the curious incident of the dog in the night time

Beginning / Character Details

• Christopher is 15 years and 3 months old
• Father’s first name is Ed
• Mother’s first name is Judy
• Mr. Shears’ first name is Roger
• Christopher’s teacher is Siobhan
• His pet rat is named Toby
• Mrs. Alexander owns a dachshund
• He lives in Swindon
• Mother lives in London
• Christopher loves math and astronomy
• He wants to become a scientist
• He takes A-level math
• He hates the colors yellow and brown
• He likes red
• Christopher carries a Swiss Army knife
• Christopher memorizes things like a camera/video recording

Christopher’s Likes and Dislikes

He dislikes:

• being touched
• strangers
• crowded places
• metaphors

He likes:

• dogs
• prime numbers
• order/routines
• facts

Good Day / Bad Day System

A “Good Day” happens when he sees:

• 4 red cars in a row = Quite Good Day
• 5 red cars = Super Good Day

Yellow cars mean bad luck

SUPER Specific Character Details

• Christopher groans when stressed.
• He sometimes curls into a ball when overwhelmed.
• He avoids eye contact.
• He can’t recognize complex facial expressions.
• Siobhan draws emotion faces for him.
• Christopher thinks metaphors are “lies.”
• He imagines astronauts because space is quiet and logical.
• He does not like food touching other food.
• He often counts things to calm himself.

Symbolism / Meanings

Chapters 2–41

Chapter 2

• Christopher finds Wellington dead on Mrs. Shears’ lawn.
• Wellington was killed with a garden fork
• Christopher found Wellington at 7 minutes after midnight
• A garden fork is stuck in the dog.
• Christopher notices the dog is still warm.
• He hugs the dog because he likes dogs.
• Mrs. Shears screams when she sees him holding Wellington.

Chapter 3

• Christopher explains emotions are difficult for him.
• Siobhan once drew faces showing emotions to help him understand expressions.
• Christopher says he can recognize some emotions but not complex ones.

Chapter 5

• Police arrive.
• Christopher dislikes strangers touching him.
• A policeman grabs his arm.
• Christopher hits the officer.
• He gets arrested.

Chapter 7

• Christopher explains this is a “murder mystery novel.”
• Siobhan encouraged him to write it.

Chapter 11

• Christopher explains why he likes dogs:
  • They are honest.
  • They don’t confuse him with expressions or lies.

Chapter 13

• Father picks Christopher up from the station.
• Father tells him to stop investigating Wellington’s death.

Chapter 17

• Christopher describes being good at math but bad at understanding people.
• He likes logic and order.

Chapter 19

• Christopher explains prime numbers.
• Chapters are numbered with primes because he likes them.

Chapter 23

• Christopher starts investigating anyway.
• He knocks on neighbors’ doors.
• He questions Mrs. Shears’ neighbors.

Chapter 29

• An old woman gives Christopher orange squash and Battenberg cake.
• Christopher dislikes yellow because it is one of the cake colors.

Chapter 31

• Christopher explains “Good Days” and “Black Days.”
• Seeing many red cars = Good Day.
• Seeing many yellow cars = Black Day.

Chapter 37

• Christopher talks about his mother’s death.
• Father told him she died of a heart attack.

Chapter 41

• Christopher continues asking neighbors questions.
• One neighbor warns him not to go snooping around.

Chapters 43–89

Chapter 43

• Christopher explains how Father told him about Mother dying.
• Father avoided eye contact during the conversation.
• Christopher wanted to visit her in the hospital but never did.

Chapter 47

• Christopher explains why metaphors confuse him.
• He thinks metaphors are lies because words don’t literally mean what they say.

Chapter 53

• Christopher discusses routines.
• He dislikes unexpected changes.

Chapter 59

• Christopher learns Mrs. Shears used to help Father after Mother died.
• She cooked meals and cleaned.

Chapter 61

• Christopher explains he likes astronomy and space.
• He imagines being alone in space because it would be calm and logical.

