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Describe the character of Christopher. Explain his likes/dislikes, personality, and relationship with other characters. Provide two quotations that demonstrate his “voice.” Explain what these quotes reveal about his personality. Is he an “unreliable” or “reliable” narrator?
Christopher is an easily distracted boy who often transitions from one topic to another without skipping a beat. A simple one word mention can spawn a whole new set of sentences for him to speak. He likes the color red and when the "four red cars are in a row"(24). on his way to school. He dislikes it when people touch him and the colors yellow and brown. This is shown when the policeman "touched my arm and lifted me onto my feet"(8). Christopher is definitely not like other kids and he thinks differently too. I do think he is a reliable narrator, he just gets distracted too easily. He never lies, and wants to bring justice to Wellington.
ReplyDeleteChristopher is quite the interesting character, who has a very different personality. It is understandable since he has asperger’s syndrome. He is far from normal and treats each situation completely different than the average fifteen year old would. “I know all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,057”(Hadden 2). Chrisopher does not understand a proper grammar and often his run-on thoughts run without any form of a period or comma. He has weird attributes that the average person would not know like knowing all the prime numbers. He is not one to be extremely social is very shy around strangers. He depends on his dad for his survival and all his necessities. The average fifteen year old doesn’t choose how their day will be based on the number of certain colored cars they see in a row, unlike Christopher. His personality is driven by his disorder and this explains why he knows very unusual information that could be seen as pointless.
ReplyDeleteChristopher is a very socially shy person. He does not have any friends besides his dad and one of his teachers. He does not understand social expressions, such as when someone is mad at him. “I don’t like it when people grab me. And I don’t like being surprised either”(Hadden 82). For instance when his dad is yelling at him for misbehaving, he gets confused and starts to hit his dad repeatedly. I would consider Christopher an unreliable narrator, mainly because the way he portrays his information, it would be easy to hide information. He could easily be hiding information that he will not tell us until later in the story on his past life, but he always tells the truth.
In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, the main character and narrator is Christopher Boone. Christopher is an interesting character who quickly transitions between different topics in his book. He does not talk long about any topic in his book. Christopher is 15 years old and has Asperger's. He is also very intelligent, especially in math, and has a great memory. He enjoys detective work and his pet rat, Toby. He likes the color red, math, his father, and Siobhan. He does not like the color yellow or brown, he dislikes when people touch him, and he does not like talking to strangers. For example, when a policeman grabbed his arm, Christopher hit him and he was brought into jail. “4 red cars in a row make it a Good Day, and 3 red cars in a row made it a Quite Good Day, and 5 red cars in a row made it a Super Good Day” (Haddon 27). This shows how the color red makes Christopher have a good day or a bad day. “I wanted to go home and go up to my room and feed Toby and practice some maths” (Haddon 59). This goes to show how Christopher does not want to get out of his comfort zone and just wants to do what he enjoys.
ReplyDeleteChristopher is an unreliable narrator only due to his lack of emotional awareness towards other people in the novel. He tells us the story through his own eyes, meaning that he could be leaving out important information that he just does not know. He expresses the novel how the world appears to him.
Christopher has a very unique personality. He very much dislikes the color yellow and brown. He also hates when people touch him. Christopher also dislikes talking to strangers. On the contrary Christopher loves small spaces as long as he is the only one in there. He likes his pet rat, Toby. Christopher also likes math and science. Haddon writes in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, “I don’t like it when Rhodri laughs at me. Rhodri laughs at me a lot. Father says it is being friendly” (67). Christopher is showing the reader that he gets uncomfortable when people laugh at him because he does not understand why they are doing it. To him it is an insult and he takes it personally. Christopher has many quirky likes and dislikes and he also has interesting relationships with different characters.
ReplyDeleteChristopher so far has relationships with two main characters in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. One of his relationships is with Siobhan, one of his teachers at school. She has inspired him to write a book. Siobhan has helped Christopher to communicate with people better. Christopher's other relationship is with his father. His father is his main caretaker since his mother died two years ago, and they have done well together. “But Father was a more level headed person, which means he didn’t get angry as quickly and he didn’t shout as often” (Haddon 82). Christopher can understand that his father takes the time to be patient with him but sometimes it can be very difficult for his father trying to help him with every problem Christopher faces. Christopher loves his father and Siobhan very much and trusts them with a lot of information. Christopher is a reliable narrator in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. He is very truthful in the novel and he does not have the ability to lie. This makes him the most truthful narrator and he does not hold back. Christopher is very honest all the time and will say whatever is on his mind. This will make him be a reliable narrator in this novel.
Christopher is a very unique character and likes and dislikes a lot of random things. Christopher likes certain colors, patterns, and people. For example, if Christopher saw four yellow cars in a row he would have a black day. If he saw three red cars or more in a row it would be a good day. He is a very honest person and finds it really hard to lie. Christopher tells the truth even when it is not convenient for him to do so. When being questioned by the police officer he could not lie to save himself. He admitted to hitting the police officer on purpose because he does not like to be touched.
ReplyDeleteChristopher’s voice is very unique in his own way. For example when asked for his age Christopher says “‘My age is 15 years and 3 months and 3 days’” (40). This quote reveals that his personality is very against the normal. Christopher has a hard time following social standards and emotions so he has a mind of his own. This also reveals that Christopher has a very above average memory. No normal kid his age would be able to memorize something like their age that accurately and quickly. Another example of Christopher's voice is when he drives his mom’s car. “I hadn’t driven a car before and I was 8 years old and 5 months so I drove it into the wall” (47). This quote demonstrates Christopher’s voice because nobody influences him to do this. Out of his own will Christopher decides to drive the car for himself. Overall Christopher doesn’t care what others think and therefore he has a mind of his own.
Christopher shows many traits that he is a reliable narrator. Christopher is barely capable of telling lies and therefor is truthful. Secondly Christopher typically explains the situation in detail so he doesn’t leave out details he doesn't like. Sometimes narrators sque the details to their liking or even forget some details. In Christopher’s case bad details are more prevalent than the good details. This leads me to believe that Christopher is telling the truth because of how much detail he’s putting in. In conclusion Christopher shows positive traits and seems to be a reliable narrator.
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ReplyDeleteIn The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon portrays Christopher as a very straightforward person. He does have some odd quirks but for the most part he just says what he wants and does what he is told. His favorite subjects are math and physics and he loves detecting. When in the police station Christopher observes the cell, “It was almost a perfect cube, two meters long by two meters wide by two meters high”(Haddon, 15). This quote exemplifies how his mind works. Christopher is a great observer and is great at math. We see how he mathematically observes his surroundings and how he thinks mathematically. This demonstrates his “voice” by showing the reader how he is pretty reasonable in his actions, so when he says something we should think of it how Christopher would and in most cases the reader can see that Christopher is reasonable. The society he is part of condemns some of Christopher’s Behavioral Problems that are actually not so bad.
ReplyDeleteOne of Christopher’s listed behavioral problems is that he says things that other people think are rude. While most people would prefer we be careful with our honesty as to not offend anyone, Christopher just wants to tell the truth. Christopher writes, “People say that you always have to tell the truth/But they do not mean this because you are not allowed to tell old people that they are old...you are not allowed to say ‘I don’t like you’”(Haddon, 46-17). This creates the idea that his voice is one that is truthful. He will not tell a lie only a white lie, which he explains is okay to do in some situations. This also ties into his personality in that he will not break a promise. Christopher is a reliable narrator because he is honest and will not lie and because he is a blunt and straightforward person.
Christopher is a brilliant character who is very curious and observant in the book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Some interests that he has are math, mysteries, and being alone. Some dislikes that he has are that he has difficulty read people’s emotions, he does not like when people touch him, and he lets the color of a car determine his mood for the day. He is a nice individual who never lies and likes to help others, even if he is told not to. An example of this is when Christopher states, “I decided that I was going to find out who killed Wellington even though Father has told me to stay out of other people’s business” (Haddon 28). This means that Christopher is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that Wellington’s murder gets solved, even if that means that he will get into trouble. Christopher sometimes does not have the best relationship with others because of this.
ReplyDeleteChristopher has a very caring, yet aloof relationship with others because he is incapable of seeing emotions. His relationship with the main characters is sometimes good, but sometimes bad. For example, his father is generally supportive of him, but when Christopher was persistent in pursuing the murder of Wellington, his father got very enraged at him. An example of his father being supportive is when the policeman said, “I have spoken to your father and he says that you didn’t mean to hit the policeman” (Haddon 17). This means that without even talking to Christopher, his father knew that he did not mean to hit the policeman and this shows that his father is supportive of him. When Christopher’s father found the book that Christopher was writing about the investigation he was angry that Christopher had not followed his directions. He said, “What am I going to do with you, Christopher?” (Haddon 82). This means that Christopher’s father was upset that he could not follow his simple instructions to not investigate Wellington’s murder. Christopher tells things from his own point of view, which makes the reader question if he is a reliable narrator or not.
Christopher could be a reliable or unreliable narrator. It is hard to tell because the story is told in a first person point of view. All of the details are not given to the reader, so it is difficult to make a distinction between if he is a reliable or an unreliable narrator.
Christopher has a very unique personality resulting from his Autism. There are certain things that he likes and does that seem very odd to us, but give an interesting aspect to the story. He is a very solitary person and is not very good at social interaction. Christopher also does not like to be touched. This can be seen in, “‘No I didn’t mean to hurt the policeman. I just wanted him to stop touching me”’(Haddon 17). He and his father never have physical contact other than a touch of their hands. Christopher has very odd likes and dislikes that we probably do not understand. He likes the color red, but does not like the color yellow. He even judges how his days are going to go based on what color of cars he sees on the way to school. It is not clearly stated, but it can also be inferred that Christopher likes animals. He has a pet rat named Toby and he says that he likes dogs. When he sees the neighbors dog lying dead, he goes to hold it and comfort it. Many of the aspects of Christopher’s personality are misunderstood by characters in the story and this causes some of their interactions with him to be odd and awkward.
ReplyDeleteChristopher is a very intelligent kid but sometimes he struggles with talking to people. This can be clearly seen in, “I tried to do chatting by saying, ‘My age is 15 years and 3 months and 3 days.’ And she said, ‘Well, almost your age.’ Then we said nothing for a little while until she said, ‘You don’t have a dog, do you?”’(Haddon 40). In this quote Christopher is talking to his neighbor Ms. Alexander. It can be seen how odd this conversation is, especially because of the awkward pauses in the dialogue. Even though Christopher is not the best at social interaction, there are some people who understand him and have deep relationships with him. The first person is his father. His father does get frustrated with Christopher on occasion but he truly loves him. The other person is his best friend Siobhan. She knows Christopher from school and encourages him to write the book. She understands him and whenever they interact it seems very normal. It is very interesting to see the contrast between the interactions of Christopher and strangers versus Christopher and those he is familiar with.
Personally, I believe that Christopher is a reliable narrator. The main reason I believe this is that he is very smart and detail oriented. Also, he explains that he cannot tell lies which show that all the events told in the story most likely occurred.
Christopher is a very unique personality. He has very specific likes and dislikes, and he likes everything to go a certain way. In other words, he is extremely particular. Cristopher has Asperger’s syndrome, so he has trouble reading other people’s emotions, and he tends to talk about himself a lot. He doesn’t like being touched and he really hates the color yellow. His favorite color being red, when he sees five red cars in a row, that means it is going to be a great day. However, if he sees four yellow cars in a row, that means it will be a black day. I find it very interesting that he lets these patterns define how his day will go. Christopher is a very shy kid for the most part, and he doesn’t like talking to strangers. He makes an exception, however, when talking to Mrs. Alexander about his mother. Chris is an intellectual and is really good with school, math being his strong suit, and he knows all sorts of crazy equations off the top of his head. “I said that I liked things to be in a nice order. And one way of things being in a nice order was to be logical. Especially if those things were numbers or an argument” (Haddon 24). I think that this quotation describes Christopher’s character really well because it just states how he likes everything to be logical so it is easier for him to understand. Other people sometimes have trouble understanding the way Christopher thinks and acts. This can lead to strains in relationships, sometimes even with his own father.
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DeleteAnthony Jaslowski
Christopher is an interesting young man who has a small attention span and has trouble staying focused. He often bounces from subject to subject throughout the book and will continue on one point, long after discussing a different point. He is big into his math courses at school and physics as well, for the most part he listens to his elders and does as he is told. The young man has no mother, who passed away at the beginning of the story. “‘No I didn’t mean to hurt the policeman. I just wanted him to stop touching me”’(Haddon 17). This quote really exemplifies Christopher’s stimulus from people touching him or talking to him. Christopher is naturally uncomfortable in times of human contact, because of his condition this is understandable. This quote shows his voice in the story and how he would like people to communicate with him.
ReplyDeleteChristopher is someone who is stuck in their own ways, and he refuses to remove himself from his comfort zone. “I wanted to go home and go up to my room and feed Toby and practice some maths” (Haddon 59). Christopher likes structure in his life and likes to do things very similar everyday. When he does not get this he may act different or even have an outburst. This is what makes christopher an unreliable narrator who may have mood swings which could change his way of speaking throughout the story. This could corrupt the authenticity of the stories he tells.
Christopher
ReplyDeleteChristopher is, like us….but….well a little different. Christopher is a person who is really smart in two subjects and likes to know things, well about people specifically since he has this weird thing about strangers. If he does not know them he likes to know about them by asking questions, that, well are normal in a sense but if you think about it, there pretty weird, last but not least he also has a problem with different foods touching each other, “The supper was baked beans and broccoli and two slices of ham….my ham jumped sideways so that it touched the broccoli, so I couldn't eat the ham or the broccoli anymore” (Haddon 49). This shows that he pays attention to detail and can catch things some people would not be able too, as in the hanm bouncing up and touching the broccoli. Not only that but it shows that he probably has some type of personal problem which you find out before you read the book, and just reading the book without knowing you know something is wrong based on the book is narrated. Lastly the way he narrates the book is as if he is a child/acts like on for he has many problems and anger issues you could say in a way. In much this way of being a child he still has the philosophy/goes by the saying stranger danger. So essentially he doesn't like strangers and so tries not to talk to people he doesn't know as well.
Christopher's relationship with others is much like of a child but more knowledgeable. He knows people and has a great memory making able to remember everyone he meets. Even though he might know the other people he just knows there name, but if he did get to know someone as in like asking a certain amount of questions and certain questions that are the same each time then he becomes more trusting of others and willing to talk to them then. He not only doesn't like strangers but he's like more protective and says what he's thinking, “Mrs.Alexander said ‘your very shy aren't you?’I said I'm not allowed to talk to you’ ‘I can't do chatting’”(Haddon 55). Chris seems to be very straightforward as I mentioned before earlier not only that but seems to be a little rude. Since he tends to say what he is thinking he doesn't seem to tend to lie. BUT, earlier in the book he said he was able remember everything, all he had to do was turn time back in his mind like a reel, movie reel being able rewind as far back as he wanted up to the age of four.
