Analysis

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon is narrated by Christopher, a boy who has behavioral problems and who struggles to relate to other people. The story is told through his unique voice and perspective and deals with issues of being different and truth versus lies. 

The novel is primarily structured chronologically, but it also contains an extensive series of flashbacks as Christopher recalls his mother’s death and other episodes from his past. The book includes a number of foreshadowing elements, which point to the fact that his mother is not dead, but left after having an affair with their neighbor. Unusually, the novel’s chapters are numbered using prime numbers.

The main character is the narrator, Christopher, who finds it hard to understand other people. He likes to be alone and he hates being touched. He is very good at math and likes to use logic to organize the world around him. The other key characters in the novel are Christopher’s father Ed and his mother Judy. 

The story’s main physical setting is Swindon, a town in England. Most of the scenes in the book take place either in the home Christopher shares with his father or at his school. However, after he learns that his father has lied to him, Christopher travels to London to stay with his mother in her flat. The social setting is explored through Christopher, who is often rejected by society because he is different and does not understand normal social behavior. 

Christopher makes a unique first-person narrator, as he has an unconventional way of seeing the world. He often misreads other people’s intentions or emotions, and the reader often understands situations more quickly than Christopher. Christopher often uses illustrations or mathematical formulae to help explain his ideas. 

The language used in the novel is closely connected to Christopher’s unique style of narration. Although he is highly intelligent, his language is often childlike and shows that he doesn’t fully understand the world around him.