The Importance of the Father in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time Anonymous 9th Grade

Hiding truths and replacing them with lies are often very devastating to family members and even more so when a son’s whole life has been built upon these lies. Mark Haddon, in the novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, explores the effects of discovering a world of lies. The father builds up an extensive web of lies around Christopher in attempts to protect Christopher from the harsh truth and also due to the father’s own emotionally unsettling mishaps. All of these events eventually reveal themselves to be essential in the plot development within the story. Thus, as the story progresses with more bits and pieces being revealed, the father plays an important role in plot development through his lies with Christopher, relationship with Mrs. Shears, and his absolute unwavering love for Christopher.

The father heavily affects the plot through his relationship with Mrs. Shears, it was the relationship that sustained the father in his darkest times, and the relationship that would be the source of the central plot, the murder of Wellington. Once Christopher’s mother had left, his father found reassurance with Mrs. Shears whom had also lost a loved one in her life. When the father flew into a rage at Mrs. Shears’...