The main character in this book, Christopher has a great memory. Cause of this we don't know if he is a reliable narrator or not. Reason being is because since he has such a good memory and all he has to do is turn time back/rewind till a certain part in time in his life just to remember something; he could be leaving out details here and there and we wouldn't know because it's in first person and he could alter his memory or the story as much as he wanted and the fact that he has personal problems makes even harder to tell because if he did then we can't tell cause he has made it has seamless as possible and were just not able to spot any problems or inconsistencies. So in reality do we know if he is a reliable narrator or not. Well as far as we can tell he is but till we figure out some way he isn't he will be and have to take him at face value for now.
Blog 1- Abby Heyroth
ReplyDeleteChristopher is a fifteen year old boy who writes a book from his perspective about a mystery that he is destined to solve and the key to finding to the secrets that he is kept from. His personality is quite multifaceted. He is quirky, honest, spontaneous, and curious. He seems to enjoy life and everything it has in store for him to explore and figure out. He likes memorization, order, keeping track of time, and prime numbers, but dislikes strangers, being touched, particular colors like yellow and brown, and the unknown. Haddon writes, “I make this noise (groan) when there is too much information coming into my head from the outside world. It is like when you are upset and you hold the radio against your ear and you tune it halfway… all you get is white noise… (and) you know you are safe” (7-8). This reveals that Christopher’s personality is bold and always on the edge of falling apart. By releasing this agony that builds up over time just to overwhelm him, reveals that he is strong and capable. “But it is not because I am a good person. It is because I can’t tell lies” (Haddon, 19). Christopher shows cleverness, rawness, and honesty. He identifies himself with the truth as a way to remain reliable. He finds ways around the truth and lies in order to maintain his reputation for himself. The fact that he is able to hold himself accountable for his own faults is astonishing. He openly admits that he is not the perfect person and he is able to recognize the beauty of imperfections. As a narrator, he is reliable and relatable. He pulls his readers back into reality and reminds them of how broken the world is.
Christopher is a 15-year-old boy with Aspergers. He is very smart in some areas but when it comes to understanding human emotions he has no understanding. He likes dogs because they always love you and only have a few emotions. Christopher only believes in the physical aspects of the world and he believes everything else is made up, for example, he doesn’t believe in God. Christopher dislikes many things such as the colors brown and yellow, being touched by other people, little sayings such as “it’s raining cats and dogs”, his food touching and people. Some things he like include the color red, small spaces (by himself), prime numbers, dogs, and telling the truth. Christopher has a different view of people due to his disability, he finds people confusing, “This is for two main reasons. The first is that people do a lot of talking without using any words” (Haddon, 14). This quote talks about all the communication humans do without talking such as a concerned look or a change in tone while talking. Christopher does not like this because it takes he much longer to figure out the meaning of these little hints. This makes his relationships with other people difficult.
ReplyDeleteThe first main character Christopher tells us about is his counselor Siobhan. Then there is Mrs. Shears, the owner of the dog he found dead at the start of the book and his neighbor. His dad is still around but his mother has died. He later meets Mrs. Alexander who he talks to about the death of Wellington and Mr. Shears. However, Christopher has trouble talking to Mrs. Alexander because he does not understand people. At one point Mrs. Alexander goes into the house to get some biscuits, and Chris is waiting for a while and he suspects, “she might be ringing the police and I would get into much more serious trouble because of the caution. So I walked away” (41). This quote gives the reader a better understanding of how unaware of human emotions Christopher is. Mrs. Alexander likes Chris and is getting him some biscuits, but Christopher thinks she might be calling the police so he walks away from her without saying anything. This leads to the question of whether Christopher can be trusted as a reliable narrator.
Christopher cannot be trusted as a narrator. Although he always tells the truth from what he sees as important, he may not always catch the things which have more importance than he realizes.
Luke Biese
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteChristopher John Francis Boone is an extremely brilliant and curious teenager with Asperger's Syndrome. He knows every prime number up to 7, 057 and enjoys doing math because it takes problem-solving skills and logic. He knows all of the countries in the world and their capitals. Christopher struggles to understand emotions, he hates to be touched, and he strongly dislikes the colors yellow and brown. He loves animals, and it helps him to relate events happening in his life to animals to have them make sense. Christopher loves space, and he says, “To be a good astronaut you have to be intelligent and I’m intelligent”(Haddon, 50). He is very straight forward and always tells the truth, but he also writes in a roundabout way because he goes back and forth between the investigation and his life story. Being straight forward and always telling the truth can affect his ability to have any sort of relationship with a human.
ReplyDeleteRelationships are an area that Christopher struggles in because it is difficult for him to read emotions. His father is the closest person he has in his life since his mother is no longer in his life. Christopher has a great relationship with Siobhan who is his teacher, and she treats him like an adult at school. He thinks he is friends with Mrs. Shears, but now she is blaming him for the death of her dog. Christopher relates many events and emotions to animals or to himself so he can understand better. When Christopher was going to talk to his father he said, “I decided to leave him alone because when I am sad I want to be left alone”(Haddon, 21). He does not want to frustrate anyone so he stays out of the way.
Christopher is not a reliable narrator because he is very self-centered. Even though he is asking other people about the dog murder, he is very persistent about what he thinks happened. He is not listening to his father when he keeps telling Christopher to stop the investigation and mind his own business. Other people helping with the investigation may help him solve the mystery, but it could confuse him because he said, “I know that they’re working out what I’m thinking, but I can’t tell what they’re thinking”(Haddon, 22). He wants to understand what everyone is thinking, but he would pull it all back to him which can make him an unreliable narrator.
Christopher Boone is a child that stands out in many ways throughout the book. He is depicted as “different” and not like regular kids. Christopher is in many ways unique, he is very knowledgeable in some areas and he does not really put his trust into others easily. Christopher loves the color red but despises yellow and brown. “In the bus on the way to school next morning we passed 4 red cars in a row, which meant that it was a Good Day…” (Haddon 24). Christopher loves things that are logical and to him red cars meaning it was a good day was logical. He loves prime numbers and is smarter than most fifteen-year-old boys. Though Christopher is different his strengths will help him to figure out who killed Wellington the dog.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the story Christopher meets other characters that influence him on what he will do. In his encounter with the police he was touched and he did not like to be touched. He acted very violently when he was touched. Christopher’s father does not treat him with very much respect and is extremely rude. Christopher also met Mrs. Alexander, at first he was very skeptical of her. Now he is starting to be more friendly with her and chat with her. “I was nervous. I did not know Mrs. Alexander. I knew that she was an old lady and that she liked dogs. But she was a stranger. And I never go into the park on my own because it is dangerous…” (Haddon 59). Christopher does not put his trust into many strangers but because it was a very good day he trusted her.
Christopher is an unreliable narrator because he is telling the story from his point of view. The story is what he has experienced and what he believes, not anyone else's. Though Christopher has Aspergers, it does not mean that he cannot share his story and his opinion. But because of this we can not believe everything that is shared. Though he never lies he still may fall into a fact or statement that might not be true.
Christopher is a unique character, and not just because he has autism. He enjoys math, mysteries, space, puzzles, his rat toby, and having an order to follow, and Christopher dislikes, strangers, being laughed at, the colors yellow and brown, chatting, people being illogical, and confusing interactions. “To be able to look out of a little window of a spacecraft and know that there was no one else near me for thousands and thousands of miles, which is what i sometimes pretend at night in the summer when I go and lie on the lawn and look up at the sky and I put my hands round the sides of my face so that I can’t see the fence and the chimney and the washing line and I can pretend I’m in space”(Haddon 51). This shows us his likes/dislikes and personality. he loves math, space, and is fairly intelligent and he does not like being around other people. But those he is able to be around the people he has built a relationship with.
ReplyDeleteChristopher has two main relations in his life, his Father and Siobhan. Christopher's Father is his sole provider and stands up for him than Siobhan works at Christopher's school and is the only one he can really talk to. We can learn alot about Christopher when he says “And some dogs were cleverer and more interesting than some people. Steve for example, who comes to school on Thursdays, needs help to eat his food and can’t even fetch a stick”(Haddon 6). Siobhan of course tells Christopher not to say this around Steve's mother. Of course what Christopher said is insensitive, but he is unable to realize that. So Siobhan is there to help him understand the people and world around him.
Christopher is an unreliable narrator. Not in the sense that he lies or we can’t trust him, Christopher does not understand the human world around him. When he describes the inanimate world around him is fine, but he cannot grasp the emotions and viewpoints of other people. This hampers his narration skills whenever trying to tell us about an interaction he had.
-Henry Kanning
DeleteChristopher is not too similar to most children his age. In fact, he has aspergers. He goes to therapy and learns how to recognize people’s emotions and what they want from him. He does not empathize well, and if he seems like he is, it is most likely fake. Christopher is a very straight forward individual who has certain likes, dislikes, hobbies, and interesting relationships. He is particular in the way he thinks about life and rules.
ReplyDeleteIn the book, Christopher states, “I find people confusing. This is for two main reasons. The first main reason is that people do a lot of talking without using any words”(Haddon, 14). He does not catch on to emotions, metaphors or body language as easily or as quickly as most people. He says what he is thinking and that is all he says. He does not exaggerate or say anything more than necessary. He gets into trouble a lot, only because he does not know how to avoid it or get out of it. Haddon writes, “I do not tell lies. Mother used to say that this was because I was a good person. It is because I can’t tell lies”(19). Christopher said that there are way too many possibilities of lies to think of and therefore he finds it way too difficult to say anything but the truth. This makes him a strong reliable character because even though his disability has a small effect on how he interprets situations, he is telling the story in a completely unbiased form.
Christopher’s personality can sometimes make it hard for him to form relationships with others. Christopher can be bluntly honest to some people, and it can rub them the wrong way. He has learned to never lie, which can help or hurt the relationships he is trying to form. Because he does not lie, he is a very reliable narrator.
ReplyDeleteChristopher likes logical things. He does not like how people use metaphors or imagine things that are not happening. He likes math because everything has an exact answer, and not open-ended. It is hard for him to imagine what other people feel, or hypothetical outcomes. “And when I try to make a picture of the phrase in my head it just confuses me” (Haddon 14). Christopher says that talking about something that is not possible is confusing, and he wishes that people would think like him, with logic. This part of his personality makes it hard to communicate with others.
Christopher has a tough time forming a relationship with others. For people he does not know, he does not trust them or want to talk to them. He is comfortable with people he has known for a while, like his father or his teacher. Those people know how he likes to communicate, and things that annoy him. “Siobhan understands. When she tells me not to do something she tells me exactly what it is that I am not allowed to do. And I like this” (Haddon 29). Christopher likes how Siobhan knows what confuses him, and communicates with him how he understands. Christopher does not lie, which is a way that he can form relationships.
Because Christopher does not lie, I believe that he is a reliable narrator. He tells the audience the full story of what has happened. In some stories, the narrator could leave out parts of the story or lie to make the character seem a different way. In this novel, Christopher tells the entire story and tells it exactly what happened. This attribute makes him a very reliable narrator.
The way Christopher is always honest can make it hard for him to form relationships. He knows that he should not tell lies, but sometimes he is too honest with people, which makes it a little hard for him to form relationships. It is also hard to form relationships because he does not like opening up to new people, or strangers. Since Christopher is honest in everything he says and does, he becomes a very reliable narrator.
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ReplyDeleteMarcus Hornacek
ReplyDeleteChristopher has an interesting personality. Christopher is a very smart and intellectual young man and and can sometimes be clueless. When the police officer was questioning him, Christopher did not know how to respond so he responded by hitting the officer. This can be seen as cluelessness because usually people do not hit police officers, but being Christopher is challenged socially and in other ways, he did not know how to react otherwise. Christopher really likes physics, order, murder mysteries, and mathematics. He loves prime numbers and dislikes the even ones. He questions many things that people do and people tend to get annoyed with him. Christopher dislikes even numbers as well as jokes because he cannot comprehend them. Christopher is truthful and as Haddon states, “I do not tell lies”(19). This quotation reiterates that Christopher is truthful and does not tell many likes if any. Christopher struggles in many aspects of social settings and does not understand many commonly used phrases in the human language. In other words, he does not have a sense of humor. In the book Haddon writes, “Also I don’t know what father means when he says ‘Stay out of other people’s business’”(29). This quotation shows that he does not understand many phrases and needs help even more in a social setting. His personality is portrayed throughout the book as happy, curious, and he needs to develop more on a social level which leads into his relationship with other characters.
Christopher has many relationships with many characters. His mother died of a heart attack so he has a longer relationship with his father. His father is the only person who is raising him in his life since his mother died. His main two relationships are with his father and Siobhan and he does not communicate or have relationships with any other person. Siobhan is a teacher at the school that Christopher attends and she understands him. These two people are crucial in Christopher’s development and in his life. Haddon states, “‘Perhaps you should be talking to your father about this’”(37). This quotation shows the two main relationships that Christopher has in his life and the advice given to him to consult the other when he is in need. Overall Christopher has two main relationships and these two people are influential in his life. Christopher is a reliable narrator because one of the greatest facets of him, is that he will not tell a lie. This means, in his writing that he will never tell a lie and will tell the truth about what actually is true about his life and about the life events. “Mother used to say that this was because I was a good person...It is because I can’t tell lies”(Haddon 19). Being Christopher is truthful and does not tell any lies, he is a very reliable narrator.
Christopher’s defining characteristic is that he is unable to imagine peoples thoughts and feelings.This characteristic is one of the most important ones because it leads to almost all of the other major events in the book. Christopher has many likes and dislikes that affect his everyday life and how he feels on any given day. Some of Christopher’s likes are: dogs, prime numbers, the color red, murder mystery novels, and his pet rat (Toby). Now this list could go on and on but these are some of the more obvious ones laid out in the beginning of the book. Some of his dislikes are: lies, people he does not know, being touched, the colors brown and yellow, and jokes. Now similar to his likes his list of dislikes could go on forever. His likes and dislikes have a major influence on him because if he sees something/someone does something he does not like he has a bad day, and his likes tend to be a distraction/ something for him to focus on. Some of his likes will even affect how good or bad his day will be.“ I like things to be in a nice order. And one way of things being in a nice order was to be logical. Especially if those things were numbers or an arrangement. But there were other ways of putting things in a nice order. And that was why I had Good Days and Black Days” (Haddon 24). Christopher was talking about colors he likes and dislikes and why seeing those colors in the morning will affect what kind of day he will have. This is Christopher’s way of knowing what is to come and not being surprised if something bad happens. Christopher likes things a certain way that is something that seems to affect the people who care about him as well.
