To Err is Human

To err is human. Although Homo sapiens prize themselves for being wise, logical creatures, humans have the universal trait of being flawed. It is the imperfections of an individual that makes him more human. The most intriguing characters in literature are not the “perfect” ones. Readers more often identify with a character whose defects mirror their own. For this reason, authors often show the complexity of human emotion through their characters’ flaws. Through his interpretation and display of human flaws and human emotions, Mark Haddon has captured two key elements of the delicate human psyche in his novel the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.

Christopher John Francis Boone is not the typical protagonist: he is an autistic savant. He struggles to understand anything past the basic set of human emotions (happiness, sadness, and anger): a task most people would find intuitive. And yet he is a mathematical mastermind at the age of fifteen. Christopher can only see the world through logic and the formulas he created to rationalize life’s unpredictability. The use of Christopher is a unique way to portray a fundamentally human trait by emphasizing the fact that Christopher does not have it: the ability to communicate and understand emotion.

While it is not fair to say that Christopher is flawed, his autism is a handicap. Communication is difficult for him unless it is purely logical. He learns social norms and guidelines from his teacher Siobhan. Christopher claims that he “finds people confusing” (Haddon 14). He explains to the readers in the beginning of his narrative that Siobhan drew for him a set of faces expressing different emotions. He was only able to understand sad and happy faces: no others (Haddon 3). Because he does not have certain emotions, he cannot understand them. Through Christopher’s struggle, one can deduce just how vital the communication of different emotions is between people.

The rational Christopher acts as a foil to his emotional father Ed Boone. Through Christopher’s investigation a darker history of Ed and his mother Judy Boone is revealed. The readers learn that Ed is very sensitive. He reacts strongly to stressful and complicated situations, usually in the form of anger, violence, or irrational actions. For example, when Christopher’s mother left him, Ed lied to his son for years, claiming that she had died of a heart attack at the age of 38. When Christopher learns of the lie, he looses all trust in father, causing him mental and physical pain. Some of the most moving parts of the novel are the scenes in which Ed tries to regain the trust of his son. Ed, a compassionate, caring father, epitomizes the most potent human trait: the ability to love.

Of course, Christopher also has many fundamentally human traits. Two of his most prominent are his curiosity and ability to dream. His desire to discover Wellington’s murderer was the catalyst for his amazing adventure. Christopher’s final words in the novel are, “And I know I can do this [become a scientist] because I went to London on my own, and because I solved the mystery of Who Killed Wellington? And I found my mother and I was brave and I wrote a book and that means I can do anything” (Haddon 221). One of the most fascinating aspects of humanity is our imagination and willingness to go beyond reality and into the realm of possibility. In reality, we are flawed. But there is always the prospect of change.


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