In Mark Haddon's novel, The curious incident of the dog in the Night-Time, the protagonist, Christopher Boone, seems completely unsuited to be narrating a novel, as he takes on his authorial voice, thus demonstrating symptoms of his disability, Asperser's Syndrome,(autism). This is a syndrome that enables him to see the world only through his limited perspective, which is closed, frightened and disorientated, and results in his fear of, and inability to understand the perplexing world of people's emotions. His description of events can be somewhat unreliable as he is unable to see the real truths that lie before him. As he narrates, readers are confronted with his characteristics, whether it is not liking to be touched, his fear of germs, strangers and crowds, or his inability to eat foods with particular colors. However, through Christopher's authorial voice, his description of events in his life, and in particular, his description of his oddities that seem completely normal to him, make him an interesting and fascinating narrator. He can be proven to be an unreliable narrator because he is incapable of lying (and understanding lies) and this limits his ability to perceive the full reality of the world, thus providing him with a strange combination of credibility and vulnerability. This is what makes Christopher a wonderful narrator.
As the novel progresses, Christopher takes his audience onboard his personal journey, and explicates his phobias to us, whether they are not liking yellow or brown things, refusing to touch yellow or brown things, not eating food if different sorts of food are touching each other, not being touched by strangers, or even by his family. Through his lengthy account, the reader learns to empathize with Christopher because he knows no better, and his syndrome prevents him from overcoming such minor phobias that "normal" children overcome through puberty or socialization. However, what makes him a fascinating narrator is how he has... [continues]
As the novel progresses, Christopher takes his audience onboard his personal journey, and explicates his phobias to us, whether they are not liking yellow or brown things, refusing to touch yellow or brown things, not eating food if different sorts of food are touching each other, not being touched by strangers, or even by his family. Through his lengthy account, the reader learns to empathize with Christopher because he knows no better, and his syndrome prevents him from overcoming such minor phobias that "normal" children overcome through puberty or socialization. However, what makes him a fascinating narrator is how he has... [continues]
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