ReplyDeleteChristopher’s way of thinking can sometimes seem to strain certain relationships. The biggest bond shown is the one between Christopher and his father. Although at times Christopher’s persistence can seem to be almost too much for his father to bare, he understands Christopher’s needs and wants the best for him. His dad wants him to be as successful as he can possibly be. His father is willing to stick up for him no matter what. “ And she said if I sat an A level I would have to have a member of the staff looking after me in a separate room. And father said he would pay someone £50 to do it after school and he wasn’t going to take no for an answer” (Haddon 45). This quote shows that Christopher's father was willing to do what he needed to make sure his son was happy. He was even willing to fight as much as he had to in order to do so. Sometimes it seems as though Christopher does not realize the sacrifices his dad makes for him. Because of Christopher's inability to have empathy and being oblivious to his father's struggles he can sometimes be an unreliable narrator.
Christopher can on some level be considered an unreliable narrator because of his inability to recognize people's emotions. Although he tends to usually tell the truth, but only his. He does not realize that not everyone feels the same way he does, and this can affect his ability to be a reliable narrator. Christopher is sometimes unable to sense the tone when people are talking to him therefore he may not be sharing the true story in certain scenarios. On the other hand he is very smart and is able to share how he feels about certain things. This argument could swing either way, but I think he is more of an unreliable narrator in The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time.
Christopher’s character is very interesting and complex. He is very honest and straightforward. Christopher is also extremely blunt and says things how they are. He also hates the colors yellow and brown. Christopher has to eat food a certain way, if anything touches he can’t eat it. “And after I’ve taken A-level maths I am going to take A-level further maths and physics and then I can go to university” (Haddon,45). Christopher is aspiring to get into university so he can get a good job. He is very smart and loves math and physics. Christopher’s other aspiration would be to become an astronaut. He says that he would like to be an astronaut because then he can be alone, and he likes being alone.
ReplyDeleteChristopher has interesting relationships with people. He does not like strangers. He has to watch them for a long time before he can talk to them. Christopher also does not like people touching him. “‘No. I didn’t mean to hurt the policeman. I just wanted him to stop touching me”’ (Haddon,17). With his father, he touches fingers and thumbs in order to show their love to each other without touching too much. Christopher is very complex.
All of Christopher's complex characteristics could make him a reliable narrator. He is blunt and straightforward. Christopher does not like lies. He only tells white lies which are not horrible and the reader is told exactly what he is thinking so we know when his white lies are coming. Christopher also has a need to find out the truth.
Bella Zingler-Hoslet ^^
DeleteChristopher has a very specific set of likes and dislikes that never really change and that, for the most part, do not really make any sense. “In the bus on the way to school next morning we passed four red cars in a row, which meant that it was a Good Day, so I decided not to be sad about Wellington” (Haddon 24). Most of his personality quirks, like disliking the colors yellow and brown, and not liking being touched seem weird to us but they make perfect logical sense to Christopher in his own mind. For him, hitting the police officer after he touched Christopher was essentially involuntary. Christopher knew it was bad to hit but he could not really stop the reaction. He also has a tough time staying focused on one thing for any prolonged period of time and he often jumps from topic to topic in the book. He only trusts his father and one of his teachers named Siobhan. These are the only people he is able to truly connect with. He struggles with understanding basic human emotion and phrases. “This is because I do not always do what I am told. And this is because when people tell you what to do it is usually confusing and does not make any sense” (Haddon 29). Christopher’s mother passed away so it is just his father raising him and that sometimes creates some tension. His father very clearly loves his son very much but Christopher is pushing even these bonds now, adding stress to everyday life.
ReplyDeleteI would consider Christopher an unreliable narrator. The entirety of the story is told from his point of view and no one else’s. He may be unable to tell lies but he is capable of conveniently leaving out information like when he tells white lies to his father. “He said, ‘Where have you been?’ And I said, ‘I have been out.’ This is called a white lie. A white lie is not a lie at all. It is where you tell the truth but you do not tell all of the truth” (Haddon 48). Here we can see that his view of conveying information is slightly misconstrued and that it should almost be taken with a grain of salt even though Christopher points out when he tells a white lie. He is also incapable of even beginning to understand how other people feel when they do not show emotions on their faces so there is no possible way that he could accurately and appropriately represent any other person’s opinion.
Christopher Boone is an unconventional and quirky boy, which are not horrible traits. Christopher is blunt and to the point. Since he does not have a filter, Christopher can sound harsh. Christopher enjoys physics and has an affinity for math and loves that there are definitive answers and he is infatuated with prime numbers. He also only likes certain colors. He loves the color red but hates the colors yellow and brown. By looking outside his bus windows at cars and their colors, he determines if it will be a good or bad day. Christopher abhors any object with these colors. Christopher does not mind small spaces unless there is someone else in it with him. This goes along with Christopher’s disliking toward being touched. Christopher also likes every piece of furniture to be placed a certain way or he will be upset. He does what he wants without thinking about the emotional implications involved, this goes hand-in-hand with his inability to automatically depict emotion on people's faces. Some of what Christopher does is an involuntary reaction to stimuli in his environment. “The policeman took hold of my arm and lifted me onto my feet. I didn’t like him touching me like this. And this is when I hit him” (Haddon 8). Christopher will not always express himself in a way others can understand, which make him unique. When the policeman grabbed Christopher, the policeman did not know that Christopher did not like to be touched. Christopher just reacted to the situation in a manner that was not suitable for his situation. His tendencies to perform unconventional actions is prevalent in the book, A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Christopher’s actions do not only affect himself but it also affects the people around him.
ReplyDeleteChristopher’s main relationships are with his dad, Ed Boone, and Siobhan. Christopher and his father do not have the best relationship. Christopher was fixated on finding Wellington's murderer that he did not adhere to his father’s rules. Eventually, Mr. Boone found out that Christopher was leading an investigation and Christopher had been sneaking into his neighbor’s garden and asking people if they knew Mr. Shears. Ed Boone specifically told Christopher not to talk about Mr. Shears, but when Christopher asked Mrs. Alexander about Mr. Shears, she spilled the beans and told Christopher a gigantic secret. Christopher found out that his mom was having sex with Mr. Shears. Adding to all the drama, when Mr. Boone found out Christopher found out that Christopher was writing about his escapades and turning them into a book. In the end, Mr. Boone still loves his son above all of his quirks. Siobhan is Christopher’s school teacher and she was the person who told Christopher to write the book. She is a very level-headed person and is able to help Christopher with his daily life. Siobhan wants Christopher to succeed socially and academically. Because of how nice she is to Christopher, Siobhan has earned Christopher's trust is able to make a strong connection with him. “We do this because sometimes Father wants to give me a hug, but I do not like hugging people, so we do this instead, and it means that he loves me” (Haddon 16). Christopher makes it known that he does not like to be touched, so when his father arrived at the jail they put their hands together to symbolize a hug. Christopher’s relationships with the other characters are built around his personality. Mr. Boone realizes that Christopher is unique and will try to put himself into Christopher’s shoes even though Christopher has troubles viewing other people’s emotions. The relationships Christopher has with his father and Siobhan are perfect for him because his father and Siobhan try their hardest to remember that Christopher has a unique personality. Christopher’s personality is strongly influenced by his apparent autism. This could make Christopher an unreliable narrator, which means we can not trust everything he says.
Christopher is not an unreliable narrator. Christopher is actually one of the most reliable narrators you could have. He makes it known to the reader that he does not lie, white lies do not count, which means he has to always be telling the truth. This is what makes Christopher a reliable narrator. Even though he does not look at people’s faces and has trouble determining expressions when he does look at faces, Christopher says whatever he wants without putting his emotions into his thought process. Luckily Christopher does know what is right and wrong to say, but he only knows this because he is told specifically not to say certain words and phrases. “People say that you always have to tell the truth. But they do not mean this because you are not allowed to tell old people that they are old and you are not allowed to tell people if they smell funny or if a grown-up has made a fart. And you are not allowed to say, ‘I don't like you,’ unless that person has been horrible to you” (Haddon 73). Christopher makes it obvious that he says exactly what happens. His blunt mannerisms make him a perfect reliable narrator in the sense that he is always telling the truth.
DeleteChristopher’s personality can be described as meticulous. He pays a large amount of attention to the tiny, sometimes insignificant, details in every situation. As a result, Christopher strongly hates not being told every specific thing that is going on. From his meticulous nature, he also has an inquisitive drive that sometimes can get on peoples nerves. Christopher says, “5 red cars in a row made it a super good day”( Haddon 24). Christopher would count the number of each color of car on his way to school everyday. The number and color of the cars he saw would determine the outcome of Christopher’s day, or so he thought. At times Christopher’s way of going about things would rub those around him the wrong way.
ReplyDeleteChristopher’s relationship with the other main characters is, at times, unusual, but good for him. He does not have many close friends because of his very honest personality. His relationship with his dad seems to be strained and his relationship with siobhan appears to be healthy, giving Christopher the ability to place trust in someone other than himself. Christopher’s father stated, “‘Christopher, do you understand that I love you?’”(Haddon 87). Simply, by Christopher’s dad saying this shows that they tiptoe around each other at times, not always showing each other how they feel. While this may not seem beneficial for Christopher, deep down he knows that the level of communication him and his dad have is what both of them need to not get on one another’s nerves. The other character Christopher is close to is Siobhan. Siobhan stated, “Are you telling the truth, Christopher?”(Haddon 31). She understands the way Christopher’s brain operates and his truthfulness, as a result he trusts her. Due to Christopher’s truthfulness and inability to tell a lie, he can be viewed as a reliable narrator.
I believe that Christopher is a reliable narrator due to his truthful nature. Christopher physically cannot tell a lie because he finds it to be odd to not say what he is thinking. As a result, I know that everything he says is the whole truth. He would not lie about events that are occuring or about what he thinks of the people he meets. Christopher says, “And if I start to think about something which didn’t happen I start thinking about all the other things which didn’t happen.”(Haddon 19). Christopher cannot tell a lie due to the fact that it makes no sense to him and it also confuses him. This is why he can be trusted as a reliable narrator.
Christopher John Francis Boone is a very fastidious 15 years and 3 months old kid. He likes everything in his life to be as orderly as possible so that he does not get confused. In his mind, everything should have a straightforward answer. This is why he likes math and science so much. He dreams of becoming an astronaut so that he can work with machines and computers and perform experiments up in space. He especially likes the idea of being in space because it is a place that is very quiet, there are very few people up there, and he would have to live in a small space thousands of miles from home, all of which create a perfect environment for him. Christopher is also a kid that is not afraid to put himself out there. If he wants to do something he will ask if he can or sometimes do it anyways. He says, “I am going to prove that I’m not stupid. Next month I’m going to take my A level in maths and I’m going to get in A grade. No one has ever taken an A level at our school before” (Haddon 44). This quote shows that he is not afraid to be different and step out of the standards that society has set for him. While it is perfectly fine to be different, being different can make it harder to form relationships with people.
ReplyDeleteChristopher is already not a people person, but the fact that he is different and is not afraid to show it (nor is he able to hide it) makes forming relationships even harder. Anyone who does not already know Christopher thinks that he is peculiar at the very least. They may even think that he is rude in the way that he is brutally honest. He says one of his behavioral disabilities is, “Saying things that other people think are rude” (Haddon 46). And he goes on to explain in a sub note that these “things” are usually just him being honest. But usually Christopher keeps himself away from new people. It is only when he starts investigating that he starts to go around his neighborhood talking to strangers. Christopher’s intellect also makes it hard for him to make friends. No one he meets is as bright as he is, so for him to put up with someone of lesser intelligence than him is a challenge. Though he is incredibly book-smart, the same could not be said for being street-smart. He is not a people person because he cannot understand them. People confuse him with their metaphors, expressions, tones of voice, and most of all, their emotions.
Christopher’s inability to understand emotion is one reason he could be considered an unreliable narrator. The extent of his understanding of emotion is the faces his teacher drew and labeled for him to reference. This can make a conversation that Christopher retells very one sided. When he writes a conversation between himself and another person, he uses few to no adjectives or literary tools to describe how anything was said. One conversation he had with Mrs. Alexander was, “She said, ‘what happened to you the other day?’/ I asked, ‘Which day?’/ And she said, ‘I came out again and you’d gone. I had to eat all the biscuits myself.’/ I said, ‘I went away.’/ And she said, ‘I gathered that,’” (Haddon 54). Notice all of the bland “I said” and “she saids.” With all of this in consideration, it can be concluded that there may be contextual clues the reader is missing out on when another character says something. If a character is being sarcastic or uses a certain tone when they talk, the reader will not know this because Christopher does not catch it.
Christopher Boone has many features of autism prevalent in his personality, such as his gifted mathematics abilities, difficulty understanding metaphors, and difficulty reading emotions of others. Christopher’s dislikes include the colors yellow and brown, metaphors, being touched, and being lied to, while he likes the color red, prime numbers, machines, and police men in their uniform. Most of the things Christopher likes revolve around order and specific systems. Christopher states, “I think it [metaphors] should be called a lie because a pig is not like a day and people do not have skeletons in their cupboards” (Haddon 15). In this quote, the reader gets a sense of how literal and logical the mind of Christopher Boone is. Christopher is referring to the common metaphors of “They had a skeleton in the cupboard” and “We had a real pig of a day.” In a way, Christopher is exactly right; people do not literally have skeletons in their cupboards and pigs are nothing like days, but if one knows the meaning behind the metaphor, it makes total sense. Another feature of Christopher’s personality that can be found in the above quote is his honesty. Christopher is extremely honest in everything he does and sees the world in a black and white mentality. Christopher’s likes and dislikes, along with his quirky personality, make for a unique relationship with other characters.
ReplyDeleteBecause of his mental disorder, Christopher Boone has a uncommon relationship with other people, unlike someone without Asperger's Syndrome. Christopher only has relationships with people he is familiar with and dislikes talking to strangers, because he has a difficult time expressing his feelings and reading other people. Because he has a difficult time expressing his feelings and reading other people, Christopher only has relationships with people he is familiar with and dislikes talking to strangers. Christopher says he dislikes people for two reasons. One being, “That people do a lot of talking without using any words,” and the second being “That people often talk using metaphors” (Haddon 14,15). Metaphors are very confusing for Christopher because he thinks of everything in a literal sense, so he has a difficult time comprehending the comparison of two dissimilar things. The art of communicating without words includes facial expressions, sighs, and body language. Christopher has difficulties deciphering what each of these mean. Because of this, Christopher's relationships and conversations are straightforward. Both Christopher’s unique relationships and personality contribute to whether he is a reliable or unreliable narrator.
