‘The Curious Incident of The Dog in The Night-Time’ is a novel about the Boone family. The novel is written by an award-winning novelist named Mark Haddon who is most known for this same book, winning various awards for it. The story of the novel is narrated by the main character ‘Christopher Boone’ his full name being ‘Christopher John Francis Boone’. Christopher uses prime numbers for his chapters and being a mathematical genius, this comforts him. Christopher suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome and lives with his Father Ed Boone, who is the owner of a heating maintenance and boiler repair business. Christopher only a child has lived without his mother Judy being told by his father that his mother had passed from a heart attack in hospital. Finding out something he’ll never forgive. Having Asperger’s and not being able to understand people and their decisions, Christopher sees his whole life turned around and loses even more trust in the people around him when he finds out that his father Ed, had done something terrible. Life is a struggle for Christopher having Asperger’s, though it isn’t any easier for his mother or father and that is only understood as the story goes on.
Christopher grew up for more than half of his life without a Mother, to cope with being around other kids at school Christopher befriends one of his teachers named ‘Siobhan’. While his Father does understand him, Siobhan is the only person who can speak his language. Christopher is simple and sticks to his daily routines, which keep him sane. Having Asperger’s he sees things differently as well as understanding everything else differently.
Christopher believes that the colors he likes and dislikes will determine the kind of day he set out to have, he determined this through the color of cars. His favorite color Red meant seeing Red cars would be a ‘Good or Super Good Day’. Christopher disliked Brown and Yellow, seeing these colored cars is an instant ‘Black Day’ (Very Bad Day). If he is to see none of these colored cars it will more than likely be a ‘Quiet Day’ (Average Day). This system keeps Christopher from freaking out and gives him another routine that he uses to keep his life set. Christopher’s routines and life with his Father are shattered when shocking news is discovered. Early in the novel, the dog owned by Mrs Shears (Wellington) is killed. The mystery behind this disturbs Christopher and he begins to write a journal about the investigation of ‘Wellington’s death. His Father disapproves of this and keeps Christopher’s journal from him, only for Christopher to find it in a shirt box in his Father’s cupboard where he thought his Father had put it in the dustbin, it was at this moment Christopher found ‘The Letters’. Letters proving his Mother is still alive and living in London with Roger Shears, the ex-husband of Mrs Shears. This shatters Christopher’s world and leaves him in an immense amount of discomfort, to find out his Father has lied to him his entire life. When Ed finds Christopher and tries to be honest with Christopher, Ed admits to Christopher that he killed ‘Wellington’. It was at this moment that Christopher's life and decisions were going to become harder, because he was set out on a journey to find his Mother and live with her so he may feel safe again and things may go back to normal, not realizing the impact this was going to have on his Mother and Father.
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Ed Boone is the Father and Carer of Christopher Boonea troubled man, there isn’t too much of a backstory given for Ed though his struggle throughout the novel is displayed in his efforts and the misunderstanding of Christopher over the choices Ed has made. Ed was in love with Christopher’s Mother Judy and for a time they were happily together, though her lack of commitment to looking after Christopher affected their relationship heavily. She left him and Christopher behind and since that day it has left Ed angered. After she left with Roger, Eileen (Mrs Shears) began to talk to Ed and come over more. They started something which didn’t end well between the two of them and Ed felt attacked and dismantled as he had already been left with his wife. In what seems like a form of denial of the ending of their relationship he killed ‘Wellington’ claiming in ‘Chapter 167, Page 151’ “I think she cared more about that dog than for me. For us.” As well as dealing with relationships Ed now had to live with the guilt of killing ‘Wellington’ and while he never found it too much of a struggle to look after Christopher, Christopher’s investigation into the murder stressed Ed out and worried him. However once Christopher found the letters, Ed could do nothing but deal with the consequences of his actions.
Judy Boone was only young when she had Christopher, and from the beginning of Christopher’s life, she found it hard to take care of him. Judy wrote a total of 43 letters to Christopher and in many of them explained the times they were together and how sorry she was for not being able to handle being in Christopher’s social life. Though in the book it is noticed by The Narrator (Christopher) that Judy takes ‘Happy Pills’, The Narrator does not go into much detail about the pills, though ‘Happy Pills’ are generally known as medicine to treat depression. Therefore after reading more than half of the novel, it is almost clear of her regret throughout the novel about leaving Christopher with no notice. This is mostly proven in ‘Chapter 157, Pages 131-141’ where she is reminiscing about the times together with Christopher. As well as having to live with her past, it is when Christopher shows up at her door that things become harder. Roger Shears doesn’t agree with Christopher staying with them, though she wants nothing to do with his decisions, and makes the decision to go back to Christophers' hometown in Swindon. Where she also had to deal with living with Ed again to Christopher.
In Conclusion, Christopher, Ed, and Judy all demonstrate in the novel how challenging life is for all of them individually. Christoper’s Asperger’s Syndrome and disturbance of people make life for Christopher a daily struggle. Ed is a loving Father who only wants what is good for his son, though faces the consequences of the decisions he’s made in life, as well as this he lives with the pain of a failed marriage and relationship. Judy suffers from depression and reminisces the times before she left Christopher regretting every minute after she left, though because Ed decides to lie about her death, she believes Christopher hates her and does nothing but continuously send him letters in the hope he may reply one day. Also, while the reason is unclear, Judy suffers from depression making life no less challenging than before. This novel represents the pure challenges in life between a disabled child and his parents, giving a true utter feeling of what it's like for both the child and parent in a disabled child's sight of the world.
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