The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time: Themes (Edexcel IGCSE English Literature)

Themes

Examiners are looking for responses that thoroughly examine the way the writer presents a theme. This means that your answer should explore the way themes have been introduced and developed in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time using references from the play to support your ideas. It is important that your answer focuses on themes, even (or, perhaps, especially) in a question that asks you to explore a character. 

Below you will find sections on:

• Family 

• Independence

• Communication

• Order and disorder

Family

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time examines the disruption caused in a family as a result of confusing emotions and misunderstandings. The play’s hopeful ending suggests that communication and humility can reconcile turbulent relationships. 

Knowledge and evidence:

• The protagonist, Christopher, a fifteen-year-old boy, presents his perspective on family life through narration, read by Siobhan, Christopher’s teacher and mentor

• The play explores the emotional challenges facing both children and parents:

  • Christopher’s family has been separated and for the duration of the play he lives with his father, then his mother and Mr Shears, and then again with his mother

  • The parents’ arguments, and conflict between Ed and Christopher, causes much suffering

  • Judy leaves the home, believing she is a bad mother

  • Ed kills Mrs Shears’s dog because he is heartbroken and feels disappointed

  • During this chaotic time, Christopher seeks support from outside of the family, and even asks to live with Siobhan 

• Through Christopher’s parents, Stephens illustrates the dichotomies of parenthood:

  • Judy’s letters and her reaction to Christopher’s arrival in London show how much she loves her son despite her decision to leave

  • Ed is an understanding and supportive father, but lies to his son

  • Audiences are shown the toll his single parenthood takes on him when he asks Christopher, "Could you please, just, give it a bit of a break, mate. Please."

• Through the protagonist’s perspective, audiences see a child’s struggles with his father:

  • Ed could be considered the antagonist of the play because his lies and violence send Christopher, alone and vulnerable, on a train journey to London

• However, the parents are presented sympathetically:

  • They are humble and admit their mistakes

  • Christopher's mother hopes Christopher does not "stay angry” with her “forever”

  • Ed tells Christopher, “I know I lose my rag occasionally. And I know I shouldn’t. But I only do it because I worry about you"

• Stephens illustrates the importance of family support:

  • Ed arrives when his son is in trouble, despite Christopher’s distrust of him

  • He pays Christopher close attention and makes many attempts to engage 

  • Ed and Judy ensure Christopher is able to take his mathematics exam

  • This helps to build his confidence and encourages his natural talent

What is Stephens’s intention?

• Stephens presents the importance of tolerance and forgiveness in families 

• Stephens emphasises the significance of family support and understanding, particularly regarding autism spectrum disorder or Asperger's syndrome

• The play examines family pressures that lead to estrangement and suffering

Independence

As a coming of age play, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time can be seen as a bildungsroman. Stephens illustrates the significance of bravery, resilience and support in the teenage protagonist’s development towards self-awareness and confidence.

Knowledge and evidence: 

• Wellington’s death is the inciting incident that leads Christopher on a lone investigation

• In this way, Stephens presents Christopher’s condition positively: 

  • Christopher’s strong values and the courage of his convictions show his maturity

  • When he disobeys his father’s instructions he challenges his boundaries 

  • He defies advice from Siobhan, his teacher and mentor, and this helps him grow

• Christopher bravely takes on uncomfortable situations, and this gives him confidence:

  • His courage may be highlighted by the dark street setting when he faces adult neighbours and questions them at their door

  • Here, he rejects Mrs Alexander’s offer to stay and goes to find his mother instead 

• Stephens illustrates the challenges of a teenager with an autism spectrum disorder:

  • Christopher negotiates the London Underground and interacts with people who do not understand his condition

  • He highlights how challenging this is, telling Siobhan, “I find people confusing”

  • The dramatic depiction of the journey emphasises differences between Christopher and other teenagers who easily navigate similar daily challenges 

• Notably, Stephens shows Christopher’s determination and ability regarding his mathematics A Level exam, which he is taking ahead of time:

  • This contradicts other characters’ perceptions, for example, on the train the police officer and the “punk girl” are shocked at his unstable behaviour

• Stephens illustrates the significance of support in order to survive and grow: 

  • His father Ed and teacher, Siobhan, reassure him and offer guidance

• By the end of the play, Christopher’s confidence and pride in his accomplishments is emphasised as he lists the ways he has been brave:

  • The last line of the play asks the audience, “Does that mean I can do anything?”

What is Stephens’s intention?

• Stephens illustrates Christopher’s brave actions towards independence and autonomy and rewards the protagonist for the risks he has taken

• The play draws attention to pervasive ignorance surrounding autism spectrum disorder with a sympathetic depiction of its protagonist

• The play presents the particular challenges towards independence that a teenager with autism spectrum disorder faces

• Stephens presents ideas about resilience; in particular, he suggests that facing fears can overcome problems

Communication

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time examines the protagonist’s thoughts and feelings as his words are read aloud by his teacher and acted out on stage. In this way, the play presents concerns about meaningful communication and, especially, the importance of honesty. 

