu--y< *'. Hages *&G to the end of the book chronicle 4hristopher s ,ourney to see his mother in London. How does 4hristopher sur$i$e on this ,ourney< ;hat characteri-es this ,ourney< ;hom does he meet< How does he cope< ;hat does he learn< ;hat skills does he use in order to arri$e safely at his mother s< *F. ;hy does 4hristopher say that he 8doesn t like new places9 1*?+3< )ee p. *?> as well. *G. This no$el contains a great deal of gentle humor -- much, or most, of it unintentional. Take, for example, the dialogue on p. *6+ or Mrs. %lexander s dog 8poo9 1p. 6B3. Locate other passages that are humorous and share them with others. ;hat makes them funny< &+. ;hat does 4hristopher learn once he arri$es at his mother s house< &*. ;hile at his mother s house 4hristopher has one of his 8fa$orite9 dreams 1pp. *GF-&++3. ;hat makes it his fa$orite< %nd would this dream be a fa$orite of yours< ;hy or why not< &&. How would you describe 4hristopher s family, once he mo$es back to )windon< ;hat has changed for the better< How has the mother changed, and how has the father changed< &>. To what extent does the book conclude on a note that ties up all loose ends< Ar are there some loose ends still dangling<

Themes, +deas, +ssues, )ru%es

%nd now for the broad strokes of The Curious Incident. !elow are big ideas that this no$el generates/ ideas, themes,? issues, problems, etc. Highlight a few that strike your fancy and that you d like to discuss during the .eading #$ent in %ugust. The autistic world $s. the non-autistic world/ shared traitsE differing traits "i$ersity/ being differentE being 8other9E what makes us similar to or different from othersE inclusion into a group $s. exclusion from a groupE disabilities 5 how you define such a thing and what sets you apart from others #ducation/ how we learnE what we teach Herception/ how we see the world around usE what shapes our perceptions :amily/ parentsE parentingE childrenE separationsE di$orcesE reconciliationsE functional $s. dysfunctional families Crowth and change/ what makes us grow and changeE why we stay the same #motions/ the things we feel, why we feel them, and how we express them Dourneys/ the places 5 literal, figurati$e 5 that we go toE the paths that we take to get there #pistemology/ what we know, and how we know what we knowE means of knowing oursel$es and the world 4ommunication/ methods of communicating with othersE what we communicate, what we withhold, and why Truth and .eality/ what is real or true, or not, to you or to others, and what shapes our notion of truth and realityE the degree to which truth and reality are distinct things. Cood and #$il/ what is good in 4hristopher s world< %nd what is e$il< "oes he ha$e a concept of good and e$il< ;hat is right or wrong to him, and why< How do 4hristopher s morals differ from your own< 4oping/ getting by in this worldE what we do to sur$i$e Hhilosophies of life and li$ing Themes and ideas that you ha$e disco$ered 5 list them here(

;e look forward to seeing you in your discussion groups on %ugust &'th( !etween now and then, please direct your questions to me at .eadingJnau.edu.

"r. %nne )cott 4oordinator, )ummer .eading Hrogram %ssoc. Hrofessor, #nglish "ept. %ssoc. "irector, Honors Hrogram

% theme is a ma,or idea 5 often, an abstract idea 5 reinforced by many, if not all, aspects of a particular piece of writing. Ksually we express a theme through a single word or a simple phrase/ e.g., the theme of ,usticeE the theme of good $s. e$il, and so on.

'