The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

by

Mark Haddon

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: Style 1 key example

Chapter 149
Explanation and Analysis:

Style in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time reflects not only Haddon's writing choices, but also Christopher's. In the universe of the novel, Christopher is both narrator and author, each chapter an excerpt from his personal, pseudo-true crime narrative. Haddon thus formulates his own writing style with Christopher's character in mind, choosing phrases and patterns of speech that a neurodivergent teenager might use.

Writing choices throughout the novel reflect Haddon's character-driven style, including the large number of run-on sentences. Note the following passage from Chapter 149, in which Christopher rationalizes leaving his book behind in his father's closet:

So I decided that I would leave the book where it was because I reasoned that Father wasn't going to throw it away if he had put it into the shirt box and I could carry on writing in another book that I would really keep secret and then, maybe later, he might change his mind and let me have the first book back again and I could copy the new book into it.

Haddon uses this run-on sentence and others like it to characterize Christopher. The young boy's mind works faster than his pen, particularly when recounting moments of high emotion or tension. The run-on sentences that result are a rapid-fire unloading of information on the reader. One gets the sense that talking to Christopher might produce a similar experience: clearly, he is a boy with many thoughts, emotions, and stimuli in his brain.