Knowledge and evidence: 

• Christopher’s search for the truth is what drives his investigation

• Christopher’s belief that truth can be found in the written word is confirmed in the play:

  • He discovers the truth about his mother in hidden letters

• Miscommunication and dishonesty are contributing factors to the characters’ anxieties:

  • Ed’s lies cause distress to the family and neighbours

  • Misunderstandings between Christopher and others on the train journey is depicted as tense and confusing for all concerned 

• Characters, such as Mr Shears, Ed and the police-officer, lash out with curses when they fail to communicate properly with others:

  • Taboo language and arguments are used in the play to represent characters’ frustrations, indicating that the adults, too, have difficulties with communication 

• As well as this, Stephens suggests poor communication can lead to violence: 

  • Christopher hits a police officer when the officer grabs his arm instead of listening, has a physical fight with Ed and threatens him with a pocket-knife

  • Ed explains the reason he killed Wellington is because a “red mist” came down after a misunderstanding with Mrs Shears

• Communication problems are often the result of Christopher’s condition:

  • Christopher’s formal and literal way of speaking presents his way of thinking

  • Metaphors are confusing; he sees them as “lies” and prefers literal language 

  • He says, for example, that people never specify for how long he should “be quiet”

  • This creates comedic irony while drawing attention to deeper themes

  • Conflicts isolate and marginalise Christopher, almost leading to his arrest

• Stephens highlights Christopher’s challenges understanding non-verbal communication as well (such as body language, facial expressions and tone of voice):

  • He relates how his teacher told him that raising an eyebrow could mean “‘I want to do sex with you’” or “‘I think that what you just said was very stupid’”

• Stephens shows how Christopher’s parents and teacher communicate in a particular way with him, illustrating their understanding of his condition:

  • His father engages in Christopher’s conversation about space, which is far more advanced than Ed is able to comprehend

  • Siobhan’s specific instructions help Christopher to navigate London

  • Ed and Judy explain to others that physical communication, such as touching or hugging, should be avoided, and that they show affection by pressing fingers

What is Stephens’s intention?

• The play depicts the damaging effects of dishonesty 

• Stephens presents the damaging results of poor communication, and suggests it can lead to violence

• Christopher’s integrity and honesty are rewarded in Stephens’s play

• Stephens emphasises the importance of tolerance and understanding in order to avoid discrimination and prejudice

Order and disorder

The play conveys ideas about society’s standards of normal and abnormal, order and disorder, by presenting the perspectives and experiences of the protagonist: a teenager with an autism spectrum disorder. 

Knowledge and evidence: 

• Due to his condition, Christopher needs logic, strict routine and clear instructions to feel a sense of order in his world:

  • In this way, the play exposes the often illogical attitudes of others 

• When a dog is killed and the adults around him dismiss this as a petty crime, Christopher’s world is thrown into disarray:

  • Stephens reflects the disruption of Christopher’s ordered world by presenting the stage as a grid with constantly shifting settings 

• The play illustrates how Christopher uses problem-solving to overcome challenges: 

  • He uses practical coping strategies, such as counting his steps and finding his way to the station using an equation of possibilities 

  • He uses deduction strategies, referring to the detective Sherlock Holmes

• However, Christopher acknowledges that sometimes there is no explanation for things:

  • He says: “prime numbers are like life”, they are “logical” but you could never work out the rules

  • Christopher dislikes the colours yellow and brown, but admits this holds no logic 

• Nervous and scared commuters convey how Christopher has disrupted the social order

• Stephens illustrates how other characters react to Christopher, often perceiving him as imbalanced or “abnormal”:

  • He jumps onto the London Underground tracks to find his pet rat

  • He climbs into a luggage rack on the train to avoid passengers

  • Characters perceive Christopher’s reaction to the dog’s death as extreme

  • His father tells him to forget about Wellington, saying “it’s a bloody dog”

  • In contrast, his emotionless reaction to his mother’s “death” is seen as callous 

  • This is ironic as it is a lie, which presents Christopher’s responses as legitimate 

• By showing Christopher’s perspective, audiences learn that, in fact, he thinks other people are “stupid” and have trivial concerns: 

  • He thinks it is ironic that other people, who are so easily distracted and find it hard to concentrate on one thing, believe their behaviour is “normal”

• Stephens highlights how commuters normalise the disordered and chaotic environment: 

  • Loud and meaningless noises on the journey are shown as a sensory overload

What is Stephens’s intention?

• Stephens presents the established social order as confusing and frustrating for some individuals and points out its hypocrisies 

• Stephens’s play raises questions about the concept of normality and suggests it is subjective

• Stephens highlights the complexities of relationships that must navigate different systems of order