CHARACTERS of The Curious Incident of the Dog at Midnight

The characters of The curious incident of the dog at midnight protagonists are Christopher and his family.

Christopher John Francis Boone

Christopher is a fifteen-year-old boy who lives in the village of Swindon, England, and is also the narrator and protagonist from The curious incident of the dog at midnight. The story we read is, in fact, the book that he writes recounting the murder mystery Wellington's dog, his neighbor's dog, so the novel is written in the first person, and from the unique, subjective, and unconventional perspective (ie unusual) from Christopher.

Why is Christopher's way of telling us his story "unusual"? As we read the novel, we realize that there are many events related by our protagonist that he himself interprets in a wrong way or different from ours. Although the book never explicitly states it, Christopher has a autism spectrum disorder, such as Asperger's syndrome, among others, and that is why her vision of the world is different.

This is recognizable in the way Christopher experiences what is happening around him, in his way of acting, the relationships he has with the other characters, and even in a certain way in his her hobbies.

Already in the second chapter, Christopher tells us that he does not know how to distinguish and interpret a large part of the facial expressions of others. Christopher has a hard time reading people's non-verbal language, recognizing the emotions and mood of others. This makes it is hard for you to feel empathy, and this is why Christopher can sometimes seem to us insensitive towards the people around him. Although his parents sacrifice many things to take care of him, and suffer the consequences of his behavior, Christopher does not He seems to care a lot about his feelings or his situation, and he may behave in ways that the reader would describe as selfish. An example of this is found in the way in which Christopher acts before the sacrifices that his mother makes once Christopher goes to live with her: instead of trying to ease the situation, Christopher cares only about her exam.

Even so, these behaviors are a consequence of his autistic disorder, and we have to remember that many times Christopher cannot avoid them. Although he often behaves insensitively, our protagonist also demonstrates several times that he has a good heart, as in his affection for animals like Wellington or his house rat, Toby.

The outside world is not easy for Christopher to deal with. The boy is very sensitive to sensations such as touch (he does not like to be touched), or sounds (such as the fearful sound of the train at the station), and he lives it all with great intensity. This is why he does not like crowds, and that avoid interaction with others: the world and the people in it confuse you, overwhelm you, or scare you.

Even so, Christopher is nothing stupid. Not only is he a math and science genius, with a wide awake and logical mind, but he is also fully aware of his differences with others, and he is able to understand that his way of experiencing the world is not the same as that of the people he meets. This often alienates him from the rest, but it is also something that he is proud of, and that will help him overcome the obstacles he encounters along the way.

And it is that the novel is not only a mystery story, but also one of self-improvement and transformation. Christopher's situation may not be the easiest, but his character resolute and decided He makes her able to always move on, strengthen her self-confidence, and overcome her fears. The trip to London is the highest representation of this great triumph of self-improvement and independence.

Although Christopher begins the novel assuming that his father will move in with him for college, and that he will always have someone to take care of him, at the end of the novel, his plans they are still very similar (going to university and being able to work what he likes and earn money), but with the key difference that now he is able to achieve everything for him same. The world no longer has to adapt to him, but now he sees himself capable of facing the world.

Christopher's Father (Father / Ed Boone)

Christopher's father is another of the characters in The curious incident of the dog at midnight. A bit like Christopher, his father Ed Boone is a hard man to judge. He at the same time makes decisions that demonstrate his ability to be a very good father, as well as decisions that make us question him.

Christopher's father can be very sweet, patient and considerate with his son, whom it is evident that he loves very much and for whom he cares. Even Christopher's mother praises her patience and her relationship with Christopher in her letters, saying that she is not capable of doing so well.

Although his intentions are good most of the time, the execution of him is not so much. Christopher's father proves to have a quite volatile temperament and even violent, as we see it when he gets angry because Christopher is not able to understand it completely, or very obviously when he kills Wellington in a fit of rage. Although his efforts to take care of Christopher involve personal sacrifices to make, Ed sometimes also shows a somewhat selfish or overprotective behavior in his relationship with his son, such as when he hides letters from Christopher's mother and lies to her, or when he insists that Mrs. Shears doesn't care enough about them.

