Journel Entry Number One: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time.

I am only assigning 1 journal entry for the novel unit, and I usually find this one of the most interesting assignments as I get to have a bit of a dialogue with you about your novel. Please keep the following in mind when it comes to journal writing:

1. Writing in response to reading without a goal of deeper understanding is a waste of time (yours and mine)
2. Your goals are to:a) personalize the story (make it more meaningful for you) b) gain insights about characters c) see the world in a different way
3. The main point of journal writing is to clarify your thoughts by committing your thinking to paper. Please choose a quote or a passage from your novel (include page number) and explain the connection you have made to it. How does the connection you have made help you understand more about the book?


"This is a murder mystery novel."
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time is about the complex, yet simplistic life of a fifteen year old boy, named Christopher who has autism, and how he copes with it. Even though at the beginning he explained that the book would be a "murder mystery novel", it turns out to be much more than just that for the reader. As a person, Christopher is very self-reserved, quiet, and doesn't like to show emotion. Growing up, I always knew there was something different about my cousin. He also has autism, but seems to be almost the complete opposite of Christopher. Where Christopher doesn't like to touch anyone, my cousin will give anyone a hug that looks they are having a bad day, even if he doesn't really know them. But, Christopher and my cousin are also very similar. When you them and start talking to them, you know that there is something different about them. A bit more to them than other people, I would think. Like this book, there is always a little more to Christopher than meets the eye. 
Growing up with my cousin, we heard stories about him being sent in for tests, and finding out that he can only ever speak English, but today you hear him try so hard to speak Afrikaans with his mom. This is similar to Christopher's situation where he wants to do better and better in maths, but can't because of his autism. Not until his father talks to the head master does Christopher get the opportunity to take the higher level maths test. Through out their lives, people with disabilities are always told that they can't do something. When people are consistently doubting them and underestimating them, how can they ever feel the need to succeed. I think that everyone can relate to that.