Reading Response #2

1. The first resource I have chosen is http://www.aspergers.ca/. This site is about how to live your life with Asperger's Syndrome. Asperger's is a form of Autism that 1 out of 167 people may have. Which means as many as 74, 356 people in Ontario are living with Asperger's. This resource relates to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time in many ways. The main Character, Christopher Boone has a mild case of Asperger's Syndrome. This resource is helpful because it gives people who are living with Asperger's or someone they know has Asperger's a glimpse of what they are in for. This website also gives many useful resources that can help and it is raising money for the Asperger’s Society of Ontario. This website has really opened my eyes. While I was reading this book I couldn't understand why Christopher did what he did. But, now I learned that he cannot help himself. It turns out that Christopher was dealing quite well with Asperger's. The people around Christopher was truly the problem. Maybe if the characters in the novel read this resource, they would make Christopher’s life easier.

2. The second resource I have chosen is: http://elibrary.bigchalk.com/elibweb/curriculumca/do/frame?fileid=359044&filter=cab. This resource is about how Autism is on the rise. Many believe that it is from the vaccines the mother took while pregnant, but studies show that is not the case. It is about the genes. This resource relates to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time because of Christopher Boone's Autism. This resource states that a person with Asperger's Syndrome “language develops normally. IQ is generally average or above, typically with uneven abilities.” When it comes down to Christopher that quote is 100% true. He is good at mathematics but not so well at other things. This resource is helpful because it gives parents a better idea why their child has a form of Autism. It may not have to do with something they did; it was caused by the genes of the baby. This resource showed me that Christopher’s parents were not the ones to blame for Christopher’s disability. They just need some reassurance that they are doing the best they can.

3. The third resource I have chosen is http://www.ncpamd.com/bereavement.htm. This is a website about Grief, Loss and Bereavement. One (actually two) occasions of Death has occurred in this novel. The first time death occured was with the neighbour's dog Wellington. This death really affects Christopher. He cannot move on from this loss until he figures out who murdered Wellington. The “second” death was Christopher’s mother. Christopher was told she died when actually she divorced and moved away from Christopher’s father. Christopher believed his father that his mother died and was very upset that she was gone. This website is related to this novel because the death of Wellington is the whole reason for this novel. This resource is helpful because if Christopher saw this, the grieving process on both occasions could have been a lot easier and faster. The insight that this resource gives me is that losing someone is never easy, but learning about healing yourself is the best thing to do. Besides, whoever has passed on would not want you to be upset.

4. The last resource I have chosen is http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/families/divorce.html. About 50% of marriages end in divorce. This is an alarming rate, but it goes to show you that you are not alone. Christopher did not learn his parents were divorced until four years after his mother left. Christopher was lead to believe that his mother had died. I would recommend this site to Christopher to help him deal with the divorce. He might not understand why, but it would make it clearer to him. I believe that this resource is of valuable use to anyone who is going through a divorce. My parents are not divorced so, this website gave me an idea on what children including Christopher will go through. My heart goes out to anyone who has to watch his or her parents get a divorce.

Before I thought Christopher was a lovable character. Now I feel a lot more sympathy after realizing what he had to go through on a daily basis.

Reading Response #1

Theme:
1. One theme in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is 'life with autism.' This is developed through out the novel in many ways. Christopher(main character with autism) becomes more comfortable with himself. Then his father Ed, has different feelings of security with his son. (Example, when Christopher is angry he would feel scared for both their safety. But, if Christopher was happy then Ed would feel safe.) Lastly, the society becomes more aware of Christopher and develops and understand of why he does what he does.

Character:
Christopher John Francis Boone.
Christopher is a 15 year old boy with Autisum (Asperger's Syndrome to be exact). Throughout the book he develops into a young man. He builds up the courage to go outside and take the train by himself. Before he was not able to do that himself. He also can have a conversation with people without being "out of it" or violent. Before, his mind would race and not be able to focus then loose control of himself (because of his autism). In the end of the book he now can blend in more with the society.

Mood/Atmosphere:
This book is different then all of the others. It is through the eyes of Christopher (austic person). With that, the atmosphere of this book is very confusing and fuzzy. It is done like this to help the reader understand what Christopher is going through and how his day to day life is. Also, the mood would be somewhat depressing. I think this because right at the begining there is gore/death. All of the lies that we're told to Christopher made the book all the more upsetting.

Conflict:
The conflict of this book is Christopher trying to solve the murder of the neighbour's dog named Wellington. This conflict is developed to something more serious because Christopher found out his own father did it and also discovers that his mother is alive. (For many years his father lead Christopher to believe she was dead.)

Settings:
Swidon England: Christopher lives on Randolph St. This is where Wellington was killed. Also, where Christopher's Mother found her new lover and ran off with each other.
London England: This is where Christopher's Mother's new house is. Christopher takes the train down here all by himself without permission to get away from his Dad.

Works Cited

I would like to thank the following sites:

1. The Photo of the cover of the novel.
http://www.illiterarty.com/files/www.illiterarty.com/img/262/the_curious_incident.jpg
- By Bridget

2. For the First Novel Response.
Mescallado, Ray. Pinkmonkey.com. TheBestNotes.com, 2006. Web. 05 Nov. 2009. http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/monkeynote/pmCuriousIncidentDogNightTimeSample.pdf

Overview of "The Curious Incident of the dog in the Night-time"

Book: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Author: Mark Haddon

I chose to read this book for my ISU for three reasons.
1. The cover looked interesting. (Yes, I know i judged a book by its cover... how awful!)
2. I wanted to read a book that had a different perspective. (This book was from the view of a teenager with autism.)
3. Lastly, When I was quickly browsing through the pages, I immediately felt a connection with Christopher. (The main character who has autism.)

What interested me in this book?
For me, I could not put the book down. It was like I was inside the book and watching the characters live their lives. I really liked how Mark Haddon wrote the book just like a person with autism feels and lives their lives. After reading this book, I believe whoever reads this book will develop more of a "soft spot" for people with disabilities just like I did. I strongly believe that they are just like everyone else but just have a different way of thinking and communicating.