The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time introduces fifteen-year-old Christopher Boone, whose counselor suggested he write a book. Christopher's book is about his quest to find out who killed his neighbors' dog; However, as he searches for clues about the dog, Christopher learns new things about the world, his family, and himself. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is written in the first person and with Christopher as the narrator. It is from this perspective that the reader is forced to see the inner workings of Christopher's brain and how he interprets the world. From this, the reader can begin to process how even what might be considered the most obvious signs that Christopher is disabled, are actually just logical thoughts and adaptive language skills. This essay argues that, through its simple plot, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time succeeds in showing the reader the ways in which a disability imposes social constraints on people with disabilities. Through Christopher's seemingly effortless quest to find out who killed his neighbor's dog, he is able to demonstrate the social boundaries of disability and its fictitious standards. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Sarah Ray argues that Christopher cannot be described as disabled or able-bodied because it is not explicitly stated, which raises the possibility "that the disability is in the eyes of the reader and not the character himself" (Ray, 2). Continued further arguing that the novel shows the reader some of the ways in which disability is a social construct, Shannon Wooden, however, insists that Christopher has autism and the novel suggests that the reader's job is to figure out where he stands. on the disability spectrum. Sarah Ray and Shannon Wooden both try to prove Christopher's supposed "disability" in their newspaper articles. In the first five pages of the novel we learn from our narrator: "This is a murder mystery novel" ( Haddon, 4) and that everything this story should be. It is from this statement that the author directly tells the reader what the novel is and what it will be about. Even with these direct confirmations about the novel's plot, Wooden still believes the novel is "more complicated" because the "plot of Christopher's quest carries the additional weight of Christopher's obvious, clearly demarcated, but unnamed special needs." (Wooden 278,279). Shannon R. Wooden is direct evidence of the ways in which a disability imposes social constraints on people with disabilities. Your article raises the question of what makes it obvious that Christopher has special needs? This question is constantly prompted by Christopher's memorable way of seeing the world. The novel challenges this question by logically explaining every unconventional tick Christopher thinks of. For example, Christopher's special education teacher explained to him how unusual it is to write a murder mystery about a dog. To counter this thought Christopher made the sensible reasoning that he likes dogs, he wants to write about something that actually happened to him and that he doesn't know any people who have been killed. This all makes sense and is logical, hence why it is seen as unusual. Christopher's idea of writing a novel about a dog is discouraged because it risks drawing attention to his disability, which Wooden believes is a burden. This demonstrates the limits that we, as human beings, place on each other, especially those who are seen as different or considered disabled. Also, other than the fact that Christopher has a special education teacher, he isn't thereno other reliable signs that Christopher has a disability. In the novel it is never directly said that Christopher has a disability, there are only hints and certain qualities in Christopher that would indicate that he is disabled. Sarah Ray proposes that "By never explicitly diagnosing Christopher, author Mark Haddon suggests a disability studies perspective from the start: the 'medical model' of disability is not central to Christopher's experience of the world." (Ray 2) This further highlights that those who deem themselves “abled” are also the same ones who deem others “disabled.” Even without confirmation of Christopher's health, some aspects that the reader grasps allow them to label him and place social constraints on the perception of his abilities. Both Ray and Wooden surround the entire content of their articles around Christopher's concept of a disability and how to prove whether he has one or not. Disability was never introduced in the novel, so how it was done has become a topic of discussion among researchers. Disability is in the eye of the reader, just as in society disability is in the eye of the beholder. Ray notes that disability is a social construct by exploring the idea that disability is not located in the individual, but instead "located in the contingent relationship between behavior and productivity of individual and social expectations." (Ray 2) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time exemplifies this by crafting the novel from Christopher's perspective. Never in the novel has Christopher described himself as disabled, although many readers label him as disabled and believe that the novel is about his disability because he might do things out of the norm, think about things using only logic, dislike being touched, or because It takes him longer to understand certain things. Language is an important theme in the novel and perhaps the strongest clue to Christopher's supposed disability. On page 7, Christopher, during a conversation with the policeman, answers literally all the questions. Reading that the policeman was left confused, Haddon allows the reader to see how people react to Christopher, but turns the reader's "he must be disabled" theory on its head by putting the entire scene from Christopher's point of view. On the outside, Christopher's language may seem strange, but to Christopher it is logical. It is the reader's assumption and forced compulsion on Christopher that he must speak differently to others because he may have a disability. Christopher replied that police officers respond correctly and honestly, why the policeman should be kicked out. Wooden introduces the idea that because of Christopher's distinct and logical language, he suggests the reader is challenged. Wooden states, “While Christopher provides hard facts and a detailed account of his thought processes, he also unintentionally reveals information about his behavioral challenges and his family's dysfunction.” (Wooden 280) But, in chapter 79, Christopher's father very specifically tells him things he is not allowed to do, namely, go around asking people about the dog and anything involving "this ridiculous and bloody detective game” (Haddon 23), Christopher does exactly that, Christopher uses language in the most direct way possible, and he gets it about the complications that society puts into language but chooses to ignore them simply because he likes simplistic language. It is in the chapter that Christopher acknowledges that he understands that his father wants to leave the whole Dog incident alone, but because he only told Christopher not to. do those three things that he will listen to and act accordingly. This correlates with the fact that Ray believes Christopher has “a more ethical way of being in the world not.
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