Coming of Age in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Anonymous 12th Grade

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon is the story of Christopher John Francis Boone’s adventures as told by him. The protagonist, Christopher, wrote the book as a murder mystery, describing his investigation of the killing of Mrs. Shears’ dog, Wellington. However, as he tells his story, the reader gets a clearer picture of Christopher’s life, learning about his mother and all of the secrets present within his family. Boone has some mental and behavior problems. Throughout the text, he has to struggle with his own issues as he investigates the murder of the poodle and searches for his mother. Through The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon presents the themes of coming of age and bravery.

Christopher John Francis Boone from Swindon is a unique, yet genuine, honest, and innocent individual. The protagonist clearly has a mental and behavioral disorder, which cause him to have many eccentricities. Some of his behavioral problems include “not talking to people for a long time, not eating or drinking anything for a long time, not liking being touched, screaming when [he is] angry or confused, and not liking yellow things or brown things” (46). When the police officer tried to remove...