Christopher Boone is a reliable narrator because he is direct, honest, and says everything exactly how he sees it. Christopher likes to think of the world in a binary way; everything can be sorted into ones and zeros. This is what makes him such a reliable narrator. Because the reader know that Christopher will tell the story exactly as it happens, he is a reliable narrator. Christopher does not understand the idea of skewing an event to further favor one person over the other. If he knew how to do this, Christopher would have exaggerated what the police officer did to him before he was arrested to make it seem like it was less his fault. Christopher is blunt, and perceives the world in a black and white manner which is why he can be considered a reliable narrator.
In the book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Hardon portrays to the readers that the character Christopher is very strong-minded. Christopher has aspergers and the author allows for the reader to see what that is like. Aspergers does not allow Christopher to understand anything in the outside world besides his own likes and dislikes. Throughout the book the narrator, Christopher, informs the readers of many of those likes and dislikes. “My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I know all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,507” (Haddon 2). This quote starts that book out allowing the reader to know that he is a very intelligent fifteen year old. Every chapter in the book is a prime number. This is a result of him loving math. He also loves the color red. He makes his day depend on the amount of red cars see sees. The reader may infer that he is very content with being alone because he does not have many friends. Christopher also likes having things in order. “Mr. Jeavons asked me whether this made me feel sade, having things always in a nice order, and I said it did” (Haddon 25). Christopher has many likes but he also allows for many things to bother him, that would not bother the average person.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe that the narrator, Christopher, is a reliable narrator. I believe this because he is very straight up and does not like to lie. This was shown when the police officer was arresting him. I feel that a honest narrator would become a reliable narrator as a result.
Christopher Boone is an intelligent and logical 15-year-old boy with Asperger’s Syndrome. His likes and dislikes make Christopher who he is. Although he may act differently than other kids his age, Christopher likes dogs, mystery novels, math, and science. Fascinated by Sherlock Holmes, Christopher is inspired to write a murder mystery about the death of Wellington. The things that Christopher dislikes are the colors yellow and brown, and will not eat with those colors. He does not like talking to strangers and does not like it when people grab him and hold on to him. He will scream until they let go of him, Hadden writes, “I didn’t like him touching me like this. And this is when I hit him” (8). While being dedicated to his case, he comes out of his shell and slowly starts interacting with strangers. Through one of his interactions, Christopher meets an unlikely friend, Mrs. Alexander, she reveals an important detail in Christopher’s family’s past.
ReplyDeleteWhile going around asking his neighbors if they know anything about the murder of Mrs. Shears’ dog, most people respond not knowing what happened to him. Because Christopher does not like talking with others, he notices when he is talking to them that he cannot carry on a conversation or eye contact. After the death of his mother, Mrs. Shears spent time cooking and cleaning for Christopher and her father, but after the incident, Mrs. Shears wants nothing to do with Christopher. Believing that Christopher killed the dog, Mrs. Shears said, “If you don’t leave now I will call the police again” (Haddon 31). Christopher’s Father wants Christopher to stop worrying about the dog because he worries and is looking out for him. But should we be questioning why his Father might want Christopher to stop worrying? Although Christopher can be a little scatterbrained, nothing will stop him.
Christopher sees the world in a way that other people cannot, this makes him a reliable narrator because we cannot always see as others do. He sees the small things that are critical to his life. While having a strong sense of independence, and does not listen to what others say because Christopher believes that the only things that have the ability to break him are sticks and stones. Christopher tells his story through his own point of view, as well as looking back on memories. In each break between chapters, Christopher allows the reader to know about whether or not he is talking about the past or present. He creates his story to us by customizing it through using only prime numbers. Believing in telling the truth, Christopher always ensures to tell the truth and to make promises.
^^Maddie Vincent
ReplyDeleteEmily Landwehr
ReplyDeleteChristopher Boone is a creative kid who never lies and always keeps his promises. He doesn’t understand metaphors, is fascinated by outer space, and loves all things math related. Because of his Aspergers, Boone has some behavior issues. He screams and smashes things when angry or confused, he hates the colors yellow and brown, not eating food that has ever touched another food, and he doesn’t smile. Christopher has a fixation on figuring out who killed Mrs. Shear’s dog, so he set out doing detective work. Meanwhile, his dad demanded multiple times to not get involved, but Boone doesn’t always do what people say. This is because he doesn’t understand what people are telling him to do because there aren’t specific instructions. “Or you see a sign which says KEEP OFF THE GRASS but it should say KEEP OFF THE GRASS AROUND THIS SIGN or KEEP OFF ALL THE GRASS IN THIS PARK because there is lots of grass you are allowed to walk on” (Haddon 29). Boone often gets confused by directions such as the one above, he prefers it when he is told exactly what not to do and what he is allowed to do. Christopher is very perceptive. He easily remembers what color shoes someone was wearing, how many rings were on their hand, and what they smelled like, however he was clueless. He didn’t pick up on things that others would notice, like his mother having an affair with the neighbor, or sarcasm in someone’s voice.
Because of his disease, Boone has troubles communicating with others. He is only completely comfortable around two people, his dad and Siobhan. He dislikes talking with people he is unfamiliar with because he doesn’t trust them. In this novel we see his first interaction with his neighbor, Mrs. Alexander. He decided to try “chatting” with her so he could have the opportunity to ask about who killed Wellington. As the conversation was ending she offered him to come inside for a snack and even though she lived right next door, he didn’t trust her and left. Christopher’s relationship with his father is not a healthy one. Ed, his father, often struggles getting his point across to Christopher in a way that he will understand it. He doesn’t know how Christopher thinks and what he needs, so he struggles to be there for him. Christopher’s healthiest relationship is with his teacher, Siobhan. Siobhan knows Christopher’s needs and provides him with answers, safety, and most importantly, trust. Siobhan encourages Christopher to write his book because she wants to see him succeed.
Christopher Boone is a reliable narrator because it is impossible for him to lie. “I do not tell lies. Mother used to say that this was because I was a good person. But it is not because I am a good person. It is because I can't tell lies” (Haddon 19). Boone finds it impossible to lie because there is only one thing that happens at a particular moment, and there are infinite things that didn’t happen, and he gets overwhelmed when thinking about the things that didn’t happen. Boone is also a reliable narrator because he says things like they are. He doesn’t lose meaning in translation. Boone writes exactly what is in his mind, and it leaves very little room for misinterpretation.
Christopher is a very sensitive, 15 year old, boy who can be easily distracted and has trouble with organizing his thoughts into words. He switches topic and ideas very often throughout the novel. One of Christopher’s most prominent trait is his inability to empathize. He cannot imagine what another person is thinking. Christopher was gifted in math and science and enjoys mystery novels. Christopher describes his love for numbers when he introduces himself and states, “I know all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,507”(Haddon 2). This quote gives the audience and idea of just how gifted Christopher is. He likes the color red, and hates yellow and brown. He greatly dislikes social interactions, physical touch, lying and being shouted at. Christopher reveals different aspects of his personality to the readers throughout the book. He shows a desire for independence, expressing how he would like people to communicate and interact with him. This can sometimes have a negative affect on his relationships with other people.
ReplyDeleteChristopher is a very intelligent person but sometimes struggles to talk and interact with other people. He lives with his father, who is a kind and helpful man that seems to support Christopher and help him with his condition. His father can get frustrated with him but most of the time they are understanding towards each other. His interactions with Ms. Alexander are quite awkward. This is seen when Christopher talks to Ms, Alexander and says, “I tried to do chatting by saying, ‘My age is 15 years and 3 months and 3 days.’ And she said, ‘Well,almost your age.’ Then we said nothing for a little while until she said, ‘You don’t have a dog, do you?”(Haddon 40). This quote shows how odd this conversation is with Christopher and his neighbor. Christopher thinks of everything in a literal sense. He has trouble communicating without the use of words. This causes him to have awkward and straightforward conversations. These characteristics are what contribute to whether Christopher is a reliable or unreliable narrator.
I think Christopher Boone is a reliable narrator because he communicates honestly, directly and says things how he sees the. The author can consider Christopher a reliable character because he tells his story exactly how it is, without screwing anything. He views the world in a way that other people cannot. Lying is something Christopher views as wrong and unneeded. The audience could almost perceive him as blunt, and seeing the world in black and white, for what it truly is. This is why he is considered a reliable narrator.
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ReplyDeleteShayla Cauldwell
ReplyDeleteChristopher Boone is a very remarkable character in the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. He is a unique character because he has Asperger's, and he is much wiser than a lot of other 15-year-olds. He also has quirks that set him apart from a lot of teens around him. For example, he dislikes the colors yellow and brown, he has a fascination for prime numbers, and he has an immense fascination with science and math and is able to quickly calculate things in his head. We clearly see this talent when he says “It was nice in the police cell. It was almost a perfect cube, 2 meters long by 2 meters wide by 2 meter high. It contained approximately 8 cubic meters of air” (Haddon 14). From this quote we can see how quickly he is able to calculate measurements of the cell, and how incredible he is at observation. He is a very logical person and can quickly solve things in his brain easily.
Along with his quirks, Christopher also has a hard time forming relationships with people. He is very wary of strangers and is quick to be suspicious of people who talk to him whom he does not know. As well as this distrust, he gets very angry and uncomfortable when he is touched, and this can scare him and cause him to lash out. A very good example of this is when he lashes out at the police officer who is grabbing him by the arm. In this scene, “The policeman took hold of my arm and lifted me onto my feet. I didn’t like him touching me like this. And this is when I hit him“ (Haddon 8). What this quote demonstrates is that when Christopher is uneasy he tends to lash out at people to try to get out of situations. This is important to observe because these outbursts can get him into trouble (it got him in trouble for attacking an officer) and shows that he can be quick to judge and act in these situations simply because he does not know how to react to them otherwise.
Christopher is a reliable narrator because he sees the world exactly as it is. He doesn’t like lying, and almost seems incapable of it so we as readers can trust that he is always truthful and straightforward.
In The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time, Christopher Boone is a very expressive and truthful 15-year-old boy who becomes fixated on finding out who killed his neighbor's dog. Boone enjoys being alone, his pet rat, dogs, and learning about things such as the solar system and math. He does not like meeting new people, liars, and reading fictional novels because they are full of lies, and he believes that lying is bad. “I like dogs. You always know what a dog is thinking. It had four moods. Happy, sad, cross, and concentrating. Also, dogs are faithful and they do not tell lies because they cannot talk” (Haddon 3-4). In this quote, Boone explains why he likes dogs and also emphasizes that he has a strong dislike for lies. You can gather that he likes being able to tell how people are feeling but has a hard time doing so. This affects his relationship with other characters throughout his life and it is shown in the book.
ReplyDeleteBoone only has a few relationships since it is not easy for him to meet new people, let alone connect and relate to them. His closest relationship is his father, who has been there to help him throughout his whole life and especially since Boone’s mother passed away. He feels love towards his father and knows that his father feels it too even though Boone does not engage in physical affection, they show it in other ways. His father sometimes becomes frustrated with him because of his actions in pursuing the case and his inability to listen to instructions. It is also hard for his father to understand certain things that have to be done for Boone to be successful because he does not specialize or work with autistic people in his workplace. His other close relationship is with Siobhan, a teacher at his school who seems to truly understand him and speak his language. Christopher has an understanding with his father about physical touch, when his father arrives at the police station Christopher explains how they “hug.” “Father was standing in the corridor. He held up his right hand and spread his fingers out in a fan and we made our thumbs touch each other” (Haddon 16). This shows their bond is strong and they are able to understand each other in a way that is healthy for both of them. This is only Christophers side of the story and we do not know how his father felt in all of this.
I believe that Christopher is a reliable narrator because, as he says in the book he hates lying and cannot do it himself. He tells events how they are and is a trustworthy source of the events he is telling. He does not leave room for people to misinterpret what he is saying about his current situation. There is no lie that Christopher tells us (the readers) he only lies to his father because he does not want to stop investigating who killed Wellington. It may seem like he is an unreliable narrator because of his Aspergers Syndrome, but really it makes him more reliable because he does not have the common tendencies to lie as “normal” people do.
Bella Weslow-1st hour
ReplyDeleteThe novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is about a fifteen year old boy named Christopher John Francis Boone. Christopher is a young boy who has aspergers. Due to this disability he is unable to read complex emotions. He also has a difficulting time understanding the meaning of sarcasm and jokes. “I can not tell jokes because I do not understand them”(Haddon,8). Christopher is very particular about what he does and always likes to know what is going on. This is why he loves math. Math uses reason and logic it can be predictable. He finds safety in knowing that no matter how complex the problem, he can always find a straightforward answer in the end. Christopher also likes prime numbers, dogs, his rat Toby, and the color red. One thing that he values greatly is honesty.”I can not tell lies. Mother used to say it was because I am a good person. But it is not because I am a good person. It is because I can not tell lies”(haddon,19). He always tells the truth. Christopher is a person that you can can always count on keeping a promise, but he also expects others to always be honest with him. Along with his likes, he also has many dislikes. Christopher hates being touched, being in small spaces with other people, dishonesty, the colors yellow and brown, jokes, and metaphors, and chatting. He also refuses to eat his food if any of it touching together.
Christopher dislikes talking to strangers, and he tries as hard as he can to have no interaction with anyone does not no well. It takes a long time for him to trust people and talk to them, but once he considers you friends, will tell you anything you ask to know. Christopher is person that believes in honesty no matter what and he will not lie no matter what. In the chapters that we read it is shown that Christopher has decent relationship with his father. His father will do anything for him. No matter how ridiculous the request, how “out of way” he must go to achieve what Christopher wants, he will do it all to make his son happy. Christopher's father is constantly making accomodations for Christopher’s needs. “He help out his right hand and spread his fingers like a fan and we made our fingers and thumbs touch each other. We do this because sometimes father wants to give me a hug, but I do not like hugging people so we do this instead and it means he loves me”(Haddon,16)
Due to his autism, Christopher Boone can be identified as an unreliable narrator. Because his aspergers does not allow for him to understand emotions or some parts of speech that people use, such as metaphors and sarcasm. Due to his inabilities to interpret these things, he often guesses on what people are feeling, or does not understand situations the way they actually occurred.
In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Christopher is a very smart 15 year old boy. He likes dogs, mystery novels, outer space and math. He dislikes the colors brown and yellow, loud noises, being touched and meeting new people. “ I do not tell lies. Mother used to say this was because i was a good person. But it is not Because I am a good person. It is because I can’t tell lies”(Hadden 9-10)), this is one quote that demonstrates peters voice. He speaks in a choppy formal way that is easily identifiable. Another quote that shows his voice is “ “I know all the countries of the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,057”(Hadden 2). This shows how intelligent of a person he was. He is a reliable narrator because he never lies and is very set on finding out the truth about Wellington.
