By: Samir Amin
Andrea Douglas
Andrea Douglas
(A young man’s analysis of life and literature)
Within society, those who have attained more experience in their lives are typically expected to guide the more inexperienced into making decisions that will ultimately benefit them. However, though that may be the expectation, the execution of this guidance often consists of many faults that are constantly unacknowledged. Within the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon, through recounting the struggles that protagonist Christopher Boone faces, is able to explore these adult figures and reveal these faults, or better stated, these elements of human nature. Specifically, Christopher’s struggle to grasp mature concepts due to his disability reveals the unempathetic nature of adults when attempting to protect the youth. Haddon conveys this message through the deceptive and aggressive behaviours of Christopher’s father, the poorly made decisions of Christopher’s mother, and the carelessness of the novel’s secondary characters, Mrs. Alexander and the officer.
In trying to shield Christopher away from harm, Christopher’s father reveals his lack of empathy through various ineffective tactics. To illustrate, he deceives Christopher by falsely telling him that “[his] mother had to go into the hospital… she needs to rest… she has a problem with her heart” (Haddon 23) when in reality, she had abandoned him. As he knows that Christopher views the world solely through logic and reason, he attempts to conceal the truth by creating a less impactful situation that corresponds with Christopher’s world view. However, regardless of his intention to protect Christopher’s mental state, his actions lack empathy, as he does not consider Christopher’s perspective. When Christopher discovers that his mother is still alive, he states that, “Mother had not died. Mother had been alive all this time. And father had lied about this” (112), which demonstrates feelings of betrayal and disbelief developing within him. This displays an absence of empathy from Christopher’s father, as he fails to account for the difficulty Christopher faces in regards to building relationships with others, thus completely altering Christopher’s mindset, causing him to believe he cannot trust anyone. Further into the novel, Christopher’s father also makes use of aggressive behaviour in an attempt to protect Christopher. This is explicitly seen when he advises Christopher to put an end to his Wellington investigation, “[banging] the table with his fist really hard” (49) when Christopher attempts to speak. Although his use of aggression is to protect Christopher from physical and emotional harm, his actions lack empathy because he does not consider the effectiveness of his aggression. As Christopher has difficulty processing emotions, his father’s aggression ultimately has no effect on him. This shows his father’s lack of foresight for the harmful consequences that his decision may incite, thus revealing the imprudent nature of his actions. Through Christopher’s father’s use of deception and aggression, Haddon develops the idea that the adult figures who need to protect the young lack empathy.
Like Christopher’s father, Christopher’s mother also demonstrates the unempathetic nature that adults possess when protecting the youth through her poorly made decisions. Christopher’s mother wants the best for her child, and she aims to take his interests into consideration. Despite this, her actions do not cater specifically to Christopher’s needs, emphasising a lack of empathy on her behalf. Within the novel, Haddon eventually reveals that Christopher’s mother abandons him due to her inability to handle the situations that come with Christopher’s disabilities. Although this may seem selfish to the reader, her benevolence is exemplified when she states that Christopher and his father would “probably [be] better off if [she] wasn’t living in [Christopher’s] house” (109), as it shows her consideration for Christopher’s mental health. However, while her intentions are genuine, this decision clearly lacks empathy. Due to his mental disability, Christopher often reacts volatilely to unexpected situations and needs supplementary guidance to support his needs. Therefore, while his mother’s intent is to protect Christopher mentally, she fails to fully consider this factor ultimately harming his mental state more than protecting it, as is emphasised through his reaction following the discovery of her abandonment. Further into the novel, Christopher’s mother makes the decision to steal Mr. Shears’ car but fails to acknowledge the impact this decision may have. As Christopher has trouble recognising emotions, she makes this decision to prevent the tension between him and Mr. Shears from escalating to a physically abusive point. Nonetheless, her decision to steal Mr. Shears’ car fails to consider the perspective of Mr. Shears. When Christopher arrives at his mother’s home, it is clear that Mr. Shears is upset, demonstrated when he states to Christopher, “You think you’re so fucking clever, don’t you?… Well I bet you’re really pleased with yourself now, aren’t you?” (207) while Christopher’s mother bears witness. Hence, her decision to steal Mr. Shears’ car following this conversation demonstrates her unempathetic nature, as she does not consider how Mr. Shears would react to this decision when already aggravated. Altogether, the decisions made by Christopher’s mother reinforce the idea that adults should be more considerate when attempting to protect their children.
Aside from his parental figures, other adults in the novel fail to demonstrate empathy when trying to protect Christopher, including Mrs. Alexander and the officer who Christopher meets on the train. While both attempt to protect Christopher, the decisions they make in order to do so are careless and unintentionally harmful. When Christopher encounters Mrs. Alexander for the second time, they have a discussion regarding Mr. Shears and Christopher’s mother, where Mrs. Alexander eventually reveals that she has a secret regarding his family that Christopher is unaware of. Though she is hesitant to tell Christopher this secret at first, Mrs. Alexander eventually states that “[she will] say something to [Christopher]” (59) because if she does not, then “[Christopher would] carry on wondering what [she] meant” (59). By saying this, it shows that she has Christopher’s wellbeing in mind, as she is telling him this information to relieve this mental burden that would otherwise bother him in the coming days. However, regardless of her good intentions, her decision lacks foresight and ultimately causes damage. The fact that Christopher was originally unaware of this implies that this information is sensitive enough to be intentionally hidden from him, and would elicit a strong reaction from him if revealed. Mrs. Alexander’s lack of prudence towards this implication incites negative repercussions for Christopher, demonstrating the lack of empathy in her decision. Similar to the actions of Mrs. Alexander, the officer who Christopher meets on the train attempts to act as a guardian for Christopher. This is demonstrated when he expresses his concern for Christopher’s safety, stating that he will take Christopher back to the police station so he, Christopher, and his father “can sit down and have a little chat about who’s going where” (159). He does this to ensure that Christopher is headed to the right place and not somewhere where he could endanger himself. Nevertheless, during this process, the officer permits Christopher to go to the washroom alone, forgetting about Christopher’s unstable mental state. Knowing that Christopher’s sole priority at this point is to run away from his father and that he would take any opportunity to escape, the officer should have been extremely vigilant in his supervision. However, because the officer did not feel compelled to take on the responsibility associated with Christopher’s disability, he ultimately overlooks Christopher’s mindset, allowing him to go to the washroom alone and providing an opportunity for him to escape. To summarize, the two secondary characters discussed from the novel both fail in their attempts to protect Christopher through their inability to empathise with him.
By exploring the decisions made by the adults in Christopher’s life and the harmful repercussions that stem from them, Haddon conveys the idea that adults should be more empathetic in their attempts to protect the youth. Ultimately, Christopher’s father’s use of aggressive and deceptive tactics, the poorly thought out decisions of Christopher’s mother, and the carelessness of both Mrs. Alexander and the officer all serve to illustrate the lack of awareness and understanding of Christopher’s state of mind. Extending beyond the scope of the novel, this problem of lacking empathy manifests in many real-world situations today, such as climate change and poverty. Since this societal shortcoming is a contributing factor towards the issues stated and many more, the importance of having empathy in today’s world cannot be understated.