Chapter 67

• Christopher meets Mrs. Alexander.
• She owns a dachshund.
• She knows Christopher’s family history.

Chapter 71

• Christopher explains jokes.
• He dislikes them if they rely on hidden meanings.

Chapter 73

• Mrs. Alexander hints that Father and Mrs. Shears had problems.
• Christopher becomes curious.

Chapter 79

• Christopher talks about his memory.
• He remembers details exactly like videos.

Chapter 83

• Christopher explains why he hates brown and yellow.
• Food color matters to him.

Chapter 89

• Christopher describes school and special needs routines.

Chapters 97–127

Chapter 97

• Mrs. Alexander tells Christopher:
  • Mother and Mr. Shears were having an affair.
• Christopher is shocked because Father never mentioned it.

Chapter 101

• Christopher lies to Father for one of the first times.
• He says he was not asking questions anymore.

Chapter 103

• Christopher explains logic puzzles and math problems.

Chapter 107

• Father discovers Christopher’s detective book.
• He becomes furious.

Chapter 109

• Father grabs Christopher hard.
• Christopher hits Father repeatedly.
• Father throws the book away.

Chapter 113

• Christopher notices Father acting strangely afterward.

Chapter 127

• Christopher searches Father’s room for his notebook.
• Christopher finds the letters while searching for his detective notebook
• Instead he discovers letters addressed to him.
• The letters are from Mother.
• They are dated after her supposed death.
• Father hid Mother’s letters in a shirt box in his closet

Chapters 131–167

Chapter 131

• Christopher reads the letters.
• Mother explains she moved to London with Mr. Shears.
• She apologizes repeatedly.

Chapter 137

• Christopher becomes physically ill after learning Mother is alive.
• He feels betrayed.

Chapter 139

• Christopher talks about Sherlock Holmes and truth.
• He dislikes supernatural beliefs because they are illogical.

Chapter 149

• Father admits:
  • Mother is alive.
  • He hid the letters.
  • He killed Wellington.

Chapter 151

• Father explains he killed Wellington because he was angry after arguing with Mrs. Shears
• Christopher becomes terrified of Father.

Chapter 157

• Christopher hides from Father.
• He plans to leave home.

Chapter 163

• Christopher explains how people imagine the future differently from animals.
• He thinks scientifically about human brains.

Chapter 167

• Christopher takes Toby and leaves for London.
• Christopher travels to London by train

Chapters 173–199

Chapter 173

• Christopher goes to the train station alone.
• The crowds overwhelm him.
• He crouches down and groans to calm himself.
• He gets overwhelmed in the station by:
  • noise
  • signs
  • crowds
  • announcements

Chapter 179

• Christopher watches the stars and thinks about space.
• He feels small compared to the universe.

Chapter 181

• A police officer tries helping Christopher.
• Christopher struggles with the noise and confusion.

Chapter 191

• Christopher successfully boards a train to London.
• He hides from the policeman.

Chapter 193

• Christopher navigates the Underground system.
• Christopher uses maps and logic to navigate the Underground
• He relies on maps and signs.

Chapter 197

• Christopher reaches Mother’s apartment building.

Chapter 199

• Mother is shocked to see him.
• Christopher tells her Father killed Wellington.

Chapters 211–233

Chapter 211

• Father arrives in London.
• Christopher refuses to go near him.

Chapter 223

• Christopher struggles living in London because routines keep changing.
• Mother and Mr. Shears argue constantly.

Chapter 227

• Mother decides to move back to Swindon with Christopher.

Chapter 229

• Christopher takes his math A-level exam.
• He feels proud of himself.

Chapter 233

• Father buys Christopher a golden retriever puppy at the end
• Father buys Christopher a puppy.
• The puppy is named Sandy
• Christopher slowly begins rebuilding trust.
• Christopher believes he can succeed because he:
  • solved the mystery
  • traveled alone
  • passed his exam
• Christopher believes he can become a scientist and live independently one day.