ReplyDeleteChristopher has a very inconsistent personality, meaning he has contradicting traits and likes. For example, Christopher likes logical thinking. However, he dictates his day based on what color and in what pattern cars pass him on his way to school. This way of thinking is deemed illogical to most people. Christopher dislikes many of the detested stimuli his other counterparts with Aspergers or Autism dislike as well, demonstrating his abhorrence for too loud of sounds, being touched, and being overwhelmed with information. Besides these, he also despises the colors yellow and brown and anything associated with them. Apart from thinking logically, Christopher enjoys being alone, the color red, dogs, outer space, physics, and math. Christopher explains, “Mr. Jeavons said that I liked maths because it was safe. He said I liked maths because it meant solving problems were difficult and interesting but there was always a straightforward answer at the end”(Haddon 61). Christopher’s need to feel safe and be by himself stems from his disorder, and in turn determines what he likes and dislikes. His disorder not only compartmentalizes what he likes and doesn’t like, but also forms what his relationships will be like.
ReplyDeleteChristopher’s relationships with others take lots of time to form and the real connections he makes with people are usually not very deep. Christopher’s relationships with his dad and Siobhan have been formed for a very long time, so he is close to them, yet he still distances himself from them and doesn’t enjoy when they physically touch him. His relationships that have been weakly formed or have not had time to form, such as with Mrs. Alexander, make Christopher much more uncomfortable and cause him to shut down more easily. Christopher’s uneasiness around people who he doesn’t know can be demonstrated in his thought, “ I was nervous. I I did not know Mrs. Alexander. I knew that she was an old lady and that she liked dogs. But she was a stranger”(Haddon 59). Christopher’s inability to form short term or polite relationships causes him to distance himself from the those around him. His lack of becoming friends or being sociable with strangers allows the reader to see things from his point of view and makes for an interesting narration.
I believe that Christopher is a reliable narrator because gives his view with as much description as he possibly can. He can’t interpret what others are feeling or what they always mean, so he could be labeled as an unreliable narrator from this factor. However, Christopher’s uncertain view of others should not define his as “unreliable” because he is truly meaning for the reader to know the whole story and is not attempting to hide any facts.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a murder mystery written through the perspective of Christopher Boone. Christopher is a unique individual who can be very difficult to understand if they do not know the way he sees and analyses information. His way of thinking logically proceeds into his passion for physics. He enjoys when things are simple and straight to the point rather than leaving room for various possibilities therefor he despises lying. He is taken by the mystery of events and finding the cause to events leading him to enjoy mystery novels and writing his own personal murder mystery. Haddon writes, “... she tells me exactly what it is that I am not allowed to do. And I like this” (29). This shows how much he values directness, it helps him to make sense of certain things leaving no room for confusion as he tries to avoid it. Through this quote, Haddon portrays Christopher as someone who aspires to have reason and preciseness in his life and how he tries to use them when interacting with others.
ReplyDeleteChristopher has a peculiar way of interacting with others. While most people have a front face when interacting with others, it does not appear that he does. He is who he is when he is at home as when he is out in the world communicating with others. Christopher never lies because it can cause confusion, which he tries to avoid. When interacting with his father he tells him what he plans to do and his intentions. Although his father states that he should not do something he is very vague with his words leading Christopher to disregard what his father says. He is always honest and expresses how he feels or his wonders with others, especially to Siobhan. “I do not tell lies...I can’t tell lies”(Haddon 19). This shows his inability to lie which is a large part of many people’s interaction with others. Due to this, he may be considered more trustful.
Knowing Christopher’s personality and the way he interacts with others lead to concluding that he can be very reliable as a narrator. His thirst for a reason and his inability to lie leads to him being direct with his audience rather than bias and misleading. “It was 7 minutes after midnight”(Haddon 1). As the audience can see throughout the novel and in this quote, Christopher is very detailed and right to the point, making him more reliable.
-Karen C
Christopher Boone’s personality is very unique. He is very unique in the way he understands and expresses human emotions. Christopher's personality is interesting in the sense of his curious and awkward confrontations he encounters with other people. In the book,The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, he seems to love to keep constant track of time and prime numbers only. This is shown in the book by the chapter numbers. The reader will see that they are only prime numbers. Christopher Boone states, “Chapter books are usually given the cardinal numbers 1,2,3,4,5.. and so on but I like prime numbers” (Haddon 11). This allows for the reader to see from the start of the book that he is not like any other kids but actually very different. Christopher like certain colors and patterns. His favorite color is red. With many red objects, especially in a row this means it is going to be a good day. If he happens to encounter a line of yellow or brown objects this will lead to a bad day. It's very unique and fascinating how he will see patterns and colors; then relate them with how his days is going to result. “My phycologist at school, once asked me why 4 cars in a row made it a good day… and why 4 yellow cars in a row made it a black day, which is a day I don’t speak to anyone and sit on my own reading books and eating lunch” (Haddon 47). This quote allows for the reader to see that Boone does not care about anything else to influence his day but the color of cars. Most people would automatically make a judgement that he is a strange person. He also likes to be very organized. Christopher’s unique and interesting personality is mostly in the result of his Autism. He is a very intelligent kid who loves math and science but struggles to relate with other people and hold conversations. Autism may be what causes him to not like to be with other people. Christopher is very close with his father and teacher, but other then that he is perfectly fine being alone. Although he has many characteristics that make him unique, those are what makes him a special person.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I do believe that the narrator is a unreliable narrator. I believe this because he can not focus on stories and jumps around. This allows for me to infer that he does not pay attention to detail and only pays attention to the details that he wants to focus on.
Christopher Boone is portrayed as a socially inept but unbelievably bright young man. He excels at mathematics and at most sciences and takes great pleasure and genuine interest out of it as well. While he may not be as social as the other characters this partially due to his autism. He is quoted as saying, “I didn’t reply to this either because Mrs. Alexander was doing what is called chatting, where people say things to each other which aren’t questions and answers and aren’t connected.” (Haddon, 40). Going off of the quote he expresses how es not likes small talk or chatting as he calls it, because it does not seem rational to him. Due to his autism, he is a more logical and rational than others, solving issues in his head almost effortlessly. In his social interaction, he lacks a social filter both when he is narrating, and when he engages in dialogue with other characters. He likes the color red and has a fascination with space. He feels unsettled by yellow and brown and dislikes being touched as seen here, “‘No I didn’t mean to hurt the policeman. I just wanted him to stop touching me’”. (Haddon 17) His relationship so far with the rest of the characters seems to have very strong roots ranging from a stressed, alcoholic, and sometimes abusive father to a loving nurse named Mrs. Siobhan who helps him through a plethora of social communications.
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, I think that he must be a reliable narrator. His attention to detail and his self proclaimed, but definitely able to be backed up, inability to tell a lie is a strong argument of how truthful he is. He does, however, tell a few white lies and is aware of what they are and how they work. He has never told a lie so far in the novel so he seems to only occasionally leave out details. Since he cannot lie entirely though he is almost stuck with nothing but the truth to write of, and in precise detail as well, making him a strong and reliable author.
It Max Hennigan's
Delete-Max Hennigan
Christopher has a very straightforward and determined personality. He is specific about the way he likes certain colors or foods and is extremely passionate about math and the book he is writing. Although Christopher may not be able to understand certain situations or expressions, he is a honest and thinks logically to figure problems out. He writes “I sometimes think of my mind as a machine… It makes it easier to explain to other people what is going on inside it”(Haddon 7). Christopher is describing the way he processes information, comparing it to a machine. He may not understand things as they happen, but he works it out using logic. This makes it confusing for people that do not know him.
ReplyDeleteThroughout conversations, Christopher only talks if he wants to or feels it is pertinent to the subject. He gets to the point. The main characters that Christopher has relationships with are his father and Siobhan, his teacher. He trusts both of them and they are some of the only people he seems comfortable talking to. While talking to Mrs. Alexander for the first time he says “Mrs. Alexander was doing what is called chatting, where people say things to each other which aren’t questions and answers and aren’t connected”(Haddon 40). Christopher is doing his investigations and really only wants to find out about Wellington. This is why he does not seem to enjoy the chatting. He does not keep this fact a secret to the reader.
Christopher does not understand some of the clues until after the reader figures them out. Christopher is, however, a reliable narrator. He says it himself that he never tells lies. Many of the details included may be superfluous but they show that Christopher is not leaving anything out. He also seems to include information that is not important to the mystery in any way, but it is vital to revealing his personality. Many parts would be embarrassing to include in a book, but by having them in, it shows his honest nature.
Clara Blumreich
DeleteAlana Bergin
ReplyDeleteChristopher Boone has many qualities that make his personality unlike any others. He always tells the truth no matter what the circumstances are. And during his detective work we see that Christopher is adventurous, determined and always keeps his thoughts organized. He also abhors the colors yellow and brown, but instead he admires the color red. “4 red cars in a row made it a Good Day, and 3 red cars in a row made it a Quite Good Day, and 5 red cars in a row made it a Super Good Day…” (Haddon 24). Through this quote we can see that Christopher has a more abstract way of seeing the world and by including red, he demonstrates how it is a pleasing color to him. Christopher continues to show his intelligence when explaining prime number and doing high level math and physics.
Christopher is unlike the other characters in the novel. He does not like to talk to strangers and when not being asked questions, Christopher tends to walk away or not continue a conversation. He has a difficult time distinguishing emotions and expressions others use in normal conversations. “I kept the piece of paper in my pocket and took it out when I didn’t understand what someone was saying” (Haddon 3). The paper helps christopher communicate with other characters in the book.
With the knowledge Christopher has of always telling the truth, he would make a reliable narrator. He exhibits the traits of honesty, memorization and determination. In the text you can tell that Christopher is always telling the truth, or a white lie, but admits to what the truth is. Understanding that he tells the truth makes Christopher a reliable narrator, but he will have to discover the truth in order to solve this mystery.
Katherine Walch
ReplyDeleteChristopher has a very inconsistent personality, meaning he has contradicting traits and likes. For example, Christopher likes logical thinking. However, he dictates his day based on what color and in what pattern cars pass him on his way to school. This way of thinking is deemed illogical to most people. Christopher dislikes many of the detested stimuli his other counterparts with Aspergers or Autism dislike as well, demonstrating his abhorrence for too loud of sounds, being touched, and being overwhelmed with information. Besides these, he also despises the colors yellow and brown and anything associated with them. Apart from thinking logically, Christopher enjoys being alone, the color red, dogs, outer space, physics, and math. Christopher explains, “Mr. Jeavons said that I liked maths because it was safe. He said I liked maths because it meant solving problems were difficult and interesting but there was always a straightforward answer at the end”(Haddon 61). Christopher’s need to feel safe and be by himself stems from his disorder, and in turn determines what he likes and dislikes. His disorder not only compartmentalizes what he likes and doesn’t like, but also forms what his relationships will be like.
ReplyDeleteChristopher’s relationships with others take lots of time to form and the real connections he makes with people are usually not very deep. Christopher’s relationships with his dad and Siobhan have been formed for a very long time, so he is close to them, yet he still distances himself from them and doesn’t enjoy when they physically touch him. His relationships that have been weakly formed or have not had time to form, such as with Mrs. Alexander, make Christopher much more uncomfortable and cause him to shut down more easily. Christopher’s uneasiness around people who he doesn’t know can be demonstrated in his thought, “ I was nervous. I I did not know Mrs. Alexander. I knew that she was an old lady and that she liked dogs. But she was a stranger”(Haddon 59). Christopher’s inability to form short term or polite relationships causes him to distance himself from the those around him. His lack of becoming friends or being sociable with strangers allows the reader to see things from his point of view and makes for an interesting narration.
I believe that Christopher is a reliable narrator because gives his view with as much description as he possibly can. He can’t interpret what others are feeling or what they always mean, so he could be labeled as an unreliable narrator from this factor. However, Christopher’s uncertain view of others should not define his as “unreliable” because he is truly meaning for the reader to know the whole story and is not attempting to hide any facts.
Katherine Walch
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, the narrator, Christopher Boone, gives the audience insight into the unique things that go on in his mind. He will always tell it like it is and is incapable of lying. He has an exceptional memory which makes him extremely intelligent. However, he often gets off track and will change the subject. He does not like being touched, social interaction and the colors yellow and brown. Boone says, “I am going to prove that I’m not stupid. Next month I’m going to take my A level in math and I’m going to get an A grade”(Hadden 44). This shows how dedicated he is to certain things he does. When he has something on his mind that is bothering him, he will fight through it and find a solution. When solving the mystery of who killed Wellington, he will not stop until he determines what happened. During the novel, however, other characters might get in his way during his quest to solve the mystery.
ReplyDeleteIn the novel, Christopher has a peculiar mentality when interacting with people. Most of his social contact is either with his teacher, Siobhan, or his father. Siobhan and Christopher work together at school everyday, and she understands how to calm down him down and make him feel comfortable. His relationship with his dad can vary. They are not very close, and if Christopher does not listen to what his dad says then his dad will get angry. Christopher does not have the patience to get to know new people, and he is aware of this. He says, “Some of my Behavioral problems are… Not talking to people for a long time...not noticing that people are angry with me… hitting other people” (Hadden 46-47). It is hard for him to hold a conversation with other people which makes him come off as rude.
Christopher is an unreliable narrator. Because of his Aspergers, he is not able to determine regular social cues. He does not understand certain emotions that come from the people around him, so it is hard for him to determine what people are actually feeling. He never lies, but all of the information in the novel comes from him. As a result, we have do not get all of the necessary details in the other characters’ lives.
Christopher Boone is a fifteen-year-old boy who suffers from Asperger’s Syndrome and faces the daily struggle of understanding human emotions. Boone is fascinated by numbers, astronomy, puzzles, and Sherlock Holmes. He has a memory like a fim, is a problem solver, and approaches everyday problems mathematically. Boone dreams of becoming an astronaut someday because he would be alone and “there are no yellow things or brown things in a spacecraft” (50). He despises yellow and brown and finds it sickening to even look at foods or everyday objects tainted by these colors. Even through his struggles with Asperger’s Syndrome, Boone is able to see the world much differently than those around him which is a trait that helps him solve the mystery of who killed Mrs. Shear’s dog, Wellington.
ReplyDeleteChristopher’s greatest supporters are Siobhan and his father. Siobhan is one of Boone’s teachers at the special school he attends. Boone feels comfortable with Siobhan because she is able to understand his language to a degree that nobody else can. She is always lending an ear to anything on Boone’s mind, yet she never pushes him to say more than he is willing. One of Siobhan’s greatest qualities is that she never gets upset with Boone’s behavior. Similarly to Siobhan, Boone’s father carries the qualities of being patient and calm. He has adapted his life as a single father to incorporate the unique needs of his son. At one point, Boone’s teachers debated whether putting Boone in the advanced math class is a good idea, but his father “wasn’t going to take no for and answer” (45). Boone’s father was even willing to pay extra if he had to in order to get his son the material he needed. Siobhan and Christopher’s father are the people Christopher needs in his life in order to understand the world in less literal terms.
