Sherlock Holmes’ Mentorship of Christopher Boone Anonymous 12th Grade

Living in a world surrounded by people who function in a disparate way could cause one to feel neglected, but finding another person, fiction or non-fiction that shares similar characteristics can help one feel valuable. In Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Christopher Boone, a seemingly autistic child, is caught in the middle of both an alcoholic father and a mother disjointed from the family. One way he finds inspiration and motivation throughout the novel is through Sherlock Holmes. Christopher relies on fictional character Sherlock Holmes as a mentor due to the lack of congruence he has with the people around him. Christopher finds similarities in thinking patterns, personality traits, and social skills that help him to relate to Sherlock. Christopher uses Holmes as his incentive to both solve the death of Wellington and travel to London to find his mother.

Throughout the novel, Haddon incorporates special insights into Christopher’s brain that help the to reader understand the way Christopher thinks. By doing this, the reader can see a clear difference between Boone and his father. The way he processes events and approaches situations is different than the average person. When Christopher...