The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time Analysis
The Perfect Family
What is a perfect family? In the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, the family of a 15 year-old boy is broken and disproportionate. He is ignorant as to what goes on in his family because family related issues are kept hidden from him. Similarly, in Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the families that are discussed in the play deal with multiple issues as well. In both texts, family is a vital theme but is portrayed in a negative way. Haddon and Shakespeare both emphasize and exaggerate the flaws that occur in family relationships to resemble the reality that it is “normal” to have a “not normal” family. These defects are shown through the mistrust between family members, broken relationships …show more content…
The fragility of each family is tested when someone closely related to them comes into the picture. Christopher learns from an elderly neighbour, Mrs. Alexander that the reason for the break-up of his parents was caused by another man. Shockingly, the man is Mr. Shears, the ex-husband of Mrs. Shears, who lives across from Christopher. Mrs. Alexander broke the news to him on a walk to the park by telling him, “Your mother, before she died, was very good friends with Mr. Shears. ( . . . ) I mean that they were very good friends. Very, very good friends” (Haddon, 60). This substantiates the point that even marriages that seem to be impeccable, are capable of breaking up. Quickly after the death of her husband, Hamlet’s mother Gertrude from Hamlet remarries Claudius, her brother-in-law. Angered, Hamlet tells Horatio and Marcellus that, “She married; O most wicked speed, to post/ With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (Shakespeare, 23). Later Hamlet confronts his mother and asks how she could marry Claudius who is incomparable to King Hamlet. Haddon and Shakespeare show that families can be as easily broken up as they were brought
What is a perfect family? In the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, the family of a 15 year-old boy is broken and disproportionate. He is ignorant as to what goes on in his family because family related issues are kept hidden from him. Similarly, in Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the families that are discussed in the play deal with multiple issues as well. In both texts, family is a vital theme but is portrayed in a negative way. Haddon and Shakespeare both emphasize and exaggerate the flaws that occur in family relationships to resemble the reality that it is “normal” to have a “not normal” family. These defects are shown through the mistrust between family members, broken relationships …show more content…
The fragility of each family is tested when someone closely related to them comes into the picture. Christopher learns from an elderly neighbour, Mrs. Alexander that the reason for the break-up of his parents was caused by another man. Shockingly, the man is Mr. Shears, the ex-husband of Mrs. Shears, who lives across from Christopher. Mrs. Alexander broke the news to him on a walk to the park by telling him, “Your mother, before she died, was very good friends with Mr. Shears. ( . . . ) I mean that they were very good friends. Very, very good friends” (Haddon, 60). This substantiates the point that even marriages that seem to be impeccable, are capable of breaking up. Quickly after the death of her husband, Hamlet’s mother Gertrude from Hamlet remarries Claudius, her brother-in-law. Angered, Hamlet tells Horatio and Marcellus that, “She married; O most wicked speed, to post/ With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!” (Shakespeare, 23). Later Hamlet confronts his mother and asks how she could marry Claudius who is incomparable to King Hamlet. Haddon and Shakespeare show that families can be as easily broken up as they were brought