Boone is a reliable narrator because although he finds emotions and metaphors confusing, he does not tell lies because he can’t tell lies. He sees a lie as being something that hypothetically happened, and to him this does not make sense. Boone does not experience troubles with separating emotions from the truth which makes him a reliable narrator.
Christopher Boone is portrayed as a socially inept but unbelievably bright young man. He excels at mathematics and at most sciences and takes great pleasure and genuine interest out of it as well. While he may not be as social as the other characters this partially due to his autism. He is quoted as saying, “I didn’t reply to this either because Mrs. Alexander was doing what is called chatting, where people say things to each other which aren’t questions and answers and aren’t connected.” (Haddon, 40). Going off of the quote he expresses how es not likes small talk or chatting as he calls it, because it does not seem rational to him. Due to his autism, he is a more logical and rational than others, solving issues in his head almost effortlessly. In his social interaction, he lacks a social filter both when he is narrating, and when he engages in dialogue with other characters. He likes the color red and has a fascination with space. He feels unsettled by yellow and brown and dislikes being touched as seen here, “‘No I didn’t mean to hurt the policeman. I just wanted him to stop touching me’”. (Haddon 17) His relationship so far with the rest of the characters seems to have very strong roots ranging from a stressed, alcoholic, and sometimes abusive father to a loving nurse named Mrs. Siobhan who helps him through a plethora of social communications.
ReplyDeleteTruthfully, I think that he must be a reliable narrator. His attention to detail and his self proclaimed, but definitely able to be backed up, inability to tell a lie is a strong argument of how truthful he is. He does, however, tell a few white lies and is aware of what they are and how they work. He has never told a lie so far in the novel so he seems to only occasionally leave out details. Since he cannot lie entirely though he is almost stuck with nothing but the truth to write of, and in precise detail as well, making him a strong and reliable author.
Max Hennigan
In the book, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, we meet a very interesting boy named Christopher. Christopher has quite the interesting personality. He has many different likes and dislikes that he makes well known. A few likes of his are math, science, prime numbers, the color red, being a detective and dogs. All of these give him comfort and make him feel safe which he enjoys. “I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them”(Haddon 12). This quote lets us know how deeply he thinks about things. He takes the original thought and branches off into other ways it can be understood. Although, Christopher dislikes the color brown and yellow, being shouted at, being touched and lies. These examples show how Christopher is very insecure about himself almost like a young child. “I didn’t like him touching me like this. And this is when I hit him”(Haddon 8). During this quote we see how Christopher isn't trying to be mean when he hits. He simply doesn’t like feeling of being touched so he is tough to get them off. In this case, punching was the way to get the police officer to get off. These quotes reveal that Christopher is normal but, has his qualities that differ him from the rest. We can then determine that he is an unreliable narrator. He is an unreliable narrator because he is saying how things are from his perspective and his mind. He is biased toward certain things and we only hear how it is from his thoughts. We don't see the second story or someone else's opinion, we only know what he thinks.
ReplyDeleteChristopher Boone is not your typical 15 year old boy, Christopher has Aspergers. This means that he has a difficulty understanding people's emotions. We know this because Christopher says, “I got Siobhan to draw lots of these faces and then write down next to them exactly what they meant… But it is difficult to decide which of the diagrams was most like the face the people were making because people’s faces move very quickly”(3). As you can tell by his words, he has trouble communicating with people. Even with this set back, Christopher is determined to write this murder mystery novel about his neighbors dog being murdered . Even though he dreads talking to strangers, his investigations forces him out of his comfort zone and makes him communicate with these people despite of his discomforts. We can see how uncomfortable he gets when talking to Mrs. Alexander and she walked inside to grab some biscuits and Christopher says how, “She was inside for more than 6 minutes and I began to get nervous because I didn’t know what she was doing”(41), so he walked away. But he was so determined to get information that could be helpful he went back the following days to get more details. But even earlier in the book, we learn about other things that Christopher does not like, for example, being touched by other people, the colors yellow and brown, and how he will not eat, touch or barely even look at objects of those colors. We also learn about things that Christopher enjoys, like math, science, and of course mystery novels. He even brags about how he is going to take an A level math. And while talking with Mrs. Alexander, she tells his somethings that could get him one step closer to solving the murder.
ReplyDeleteAs Christopher continued to discuss with Mrs. Alexander, he becomes much more comfortable and sees her more as a friend than a stranger. This shows how Christopher may be shy and nervous around strangers, he will eventually open up to them and trust them. While talking, Mrs. Alexander told Christopher something he never knew. That his mother was having an affair with Mr. Shears, and when he told his father about what he had learned, he was furious. But Christopher knew that this opened up so many new windows on who could have killed the Shears’ dog. But that was the least of Christopher's’ fathers worries. He yelled at Christopher about how he needs to stop writing his novel and start behaving or else,
“I shall knock the living daylights out of you”(Mr. Boone 47). This is strange, because his father also says, “Christopher, do you understand I love your?”(87). This shows how his relationship with his father can change on the daily. His father sometimes seems like he wish he never had Christopher and other times he really enjoys having Christopher around. This could be very confusing to Christopher because he already has trouble figuring out what people are thinking and now person that is supposed to love and support him, is now sending him mixed signals. And it seems as if Christopher does not know if his father loves him or not. Even though his father may not support Christopher, Siobhan supports him and encourages Christopher to write his novel even his his father is against it. Without Siobhan, Christopher would have stopped writing the novel, but she pushes him because she wants to see him succeed.
- Christian Remington
Christopher John Francis Boone is definitely a reliable narrator because he has made it very clear that he can not tell lies. “I do not tell lies. Mother used to say that this was because I was a good person. But it is not because I am a good person. It is because I can’t tell lies”(Haddon 19). Christopher does not just hate lie, but they make him uncomfortable. This is because he knows that there is only one thing that happened and if you tell a lie, then there are so many things that did not happen in that moment. That is why Christopher enjoys math so much, because you always get an exact answer and you know that is is correct, but life can be very complicated with many different aspect. So the best way for Christopher to simplify life is to always tell the truth and never take to easy way out. Overall Christopher is a reliable narrative because he is brutally honest and writes nothing but the truth.
Delete- Christian Remington
The book, a curious incident of the dog in the nighttime, is about a character named Christopher, a British teenager with aspergers. He thinks very sporadically and has many likes and dislikes that some would call odd, but these things come as a result of his disorder. He likes things like math and science, which isn’t out of the ordinary. The odd things occur in the things he dislikes. He dislikes the color yellow and when he sees four yellow cars in a row, he has what he calls black days. On these days he refuses to talk until the next day. These kinds of oddities make up Christopher’s personality.
ReplyDeleteChristopher’s personality is very quirky and scattered. He talks in a voice that is very energetic and jumps from topic to topic very suddenly. Like when he is listening to his father when they find out his mother is dead. Christopher's father says “I’m afraid you won’t be seeing your mother for a while”(22). He starts with “He didn’t look at me when he said this”(22). After this, his train of thought leads him to saying “It is like being in a room with a one way mirror in a spy film”(22). He has trouble understanding social cues since he becomes overloaded with information in a very short amount of time. A good quote to exemplify his personality is when Christopher wrote “I find people confusing”(14). This shows how Christopher isn’t much of a social person and likes things where they can be explained through facts and not feelings or interpretations. We really don’t know if he is a reliable source or not. He claims that he cannot lie, but he could very well be lying.
I believe that Christopher is an unreliable narrator. He exhibits many traits that are normal for an unreliable narrator. He talks in first person and he only shares his side of the story, these two things make it very easy for Christopher to hide things that he doesn’t want the reader to know. If he had actually killed Wellington, we wouldn’t know since he can easily leave that detail out of the story.
-Evan Walczyk
Christopher has many parts to his personality, he is very observant of what is going on around him, for example he counts how many yellow or red cars go past him in a row on the way to school each morning. Christopher also is very cautious, especially when it comes to meeting new people or trying new things. There are several aspects of everyday life that Christopher does not appreciate. He does not like being touched by other people, we know this because of the interaction with the police officer and his father, when he was grabbed by them he punched them to get them to let go. He also doesn’t like the colors yellow or brown, when he sees four yellow cars in a row it is a black day, meaning he doesn’t talk to anyone or eat anything at school all day. Christopher does like science, specifically astronomy. “ When she tells me not to do something she tells me exactly what it is that I am not allowed to do.And I like this.”
ReplyDelete(Haddon 29). Christopher likes being told exactly what he can and cannot do, this is because it makes it clear on what exactly is allowed and what isn’t.
Often times Christopher can get off on the wrong foot when it comes to meeting new people, this is due to other people not knowing how to properly interact with him, without causing him to become uncomfortable . He has a close relationship with his father, though they may argue at times. He also is appears to be close to Siobhan, who is one of his teachers. Siobhan is able to speak Christophers language and effectively explain others people behaviors in relation to his own. “ We do this because sometimes Father wants to give me a hug, but I do not like hugging people so we do this instead, and it means that he loves me.” (Haddon 16). This shows the relationship between Christopher and his Father and it shows how much his Father cares for him.
Christopher is a reliable narrator because he tells the truth, and doesn’t leave information out. So far Christopher has already shared personal information about himself, and he will continue to share personal details throughout the rest of the novel.
Christopher’s personality is one of a kind. The character of Christopher is very determined to find a solution to any problem, he is well organized, and, honest. He likes the color red and dislikes the color yellow and brown. “I colored all the cars in with red paint to make it a Super Super Good Day” (Haddon 27). For Christopher super good day’s are determined by the color red. He feels like the colors reveal the type of day he will face. Christopher also likes animals, prime numbers and, Murder Mystery Novels. Christopher's struggle to interact with other people do not stop him from finding the real murderer of Wellington the dog.
ReplyDeleteChristopher meets different characters that enjoy being close to him and others that do not like to be by him. At times Christopher’s attitude pushes away some characters because he’s honest. Mrs. Alexandria Christopher’s neighbor approaches Christopher with simple questions. Christopher does not like to speak to strangers so he responds to Mrs. Alexandria saying, “No I don’t like talking to strangers” (Haddon 39). His reaction and honesty drive others to think Christopher is weird and hostile. For Mrs. Alexandria, Christopher is a caring boy who has communication issues. Christopher interacts with his neighbors for his detective work, and the one who has cooperated the most has been Mrs. Alexandria.
Christopher is a reliable and unreliable narrator because he shares life experiences that taught him how to struggle and adapt to certain emotions. On the other hand, Christopher struggles to understand and describe human emotions; making it difficult for me to see his real viewpoints towards people. Throughout the Novel, Christopher shares his honesty with the reader, which makes him a reliable narrator; however, Christopher’s blurry struggles to understand emotions make him an unreliable narrator.
- Stacy Rivera
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteChristopher is not like many other kids. In a way he is shy. He gets very nervous about little things and is very awkward with being social. Christopher does not enjoy being around people or places he does not know. He gets uncomfortable when people start talking to him. When it comes to conversations, he does not know what to say to people unless they ask him a question. Christopher loves being alone and he loves the thought of going to space. He enjoys math, science, and loves everything nice and neat. In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the NIght-Time, Christopher said, “I have decided to give my chapters prime numbers 2,3,5,7,11,13 and so on because I like prime numbers” (11). When Christopher said this, it shows how different it is. Most people like numbers that go in order, but Christopher has his own style. His love for prime numbers show that he likes math and everything very nice and neat. Christopher is a reliable narrator, because he says what he thinks. He is honest and does not like to lie.
ReplyDeleteChristopher is not a fan if being around people he does not know. In order to trust them, he has to ask them some questions. When he is with his father or someone he trusts, he is very kind and obedient. He is very curious and loves to ask questions. Christopher is very tight with his father and talks to him about many things. “I said, ‘I’m sorry,’ because Father had had to come to the police station, which was a bad thing” (20). In this quote, he is very respectful of his dad’s time and does not want his dad to not be proud of him. Christopher cares what his father thinks of him and does not want to lose his respect. In general, Christopher is very caring about other people and tries to be respectful to others.
When you think of someone who has disabilities, most people do not think much about it. They think they can not do anything, not as smart, funny, and more. Christopher on the other hand is very intelligent. He has to be honest to everyone and if he is not, he feels horrible and keep anything straight. Christopher loves everything neat and clean. In a way, telling a lie messes that up in his head, because he has to remember that lie. Christopher says what he means, even without thinking about it. Yes, Christopher is a reliable narrator, because he always tries to be the best he can be with everything he does.
In the novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, the main character Christopher is an unique lad from Europe with a few unique traits. He is a very curious person that is always trying to find out the truth and facts behind everything. Christopher has many dislikes,just to name a few, the colors yellow and brown, people touching him, food touching and just people in general. Although he has many dislikes, he also has some things that he likes, this includes, science, math, walks and dogs. “It takes me a long time to get used to people I do not know” (Haddon 35). This sentences tells the readers how Christopher is closed off and shy when it comes to people. Since Christopher is very intelligent, sometimes people do not care for him because they feel as if they are inferior to him.
ReplyDeleteThe other characters in the book all have different types of relationships with Christopher, but the common thread through them all is that they sometimes get really annoyed or angry at him. Christopher’s dad loves him very much, but they do not see eye to eye all the time due to Christopher understanding words differently. Mrs. Alexander seems to like Christopher even though he says what is on his mind without a filter. “He said this very quietly as well, so I still didn’t realize that he was angry”(81). Haddon writes this to tell us that Christopher sometimes can get very confused on people’s actions and words. Even though he gets confused, Christopher still tells everyone how it is.
I believe that Christopher is a reliable narrator due to the fact that he is honest to everyone and does not have a filter. When people sugarcoat events, they change details that can be important to the story. Christopher has not shown that he has the ability to sugar coat, therefore his opinion is not really present in the story and changing it.
Alex LaMere
ReplyDeleteChristopher is a boy with autism. He is very shy but very gifted in math and science. His favorite subjects in school are math and physics. He dreams of one day going to space as an astronaut. Christopher has a weird obsession with the color red but really dislikes the colors yellow and brown. He dislikes novels, being touched, and his food touching each other. Christophers voice is very much his own. In the book he says “I do not like proper novels. In proper novels people say things like, “‘I am veined with iron, with silver and with streaks of common mud. I cannot contract into the firm fist which those clench who do not depend on stimulus.”’ What does this mean? I do not know” (4-5). He is very atimit and knows what he likes and dislikes. He goes on rants such as this at random parts in the book probably because of his autism he loses focus and begins with something he believes strongly about.
