Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time

Statement: ‘Because the story is narrated from Chris’ point of view, we learn little about other characters.’ Discuss.

The reason we are left with a small understanding of the other characters is because the story is told from Chris’ perspective. Telling a story from a first person perspective encourages us, the readers, to listen and relate to Chris, the speaker. Using a first person perspective allows the reader to see exactly what Chris is thinking, it also allows Chris to be further developed through his own style in telling the story. Chris neglects to tell us much about the other characters in the book because he is alleged to have Aspergers Syndrome, he sees himself as a dog rather than a human, he only writes what interests him and he is told specific instructions by his teacher, Siobhan.

Chris shows many of the symptoms of Aspergers Syndrome, a psychiatric disorder, characterised by impairments in social interaction and repetitive behaviour patterns. We are told of this when Chris lists some of his behavioural problems, “Not talking to people for a long time”, “Not noticing that people are angry with me” and “Doing stupid things”. Being a sufferer of the syndrome also involves the incomprehension of metaphors and descriptive words. These language techniques provide an image in the readers mind and give us a better understanding of the world, including people. So without them we are left without any images of our own and a lesser understanding of the other characters and situations. The above symptoms weaken Chris’ ability to get to know and therefore describe the other characters in the book.

Early in the novel, Christopher gives his opinion on dogs, “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”. Christopher appears to be describing how he sees himself; someone who is transparent in his moods and who does not lie. Likening himself to a dog in this way further limits Chris’ ability to learn about and understand the other characters because dogs do not have personalities and therefore cannot understand human personalities.

Being told in the first-person