Analysis of Romeo: Christopher Boone Essay

In the book ‘the curious incident of the dog in the night time’ the author had created a very unusual teenager called Christopher Boone. The author used strange and unique techniques to create the effect Christopher brings to the readers. These techniques are; the way in which Christopher communicates, how Christopher describes himself, the way Christopher interacts with other characters and the comments of the other characters. Dialogue Christopher is the type of person who doesn’t know how to tell lies. It is not because he is a good person but because he can’t simply tell lies. â€Å"I do not tell lies. Mother used to say it is because I am a good person but it’s not because I am a good person. It is because I can’t tell lies† most people think that telling the truth is the quality of a good person. But to Christopher it is a way of life â€Å"He said, â€Å"Did you mean to hit the policeman?† â€Å"I said, yes†. This quote tells us that Christopher can’t lie even to get him out of trouble The author also teaches us that Christopher is a very precise and logical person. This is shown by the way Christopher answers to others. He can’t understand sarcasm or jokes for this same reason. Christopher likes to know every single detail, so when you tell him a joke, he would want to break it down to every possible meaning it could have. Christopher loves to give as much detail as possible. â€Å"She was wearing boots which looked like army boots and there were 5 bracelets made out of a silver-coloured metal on her wrist and they made a jingling noise.† Christopher does not shy away from detail. He notices what other people do not notice. The author may have made him act like this to give a hint that he is not a normal 15 year old teenager. Narrative The author has written the book in the 1st point of view, so every event that goes on in the book is exactly what Christopher has experienced. The author has given us information about Christopher from Christopher. He tells us exactly what he likes and what he doesn’t. We see the world from his eyes, so we get a good overview of Christopher. â€Å"My name is Christopher John Francis Boone. I know all the countries of the world and every prime number up to 7,507† he is telling us facts about himself and we are given facts directly not indirectly. The author must have chosen to write this way so that the reader can really engage with Christopher’s character and see how life is for him and maybe then try to compare it with their own life. If it was written in 3rd person, we would only get like a sneak peak of how Christopher is and the book wouldn’t give so much of an effect to reader. Language choice Christopher speaks in a very simple manner. The author has made Christopher speak in a very mathematical and scientific way. â€Å"Is it a long cake with a square cross-section which is divided into equally sized, alternately coloured squares?† when someone is trying to have a normal conversation with him, he would always link it to either maths or science. When recounting, Christopher says exactly what happed. He doesn’t forget any piece of detail when recounting. â€Å"let go of the f*****g dog for Christ’s sake† this quote shows that Christopher doesn’t care if a word is inappropriate, he would just write what he heard. I think the author has linked this to the way Christopher speaks because Christopher only knows things which have actual meaning. These words are not in the dictionary so if someone told Christopher this word, he wouldn’t understand because it doesn’t have a logical meaning. Interaction with others One way the author has given us the hint that Christopher is not a normal teenager is that Christopher says that he doesn’t like to be touched. He can’t even hug his own father. â€Å"sometimes father wants to give me a hug, but I do not like hugging people† this quotes points out that no matter how much his father wants a hug or how much Christopher wants to hug his father, he just can’t do it. Christopher’s strange ways led him to a life scared of things such as strangers and being touched. Sometimes Christopher goes through some emotions which he can’t handle causing him to act in an unmannered way. The author has taken his time to work out Christopher’s character which involves Christopher’s worst habit. In this case it is hitting a person who is either a stranger or someone who touches him â€Å"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† Christopher likes policemen, but he hits him because he hates being touched, especially in a forceful manner. Other characters comments In the book Mrs Shears is Christopher’s neighbour whose husband left her. She doesn’t seem to take any interest in Christopher whatsoever. She is more interested in his father. Christopher’s dad sometimes feels frustrated with the way Christopher behaves. â€Å"Then father banged the steering wheel with his fist and the car weaved a little bit across the dotted line in the middle of the road† Christopher’s dad is furious with Christopher. Even though the author doesn’t state it directly we can tell by his body language and by hitting the steering wheel, he is frustrated with Christopher. Siobhan is Christopher’s teacher in his special school. Christopher is very comfortable around her because she knows exactly how to deal with him and his problem. Siobhan gives him exact instruction about what he can and can’t do, she keeps Christopher balanced. In conclusion as the readers of the curious incident of the dog in the night time† we assume that Christopher is autistic because of the way he behaves. He does not behave like any normal teenager.