Christopher is a very personal character. But struggles to communicate to other people. He highly dislikes strangers so when he goes out to do detective work he is way out of his comfort zone. He meets Mrs.Alexander and becomes friends with her but while becoming friends she told him something his dad didn’t want him to know which lead to a fight. “I had no memories for a short while. I know it was a short while because I checked my watch afterward. It was like someone had switched me off and then switched me on again. And when they switched me on again I was sitting on the carpet with my back against the wall and there was blood on my right hand and the side of my head was hurting. And Father was standing on the carpet a meter in front of me looking down at me and he was still holding my book in his right hand, but it was bent in half and all the corners were messed up, and there was a scratch on his neck and a big rip in the sleeve of his green and blue check shirt and he was breathing really deeply” (83). Here we see how good Christopher is about describing the bad things that happen in his life he seems scared at the end of this quote but shows how he does not know what he is doing some of the time. We also see how Christopher interacts with his dad who is just looking out for the best of Christopher. They argue sometimes but his dad never punishes Christopher. We also hear about how Christopher interacts with Siobhan. She is one of his most trusted people in his life and helps Christopher get through his day to day life.
I believe Christopher is a reliable narrator. He does struggle from time to time to keep his mind in one spot. But he does not lie and is very good at being descriptive when it is needed.
Myles Krzewinski
ReplyDeleteChristopher is a very unique character and this is understandable because he has asperger’s syndrome. He is quite different from the normal as he knows every prime number up to 7,057. He also knows all the countries in the world and their capital cities. “I know all the countries in the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,057” (Haddon 2) This quote shows how interesting he is and what random he likes. So he is truly not someone you would see everyday. Christopher has a hard time understanding emotions and what people are implying. If it is not said directly and clearly to him, he won’t understand or listen. This shows how he thinks which is very logical and mathematical. He dislikes very weird and random things like the color yellow. All these strange things about him show how wandering and odd his mind works.
Christopher has unusual relationships which have to deal with his unusual personality. Since he has a hard time understanding people’s expressions, it can be hard for him to have easy-going relationships and conversations. “I think it should be called a lie because a pig is not like a day and people do not have skeletons in their cupboards” (Haddon 15). This is Christopher talking about metaphors and how he processing them. If it is not clear cut then he will have a hard time understanding it because of how he thinks which is very logical. His relationships are not very talkative and personal.
I believe Christopher is a reliable narrator because he hates lies and always wants just a clear statement. So when he talks he does not use things like metaphors and sarcasm so it very clear what he is always trying to get across. His mind can wonder a lot throughout the chapters, he can switch topics very quick without any transition but this does not make him an unreliable narrator. He prides himself in telling the truth which makes Christopher a reliable narrator.
Sylvana Windey
ReplyDeleteIn The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Christopher is notedly, a handful, with behavior that ranges from silent to screaming. Things that seem little to us, are quite momentus for Christopher and can set him off very easily. I’d have to say his personality is kind of explosive. Although he can be quite gentle and sweet too.
He doesn’t tend to get along with people, mostly because they do things that he doesn’t like and they don’t realize. He’s pretty suspicious of those around him that he doesn’t know but gets along fairly well with his Father and Siobhan. He doesn’t trust them easily and they have to very careful around him so that they don’t lose his trust. “So, I decide for myself what I am going to do and what I am not going to do” (Haddon 30). I think this quotes describes Christopher incredibly well. He might not understand people very well, but he’s very smart, and when people don’t explain themselves very well, he takes initiative and does what he thinks is best. “I find people confusing” (Haddon 14). Which also explains him very well. That even though is incredibly smart with books and can understand things that other people can’t, he still can’t understand people and what they do, which is why he does what he does most of the time. It’s mostly because he doesn’t understand what’s being said and misinterprets it.
I’d have to say he’s somewhat of an unreliable character, because he’s telling the story from his point of view but he doesn’t understand people very well, so it might not have happened they way he said it did. Though, it’s also reliable, because it’s from his point of view and we know what he’s thinking, which is kind of the point of the book.
Christopher Boone has an unique personality. His extraordinary memory helps him remember specific details about past events and random information. Christopher prefers to think about everything through a logical perspective. “In the bus on the way to school the next morning we passed 4 red cars in a row, which meant that it was a good day” (Haddon 24). Christopher loves the color red so this thought process is completely logical in his mind. Thinking logically and rational is part of what makes Christopher unique.
ReplyDeleteDue to his syndrome, Christopher has a difficulty building relationships with other people. Throughout the story, Christopher shows a lack of trust with people that he is not familiar with. He also struggles distinguishing and understanding people’s facial expressions. “I kept the piece of paper in my pocket and took it out when I didn’t understand what someone was saying” (Haddon 3). Christopher uses this paper filled with drawings to assist him in trying to better understand and communicate with others. This shows Christopher’s determination to improve his social skills which is important to his character.
I think that Christopher is a reliable narrator because he tells everything the way he sees it and he does not lie. Christopher’s determination to know the truth and refusing to lie makes Christopher a reliable narrator.
Mariah Michalski
Ian Ernst
ReplyDeleteChristopher is 15 years old, he lives in a town near London, England. Christopher has asperger's syndrome. He is hypersensitive to sounds, light, and touch. He likes the color red, enjoys math, games, prime numbers, and murder mystery novels, he’s said to “like dogs. You always know what a dog is thinking. Dogs have four moods, Happy, sad, cross, and concentrating (Haddon 3-4).” He struggles to comprehend facial expressions, which is one of the reasons he likes dogs so much. He dislikes bright lights, loud sounds, or people touching him. This is shown in with scene with the policeman, “took hold of my arm and lifted me onto my feet (Haddon 8).” He also hates the color yellow and brown. Christopher is different from other characters, I consider him one of the more reliable characters due to his inability to tell a lie.
Myles Krzewinski
ReplyDeleteChristopher is a very unique character and this is understandable because he has asperger’s syndrome. He is quite different from the normal as he knows every prime number up to 7,057. He also knows all the countries in the world and their capital cities. “I know all the countries in the world and their capital cities and every prime number up to 7,057” (Haddon 2) This quote shows how interesting he is and what random he likes. So he is truly not someone you would see everyday. Christopher has a hard time understanding emotions and what people are implying. If it is not said directly and clearly to him, he won’t understand or listen. This shows how he thinks which is very logical and mathematical. He dislikes very weird and random things like the color yellow. All these strange things about him show how wandering and odd his mind works.
Christopher has unusual relationships which have to deal with his unusual personality. Since he has a hard time understanding people’s expressions, it can be hard for him to have easy-going relationships and conversations. “I think it should be called a lie because a pig is not like a day and people do not have skeletons in their cupboards” (Haddon 15). This is Christopher talking about metaphors and how he processing them. If it is not clear cut then he will have a hard time understanding it because of how he thinks which is very logical. His relationships are not very talkative and personal.
I believe Christopher is a reliable narrator because he hates lies and always wants just a clear statement. So when he talks he does not use things like metaphors and sarcasm so it very clear what he is always trying to get across. His mind can wonder a lot throughout the chapters, he can switch topics very quick without any transition but this does not make him an unreliable narrator. He prides himself in telling the truth which makes Christopher a reliable narrator.
Myles Krzewinski
Christopher has many parts to his personality, he is very observant of what is going on around him, for example he counts how many yellow or red cars go past him in a row on the way to school each morning. Christopher also is very cautious, especially when it comes to meeting new people or trying new things. There are several aspects of everyday life that Christopher does not appreciate. He does not like being touched by other people, we know this because of the interaction with the police officer and his father, when he was grabbed by them he punched them to get them to let go. He also doesn’t like the colors yellow or brown, when he sees four yellow cars in a row it is a black day, meaning he doesn’t talk to anyone or eat anything at school all day. Christopher does like science, specifically astronomy. “ When she tells me not to do something she tells me exactly what it is that I am not allowed to do.And I like this.”
ReplyDelete(Haddon 29). Christopher likes being told exactly what he can and cannot do, this is because it makes it clear on what exactly is allowed and what isn’t.
Often times Christopher can get off on the wrong foot when it comes to meeting new people, this is due to other people not knowing how to properly interact with him, without causing him to become uncomfortable . He has a close relationship with his father, though they may argue at times. He also is appears to be close to Siobhan, who is one of his teachers. Siobhan is able to speak Christophers language and effectively explain others people behaviors in relation to his own. “ We do this because sometimes Father wants to give me a hug, but I do not like hugging people so we do this instead, and it means that he loves me.” (Haddon 16). This shows the relationship between Christopher and his Father and it shows how much his Father cares for him.
Christopher is a reliable narrator because he tells the truth, and doesn’t leave information out. So far Christopher has already shared personal information about himself, and he will continue to share personal details throughout the rest of the novel.
Taylor Massart
Christopher is not a very typical kid. He has very particular likes and dislikes. He likes prime numbers, and can recite them up to 7057. He likes animals to an extent, as he liked the neighbors dog and likes his pet rat. He dislikes loud noises, as they cause him stress and discomfort. “I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them” (Haddon, 15). Christopher has troubles with social cues and conversations because there are too many rules. This shows how he feels about them, as he would like to understand but just finds it too difficult. This also plays in to how he deals with other people.
ReplyDeleteChristopher has a tough time getting along with others because of his difficulty socializing and conversing with others. He often times irritates his dad by getting into trouble, but does not mean to irritate anyone. When the police officer was asking him questions, he was doing his best to provide good answers to the questions being asked, but still managed to irritate the cop, which ended in an altercation with Christopher actually striking the cop. “All the other children at my school are stupid. Except I’m not meant to call them stupid, even though that’s what they are” (Haddon, 43). Christopher has a tough time dealing with other people, especially when he feels they are not as smart as him. Christopher is very smart, but just has a hard time dealing with social situations.
Christopher being our only side of the story could be somewhat unreliable. We only hear things from his point of view, and people tend to get mad with him rather quickly, which could mean that he leaves details that he feels are not important out of the story, when in fact they could supply the reader with an understanding of why the person he is speaking with gets angry with him. He also tends to depict people as worse than him, so his ego could cause some margin for error in what he says. I believe that in this story, Christopher is a somewhat unreliable narrator.
Kai Assef
Christopher Boone is a 15 year old boy with Asperger’s syndrome and has a unique personality. He is the main character and narrator of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Christopher is a very intelligent person but he has understanding how other people think and behave. He likes the color red, his pet rat, Toby, dogs, math, and physics. He dislikes the colors brown and yellow, when people touch him, and he does not like talking to strangers. Because of his dislike of touching, he does not let his father hug him, “We do this because sometimes Father wants to give me a hug, but I do not like hugging people, so we do this instead, and it means that he loves me”(Haddon 16). Everybody has their own list of dislikes and Christopher’s happens to be a little different than everybody else’s. Many people would think that it’s strange that he does not hug his father but them touching hands means just as much to the both of them as a hug would. This also does not affect his relationship with his father one bit.
ReplyDeleteIt takes Christopher a while to open up to new people. One of his least favorite things is talking to new people. His relationship with his father and with Siobhan are his best relationships because they are not strangers. I am sure that it took a while before Christopher was comfortable talking with Siobhan. It is not that he does not like people, it is just it is hard for him to understand them. “I find people confusing. This is for two main reasons. The first main reason is that people do a lot of talking without using any words”(Haddon 14). This is understandable because when we think of his favorite subjects in school, it is math and physics. These subject are unchanging while people are the exact opposite. After a little while of getting used to, he can eventually warm up to a new person. The reader can see this with Mrs. Alexander. At first it was hard for him to talk with her and harder to understand her humor and small talk. As the story continues it is easy to see that he is slowly warming up to her.
Christopher’s inability to lie makes him a reliable narrator in my opinion. He says exactly what is on his mind all of the time. He also has no bias opinions on the world around him giving the reader the full truth from his point of view.
Brendan Willadsen
Bennett Schmitz
ReplyDeleteChristopher’s personality can sometimes make it hard for him to form relationships with others. Christopher can be bluntly honest to some people, and it can rub them the wrong way. He has learned to never lie, which can help or hurt the relationships he is trying to form. Because he does not lie, he is a very reliable narrator.
Christopher likes logical things. He does not like how people use metaphors or imagine things that are not happening. He likes math because everything has an exact answer, and not open-ended. It is hard for him to imagine what other people feel, or hypothetical outcomes. “And when I try to make a picture of the phrase in my head it just confuses me” (Haddon 14). Christopher says that talking about something that is not possible is confusing, and he wishes that people would think like him, with logic. This part of his personality makes it hard to communicate with others.
Christopher has a tough time forming a relationship with others. For people he does not know, he does not trust them or want to talk to them. He is comfortable with people he has known for a while, like his father or his teacher. Those people know how he likes to communicate, and things that annoy him. “Siobhan understands. When she tells me not to do something she tells me exactly what it is that I am not allowed to do. And I like this” (Haddon 29). Christopher likes how Siobhan knows what confuses him, and communicates with him how he understands. Christopher does not lie, which is a way that he can form relationships.
Because Christopher does not lie, I believe that he is a reliable narrator. He tells the audience the full story of what has happened. In some stories, the narrator could leave out parts of the story or lie to make the character seem a different way. In this novel, Christopher tells the entire story and tells it exactly what happened. This attribute makes him a very reliable narrator.
The way Christopher is always honest can make it hard for him to form relationships. He knows that he should not tell lies, but sometimes he is too honest with people, which makes it a little hard for him to form relationships. It is also hard to form relationships because he does not like opening up to new people, or strangers. Since Christopher is honest in everything he says and does, he becomes a very reliable narrator.
Christopher is not like many other kids. In a way he is shy. He gets very nervous about little things and is very awkward with being social. Christopher does not enjoy being around people or places he does not know. He gets uncomfortable when people start talking to him. When it comes to conversations, he does not know what to say to people unless they ask him a question. Christopher loves being alone and he loves the thought of going to space. He enjoys math, science, and loves everything nice and neat. In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the NIght-Time, Christopher said, “I have decided to give my chapters prime numbers 2,3,5,7,11,13 and so on because I like prime numbers” (11). When Christopher said this, it shows how different it is. Most people like numbers that go in order, but Christopher has his own style. His love for prime numbers show that he likes math and everything very nice and neat. Christopher is a reliable narrator, because he says what he thinks. He is honest and does not like to lie.
ReplyDeleteChristopher is not a fan if being around people he does not know. In order to trust them, he has to ask them some questions. When he is with his father or someone he trusts, he is very kind and obedient. He is very curious and loves to ask questions. Christopher is very tight with his father and talks to him about many things. “I said, ‘I’m sorry,’ because Father had had to come to the police station, which was a bad thing” (20). In this quote, he is very respectful of his dad’s time and does not want his dad to not be proud of him. Christopher cares what his father thinks of him and does not want to lose his respect. In general, Christopher is very caring about other people and tries to be respectful to others.
When you think of someone who has disabilities, most people do not think much about it. They think they can not do anything, not as smart, funny, and more. Christopher on the other hand is very intelligent. He has to be honest to everyone and if he is not, he feels horrible and keep anything straight. Christopher loves everything neat and clean. In a way, telling a lie messes that up in his head, because he has to remember that lie. Christopher says what he means, even without thinking about it. Yes, Christopher is a reliable narrator, because he always tries to be the best he can be with everything he does.