Christopher's father turns out like this a character of extremes, who becomes the "villain" of the story for Christopher by discovering his lies. However, the reader - perhaps more than Christopher himself - is able to read in his intentions a love and concern that make him more human.

Christopher's mother (Mother / Judy Boone)

Christopher's mother is, like everyone else, a imperfect character and full of flaws and bad decisions. The fact that he left her family to elope with her neighbor (who was also married) does not give us much sympathy for her in the first part of the story. And it is that Christopher's mother loves him, but she is also presented as she is unable to bear the difficulties that her son's disorder entails, and she is carried away by her dreams and fantasies of an easier life.

Nevertheless, our perception of Christopher's mother certainly changes once we meet her, both through letters, and later in real life. As can be seen in the last chapter, her difficulties with Christopher's behavioral behaviors, the insecurities and the stress they cause her can be consequence of his depression, and not a sign that she doesn't love her child enough. The most obvious proof of this is the sacrifices she makes immediately once Christopher shows up at her doorstep. Although she loses her job, home, and partner, Judy is determined to do things right, no matter how difficult they are.

So how do we judge it? Abandoning her child is not the decision of the mother of the year, but her doubts, insecurities, and her eagerness to remedy their her mistakes give us a new perspective with which to consider the difficulties that have led her to act in this shape.

Neighbors, teachers, animals and others, these are the other characters of The curious incident of the dog at midnight:

Siobhan

Siobhan she is Christopher's teacher. Of all the adults in history, Siobhan is the person who best understands Christopher's behavior and thoughts. Siobhan knows how to communicate with Christopher in a way that is understanding and not confusing for the boy, and tries to understand his feelings through questions and analysis of what she writes in her book.

Christopher often mentions Siobhan's advice throughout history, and his relationship with the boy contrasts many times with the misunderstandings and conflicts between Christopher and his parents, who do not possess Siobhan's training or understanding of the boy's needs.

Siobhan's character demonstrates how important it is for people like Christopher to have people who understand her way of life. think and act, and help them navigate the world with all its complexities, and understand themselves and their differences.

Mrs. Shears (Eileen)

Neighbor of Christopher and his family, and owner of Wellington, the murdered dog. Although Christopher is not able to find out for himself, Mrs. Shears and her father develop a relationship - very probably - romantic once Mr. Shears and Christopher's mother run away together and the two are left alone and in a similar situation.

Although Christopher remembers that she was kind to him after the disappearance of his mother, it is likely that the difficulties that come with caring for a boy like Christopher were one of the reasons why the relationship between her father and Mrs. Shears does not end up working, and her father accuses her of caring more for her dog than for both of them. And it is that his kindness towards the boy ends dry after the break with her father.

Mrs. Alexander

The Mrs. Alexander it is another of Christopher's neighbors. This is a kind old woman who often strikes up conversations with the boy and invites him to cookies and cake, although Christopher is not very warm towards her. It is through a conversation with Mrs. Alexander that she feels sorry for the boy and tells him the truth about her mother.

Mr. Shears (Roger)

Roger is the Mrs. Shears' ex-husband with whom Christopher's mother leaves her family for London. Although we don't see much of him in the story, Roger is very rude and hostile towards Christopher, causing his mother to leave him to focus on his son.

Wellington

Mrs. Shears's dog. Christopher finds him dead at the beginning of the story, impaled by a pitchfork (gardening tool). It is later revealed that he is Christopher's father who has killed him.

Toby

Christopher's domestic rat. He is like a family member to the boy, who worries what he is going to do with her when he prepares her trip to London. Christopher also risks (very recklessly) his life to pick up Toby from the train tracks.

Mr jeavons

Psychologist at Christopher's school.

Reverend Peters

We finish this review of the characters of The curious incident of the dog at midnight with this pastor (religious man) who has a conversation with Christopher about the afterlife. He also plays the watchdog on Christopher's math test.