The Effect Of Control For Christopher Boone In The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time 

For every single individual, there is a need and desire for a controlled life. For these individuals, it satisfies them at the thought of their power and authority over themselves or others. The concept of control over ourselves or others is so difficult to wrap our heads around that most of us fail miserably in attaining it. In the novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, the character Christopher Francis Boone attempts to gain control over his life. Christopher is exposed to the reality of life and society’s confusion when he is forced to leave what he considered an orderly lifestyle. He is left with the harsh truth that in the attempt to gain control he is sacrificing more of it. In the novel, Mark Haddon explores the idea that control over oneself is hard to maintain, and by taking charge in an attempt to do so; it may impact one’s control may change in the future.

Initially, Christopher’s disability is proven to affect his process of emotion and language mainly because these are things that are out of his control. Which as a result, causes Christopher to use logic and order as a routine in his life and prioritizes it. Christopher’s control over his rejection of social interaction and complexity varies as he is faced with Wellington’s death. When Christopher begins this investigation, he gradually defies the rules he had once placed for himself. The number of yellow or red cars in a row had a toll on how his day would turn out. He had created this system because it “made [him] feel safe, having things in a nice order” even though it is not logical. He finds it necessary to use this process as his way of representing stability and structure. But when this system fails he comes to realize that the rules of society are no longer under his control. This disorder symbolizes the chaotic scene that has taken over his once orderly life. Christopher’s order is used in prime numbers as well, even using them to number the chapters in his book. “What is left when you take the patterns away” was Christopher’s own way of describing prime numbers. His love for them is rooted in the simplicity behind them, much like life. When the “patterns” of emotion, confusion, and interaction are stripped away you are left with the raw meaning and true intent of an individual’s actions or words. When an individual is not clear or honest with Christopher it causes him to break down. This is because he builds every single relationship based on honesty. Christopher does not use metaphors in the book because “It should be called a lie” they are not a direct display of what you mean. Another reason as to why he does not enjoy social interaction. Therefore, when a person is dishonest and lies to Christopher he finds it very difficult to find forgiveness. Christopher’s structured world becomes tougher to continue with and as time passes the stability he had once relied on soon fades away and results in a lack of control.

However, when Christopher is faced with the reality of his mother’s and Wellington’s death he believes he should gain control over his life which results in losing all control and structure. He sets aside all forms of logic and order he once knew and hastily makes the decision to leave. The fear that is created within himself overcomes the clarity of his ability to make decisions. Christopher takes control over his life by moving to London and moving far away from his father which creates more of a lack of order than before. “Fear remained a constant” portraying that he will always be dreading regardless of what choice he made. Christopher is affected in such a way that the fear of being close to his father is also balanced with the fear of social interaction and the outside world. This first raw emotion is painful for Christopher mainly because he has never faced anything like it before. Because Christopher is unable to sympathize, he finds his father’s actions unacceptable because they were motivated by emotions, and he can not trust emotions because he has no control over them. When Christopher is found overwhelmed with emotion or confusion, his sentences are long and extensive running off on tangents. This is why Christopher confides in simplicity and order because of the overwhelming idea without it. Yet, by leaving his father he puts himself in a position where he is prone to social interaction. Christopher uses a comparison with the mannerisms/metaphors of how people talk compared to French-speaking people. “It is like being in France”, Christopher gives insight into how confusing he finds it when people communicate with him. Christopher finds it difficult to understand what a person is saying, it is as if they are speaking in another language mainly because he can’t control how they talk or communicate with him. Christopher has brought more chaos in his life when he had pursued control of it.

Consequently, Christopher’s pursuit of control is nearly accomplished with his new understanding of the world around him. Though it may have affected him negatively he is viewed to have a new confidence and assurance in his future because of his bravery. Christopher always imagined that his seclusion would be better than any social interaction. It was mentioned repeatedly. As a matter of fact, Christopher realizes that his system was close to perfection until he discovered his mother’s death. This had tied into what he wanted to become in the future, Christopher had longed to be an astronaut. Christopher seemed adamant at the time and by the end of the novel, we notice that he changes his idea of an astronaut to a scientist. Christopher’s change, although minimal, signifies that his interaction and exposure to the lack of control has caused him to reconsider his choice. “I will become a scientist” this sentence shows much change in Christopher though he may have been confident before he has gained an understanding and a new braver aspect of himself that he didn’t know he needed. Without math, he would’ve never had the motivation to come back to Swindon. The A-levels Exam, for Christopher, was what brought him back, he came to realize that he needed to take further studies to move forward in life. Math symbolized order and logic, something he found necessary in a disorderly world. When Christopher finds out that he has passed it gives him the reassurance that order is necessary and brings new confidence. “I can do anything.” was his ending statement. Christopher feels that he has gained control over himself and believes that now that he has faced such difficulty he can manage to face any new challenge.

In the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, the curious Christopher Boone attempts to gain control of his life when his structured life becomes challenging to organize, this leads to Christopher losing more control than he had initially and causes his exposure to change how views/controls his future. Christopher believed that order and logic were a necessity mainly because without them you would be left with chaos. Christopher aims for the perfect balance of order and logic and his attempt turns out unsuccessful making him realize that not all things have the same order as he attempts at. Through Christopher, we come to terms with how our longing for perfection and balance is out of our control and causes us to run after something we may not get.