Yana Williams
Christopher is a very special boy. He is different then most of his peers. One of Christopher's unique traits, is that he is very vigilant and observant. . He often notices things that other people never would. Christopher also loves prime numbers. He also likes red cars, and hates yellow cars. Christopher also likes dog, for example Christopher says, “I like dogs. You always know what a dog is thinking. It has four moods. Happy, sad, cross and concentrating. Also dogs are faithful and they do not tell lies because they cannot talk” (Haddon 3-4). Here, Christopher tells us why he likes dogs, which gives us some insight to see how Christopher is as a person. Christopher enjoys simplistic things, that have a sense as to how they operate. This is why Christopher is able to pick up on patterns so easily for example. He also hates lies, because as he says himself, he cannot lie. Christopher is a very interesting little man.
ReplyDeleteChristopher has a close relationship with only a few people. Primarily, his teacher, Siobhan, and his father. As one is able to see from Christophers interaction with the police officers after he found Mrs. Shears dog, Wellington, deceased. Christopher has a hard time processing too much information at once, and can not handle himself properly when he is asked too many questions, too often. For example, Christopher says, “I rolled back onto the lawn and pressed my forehead to the ground again and made the noise that Father calls groaning. I make this noise when there is too much information coming into my head from the outside world. It is like when you are upset and you hold the radio against your ear and you tune it halfway between two stations so that all you get is white noise and then you turn the volume right up so that this is all you can hear and then you know that you are safe because you cannot hear anything else. The policeman took a hold of my arm and lifted me onto my feet . I didn’t like him touching me like this. And this is when I hit him.” (Haddon 7-8). Here, one is able to see that Christopher does not want to hit the police officer, nor does he intend to hurt him, but it is more like a natural reaction. Christopher is almost like a scared animal that is cornered against a wall, with nowhere to go.
One is able to see throughout the story that Christopher is much different then other teenage boys. He cares greatly about some things that other people do not care about at all, and then he also shows almost no care for a lot things, which most people do care about. Christopher is also very interested in numbers throughout the story, oddly interested. Christopher really is rather eccentric.
Jack Kress
Christopher is a very adventurous, selfish, curious, young, obedient, interesting little boy. He is fifteen and has Asperger's disease. Although, he makes quite an interesting character. Everything he does is not his fault, for he has no control over it whatsoever. It seems to me that he is very innocent. For example, when he hit the policeman, “He said, ‘Did you mean to hit the policeman?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ … ‘But did you mean to hurt the policeman?’ I thought about this and said, ‘No. I didn’t mean to hurt the policeman. I just wanted him to stop touching me’” (Haddon 17). Christopher did not mean cause him harm, but he did mean to hit him because he felt so uncomfortable. He does not like people touching him in any way; even if his father wants to hug him, he cannot. Instead, they have to touch each others fingertips, and there is nothing wrong with that. He also does not like to look at people. I tend to wonder if a lot of people get him confused for a rude boy instead of a boy with special needs.
ReplyDeleteHis father seems to understand his special needs, and yet it seems he is bothered by it. It could be because of frustration and sadness. I can understand why he would be, but that still gives him no right to treat him the way he does. Although, I still feel like it is needed. I believe someone like Siobhan is best suited for a person like Christopher, “Siobhan understands. When she tells me not to do something she tells me exactly what it is that I am not allowed to do. And I like this” (Haddon 29). It seems that he has a better relationship with her than his actual father. His father almost seems to forget sometimes that he is a person who needs special needs, “Also I don’t know what Father means when he says ‘Stay out of other people’s business’ because I do not know what he means by ‘other people’s business’ …” (Haddon 29). Christopher’s father needs to be a bit more detailed in his explanations or ask if he understood in the first place. Then again, Christopher does not say anything.
He is a very unique and innocent character once again, but is he a reliable character? I believe not really. Of course he tells the truth, but it’s the truth that people have told him, “This is not because of Stranger Danger, which they tell us about at school, which is where a strange man offers you sweets or a ride in his car because he wants to do sex with you” (Haddon 34). This is a great example demonstrating that he believes anything they tell him. Of course, it not a bad idea to know “Stranger Danger”, but because the school says that, he believes it. Which means that if anyone ever told him in a convincing state anything, he would believe it. This makes him a very adventurous, selfish, curious, young, obedient, interesting, unreliable little boy named Christopher.
Monica Sosa-Hernandez
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteChristopher John Francis Boone is a very unique individual. His most defining characteristics is that he is unable to read facial expressions, moods, and sarcasm. Because of this Christopher cannot empathize others. Christopher is analytical and excels with numbers and patterns. He also has an incredible memory which he uses to his benefit throughout the novel. Christopher likes straightforward answers, and he likes the color red, space, dogs, and the subjects of math and physics. He dislikes the color yellow, and he also dislikes loud noises and being touched “I didn’t like him touching me like this. And this is when I hit him” (Haddon 8).
ReplyDeleteMost of these characteristics stem from Christopher having an autism-related disorder. Although autism is never mentioned by name (yet) in the novel, Christopher’s differences can be seen when he interacts with others. Unlike individuals around him Christopher dislikes talking with others because he finds it to be pointless. As a result, he has few friends and is considered an outsider in society. This can be seen when Christopher tries interacting with his neighbor “I tried to do chatting by saying, ‘My age is 15 years and 3 months and 3 days.’ And she said, ‘Well,almost your age.’ Then we said nothing for a little while until she said, ‘You don’t have a dog, do you?” (Haddon 40). The friends he does have come as a result of time and trust garnered from Christopher.
Christopher is a reliable narrator because his perception of his surroundings are purely observational. He tells things as they are and, as a result; he does carry around a lot of preconceived bias. This stems from him being incapable of lying and his inability to read human emotion.
James Adams
Christopher
ReplyDeleteChristopher is, like us….but….well a little different. Christopher is a person who is really smart in two subjects and likes to know things, well about people specifically since he has this weird thing about strangers. If he does not know them he likes to know about them by asking questions, that, well are normal in a sense but if you think about it, there pretty weird, last but not least he also has a problem with different foods touching each other, “The supper was baked beans and broccoli and two slices of ham….my ham jumped sideways so that it touched the broccoli, so I couldn't eat the ham or the broccoli anymore” (Haddon 49). This shows that he pays attention to detail and can catch things some people would not be able too, as in the hanm bouncing up and touching the broccoli. Not only that but it shows that he probably has some type of personal problem which you find out before you read the book, and just reading the book without knowing you know something is wrong based on the book is narrated. Lastly the way he narrates the book is as if he is a child/acts like on for he has many problems and anger issues you could say in a way. In much this way of being a child he still has the philosophy/goes by the saying stranger danger. So essentially he doesn't like strangers and so tries not to talk to people he doesn't know as well.
Christopher's relationship with others is much like of a child but more knowledgeable. He knows people and has a great memory making able to remember everyone he meets. Even though he might know the other people he just knows there name, but if he did get to know someone as in like asking a certain amount of questions and certain questions that are the same each time then he becomes more trusting of others and willing to talk to them then. He not only doesn't like strangers but he's like more protective and says what he's thinking, “Mrs.Alexander said ‘your very shy aren't you?’I said I'm not allowed to talk to you’ ‘I can't do chatting’”(Haddon 55). Chris seems to be very straightforward as I mentioned before earlier not only that but seems to be a little rude. Since he tends to say what he is thinking he doesn't seem to tend to lie. BUT, earlier in the book he said he was able remember everything, all he had to do was turn time back in his mind like a reel, movie reel being able rewind as far back as he wanted up to the age of four.
The main character in this book, Christopher has a great memory. Cause of this we don't know if he is a reliable narrator or not. Reason being is because since he has such a good memory and all he has to do is turn time back/rewind till a certain part in time in his life just to remember something; he could be leaving out details here and there and we wouldn't know because it's in first person and he could alter his memory or the story as much as he wanted and the fact that he has personal problems makes even harder to tell because if he did then we can't tell cause he has made it has seamless as possible and were just not able to spot any problems or inconsistencies. So in reality do we know if he is a reliable narrator or not. Well as far as we can tell he is but till we figure out some way he isn't he will be and have to take him at face value for now.
Ryan Reinke
~Hannah Guyette
ReplyDeleteChristopher Boone has Asperger's Syndrome, which adds to his unique point of view about life. Christopher loves numbers so much that he knows every prime number up to 7,057, he really enjoys doing his math and has every capital of every country memorized. Boone also loves animals, because they help him to feel more connected to the world and he understands himself better. Christopher does love many things in life but there are a few conditions where Christopher will be anything but comfortable. He does not like to to touched, that includes hugs and handshakes, and he hates the colors yellow and orange, so much that he will not eat or touch anything of those colors. Boone said that, “Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them”(Haddon 12). Christopher’s love for prime numbers is prevalent throughout the novel as every chapter is labeled with a prime number. Though Boone struggles with social skills because of his Asperger's Syndrome he attempts to create relationships with others around him.
Christopher does not relate to people as they relate to each other. He has different types of bonds with his friends and families, such as their handshake or the words said. Boone is the closest with his father because his mother is not a prominent figure in his life. Christopher and his teacher Siobhan have a good relationship because she treats Christopher as an adult and not a helpless child. Mrs Shears believes that Christopher killed her dog so she is no longer as close with him as they used to be. Christopher said while talking to his father, “I decided to leave him alone because when I am sad I want to be left alone”(Haddon, 21). This shows how Christopher goes off of his instincts and what he knows, when interacting with other people. Christopher tells people the truth and never goes off that track.
I think that Christopher is a reliable narrator because he tells the story exactly as it is and does not lie. His inability to lie, shows the reader how the story unfolds without sugar coating it. Yes, Christopher changes the topic frequently but it all comes back and circles around keeping the reader intrigued and confident in what Christopher says. Boone sees the world as it is, and that is exactly what he tells his audience. His ability to tell only the truth for exactly what it is leads me to believe Christopher is a reliable narrator.
Christopher has had many encounters with his father throughout the novel, some of them have certainly been better than others. The first scene that stuck out to me was in the very beginning. Christopher had just been taken to the police station after inadvertently hitting the police officer. His father showed came to the police around one in the morning, he was audibly upset with the police officer. After Christopher was finally released and was able to see his father, they spread their fingers put into a fan and they had connected them to each other. This shows that his father knows he doesn’t like hugs, so he found a different way that he can express that he loves Christopher.
ReplyDeleteAnother scene between Christopher and his father that I found important, was when his father found his book that he had been writing about his investigation. Christopher was very proud of his book and it meant a lot to him, he knew his father didn’t like that he was investigating the death of Wellington but he didn’t know why. When his father found his book he got very angry with Christopher and they fought, he ended up hitting him and taking away his book. This deeply frightened and upset Christopher. This scene is the first time that Christopher began to lose trust and the feeling of security with his father.
The final scene that I believe completely destroyed their relationship, began when Christopher found the letters from his mother and discovered that she was still alive. Christopher and his father talked and his father decided to come clean about everything. He told Christopher that he had killed Wellington. Christopher was shocked and scared. He thought that if his father was able to kill Wellington then he was able to kill him too. Christopher hid after his father had fallen asleep, and shortly later he decided he was going to leave and live with his mother. This scene destroyed all sense of trust, love and safety between Christopher and his father.
Taylor Massart
Danny Nennig- English
ReplyDeleteUnit One Blog
Christopher Boone is a very intelligent kid, but lives every day on a certain routine. Christopher is a really nice kid, until you cross his line and do something he despises. He really enjoys problem solving and math. He likes math so much because of the simple straightforward solution. Christopher cannot be touched. Throughout the book, Christopher explains his hatred for being touched. The severity of his hatred for being touched is shown when Haddon writes, “ The Policeman took hold of my arm and lifted me onto my feet. I didn’t like him touching me like this. And this is when I hit him”(8). Christopher Boone could not deal with the officer just simply touching his arm, to then hit the armed Cop. Christopher did not think twice about hitting the officer showing it does not matter who touches him, he will retaliate. No matter how close Christopher is with someone, crossing his line is not a smart idea.
Christopher is not a kid with too many friends. His mother having passed, and his father living with regret, his closest bond is with his teacher, Mrs. Siobhan. Christopher's Father loves him and is always there to help Christopher out, but doesn’t always support what he does. Christopher’s Father shuts down his investigation, which Christopher is really enjoying, by saying, “‘Promise me you will stop doing these things. Promise that you will give up this ridiculous game right now, OK?’”(Haddon 50). After being told he could not continue his mission, he had to turn over to the person who really connects with him. Christopher, after running into Mrs. alexander, went to his teacher to look over his book. His teacher told him not to tell his father about the conversation because she believed in him as a person, and as a writer. The trust built between Mrs. Siobhan and Christopher is continuing to grow, while the trust between Christopher and his dad is slowly declining.
I do not believe Christopher Boone is a reliable author. The way he bounces back and forth throughout the book could indicate loss of story over time. Christopher also broke his father's promise after stating he never breaks promises. Therefore, I find it hard to believe everything he says.
Danny Nennig- English
ReplyDeleteUnit One Blog
Christopher Boone is a very intelligent kid, but lives every day on a certain routine. Christopher is a really nice kid, until you cross his line and do something he despises. He really enjoys problem solving and math. He likes math so much because of the simple straightforward solution. Christopher cannot be touched. Throughout the book, Christopher explains his hatred for being touched. The severity of his hatred for being touched is shown when Haddon writes, “ The Policeman took hold of my arm and lifted me onto my feet. I didn’t like him touching me like this. And this is when I hit him”(8). Christopher Boone could not deal with the officer just simply touching his arm, to then hit the armed Cop. Christopher did not think twice about hitting the officer showing it does not matter who touches him, he will retaliate. No matter how close Christopher is with someone, crossing his line is not a smart idea.
Christopher is not a kid with too many friends. His mother having passed, and his father living with regret, his closest bond is with his teacher, Mrs. Siobhan. Christopher's Father loves him and is always there to help Christopher out, but doesn’t always support what he does. Christopher’s Father shuts down his investigation, which Christopher is really enjoying, by saying, “‘Promise me you will stop doing these things. Promise that you will give up this ridiculous game right now, OK?’”(Haddon 50). After being told he could not continue his mission, he had to turn over to the person who really connects with him. Christopher, after running into Mrs. alexander, went to his teacher to look over his book. His teacher told him not to tell his father about the conversation because she believed in him as a person, and as a writer. The trust built between Mrs. Siobhan and Christopher is continuing to grow, while the trust between Christopher and his dad is slowly declining.
I do not believe Christopher Boone is a reliable author. The way he bounces back and forth throughout the book could indicate loss of story over time. Christopher also broke his father's promise after stating he never breaks promises. Therefore, I find it hard to believe everything he says.