The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by Mark Haddon

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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the
Nighttimeby Mark Haddon

• Elements of Fiction

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Characters

• Static Character one who does not change much in
  the course of a story
• Dynamic Character changes as a result of the
  storys events
• Flat Character has only one or two traits and no
  depth
• Round Character is like a real person, has many
  different character traits, which sometimes
  contradict one another.

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With Your Partner

• List the characters you meet in The Curious
  Incident
• Are they a static or dynamic character?
• Are they a round or flat character?
• Be prepared to prove your point by having one
  quote per character.

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Characterization

• Indirect Characterization- the reader has to use
  his/her own judgment to decide what a character
  is like, based on the evidence given to you by
  the writer
• Direct Characterization- the reader is told
  directly what the character is like by the writer

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With Your Partner

• Give an example of direct characterization for
  Christopher. Find the quote to prove your point.
• What is an example of indirect characterization
  for Christopher? Find a quote that shows this.

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Setting

• The setting of a story is the time and place in
  which the action occurs.
• Past, Present, or Future
• Day or Night
• Place may be Real or Imaginary Etc.

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With Your Partner

• - List the settings Christopher journeys to.
• - What time period does this story take place in?
• - How do you know?

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Conflict

• Struggle or clash between opposing characters or
  opposing forces.
• External Conflict a character struggles against
  an outside force (another character/ society/
  nature)
• Internal Conflict takes place entirely within
  the characters mind. Its a struggle between
  opposing needs or desires or emotions within a
  single person.

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Theme

• Is the message of the story the writer presents
  through the characters and the plot. The theme is
  not usually stated.

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Plot

• Is the series of events in a story
• Often follows a pattern of development made up of
  as many as five specific stages.
• Exposition
• Rising Action
• Climax
• Falling Action
• Resolution

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Exposition

• It is at the beginning of a story. It gives
  background information that the reader needs to
  know.
• It introduces the setting, the characters, and
  the conflict.
• Sometimes it tells what happened in the past.

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Exposition

• Ask yourself
• Who are the characters?
• What is the setting?
• What is the conflict?

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Rising Action

• During this part of the story, the conflict is
  obvious.
• Complications arise and suspense begins to build
  as the main characters struggle to resolve their
  problems.

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Rising Action

• Ask yourself
• What makes the conflict obvious?

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Climax

• It is the turning point of the story, that point
  at which the conflict is resolved.
• Moment of great emotional intensity or suspense
  in the plot.

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Climax

• Ask yourself
• How was the conflict resolved?

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Falling Action

• The effects of the climax are shown. The suspense
  is over, but the results of the decision or
  action that caused the climax are worked out.

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Falling Action

• Ask yourself
• How are the effects of the climax shown?

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Resolution

• The resolution tells how the struggle ends. It
  ties up any loose ends of the plot.

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Resolution

• Ask yourself
• How does the story end?
• How does it tie up loose ends?

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Genres

• Mystery involves several predictable elements
  a closed setting (isolated place), a corpse, a
  small circle of people who are all subjects, an
  investigating detective with extraordinary
  reasoning powers.
• How is The Curious Incident a mystery?

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• Bildungsroman A novel chronicling the
  intellectual, spiritual, or moral development of
  a young protagonist.
• How is The Curious Incident a bildungsroman?

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Literary Devices

• Protagonist The central or main character in a
  story around whom the plot centers.
• Who is the protagonist of The Curious Incident?

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Point of View

• Omniscient Point of View The person telling the
  story knows everything there is to know about the
  characters and their problems.

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• First Person Point of View One of the characters
  is actually the narrator telling the story, using
  the pronoun I.

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• Third Person Limited Point of View The narrator,
  who plays no part in the story, zooms in on the
  thoughts and feelings of just one character.
• What point of view The Curious Incident told in?

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• Character motivation The fears or conflicts or
  needs that drive a characters actions.
• What is Christophers motivation?

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• Foreshadowing The use of hints or clues in a
  story to suggest what action is to come.
• Give an example of foreshadowing in The Curious
  Incident.

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• Tone Attitude a writer takes toward the
  audience, a subject, or a character. Tone is
  conveyed through the writers choice of words and
  details.
• What is the tone of The Curious Incident?

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• Symbol- A concrete object, person, or place that
  has a meaning in itself and also stands for
  something larger than itself.
• Give an example of a symbol in The Curious
  Incident.

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• Irony Contrast between
• What is said and what is really meant (Verbal
  Irony)
• What is expected to happen and what really
  happens (Situational Irony)
• What appears to be true and what is really true
  the audience know but the character doesnt
  (Dramatic Irony)
• What is ironic about The Curious Incident?
• What type of irony is it?