In this blog we will explore Mark Haddon's, the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime, by posting discussion questions, responding to classmates' comments, and researching interesting topics further.
Guidelines:
1. All language must be academic and school appropriate.
2. Avoid digression as much as possible; be sure your line of discussion relates the novel and expands the class's knowledge or exploration in an obviously meaningful way.
3. CITE SOURCES
How much do you like the book so far?
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
#2 Poor Mr. Boone
Some might say that Christopher's father made a mistake. What was it (there might be more than one)? What do you think he should do now?
I think that his mistake was telling Christopher that he killed the dog. He should have just left it at "I was angry". Because he told Christopher he killed a iving organism, Christopher has chosen to run away. If he didn't tell him that Christopher would have asked questions and would have tried to understand the situation.
Christopher's father's mistake was trying to hide the truth from Christopher. He could never have expected Chris to find out that his mother was still alive, but that doesn't make it any more right. He might have been angry, he might have wanted Christopher to stay with him because he could take care of Chris better, but he deprived Christopher of important knowledge. He should have told Chris that his mother was going away for a long time and she wouldn't be able to see him. If Chris asked why, he could say that they had a fight and she didn't want Christopher to see her get hurt.
It would probably end up in a whole series of questions, but if he was unable to answer them all at once, Chris's dad could have just said, "I don't feel like talking about it," or "I'll tell you later." Chris would understand more than to lie about such a thing. If Chris's father had just told the truth then Chris would never have stopped trusting him. If Chris was afraid his father would have hurt him, his father could just say, "Trust me." Even though he did say this in the book, it was after Chris discovered the whole thing was a lie and thought that he couldn't trust him again.
Christopher’s father has made one major mistake in his life with Chris. He should not have lied in the first place. Chris would not have understood what an affair meant at the time, but it would have been better than saying she was dead. He could have explained it well enough that she would not be coming back for a very long time. This would have prevented all the new realizations that produced his father to lie in the first place, thus ending all thoughts of Chris running away. His father would have never been prompted to tell Chris that he killed Wellington. One event leads to another, and if Mr. Boone didn’t cover up his wife’s death and hide the letters, Chris would have never been put in the state of shock that he was. If he was never put in a state of shock, his father would have never told him about Wellington, and he would have never run away.
I think Christopher's father's biggest mistake was not telling Christopher the truth from the beginning. He should have known that Christopher likes to question everything. He should have realized that Christopher would find out the truth first about his mother, hiding the letters from Christopher was horrible. Regardless of his feelings about his wife, she is Christopher’s mother, he had no right to keep her from him, especially since she was no risk to him. He also hid the truth about killing Wellington. Even if he didn’t tell him in the beginning, after he realized that Chris was so interested in the topic, he should have sat him down and told him what happened and not waited so long.
Sorry Mr. C, I forgot to answer the second part of the question.
I think Mr. Boone should contact everyone he knows and tell them that Christopher has run away. If anybody sees him, to contact him right away and keep Christopher there. Once Mr. Boone gets a chance to speak with Chris, I think he should apologize again. He should let Christopher be whereever he wants for a while, and gradually start seeing him again. He might even want to get a dog for Christopher, or perhaps a replacement for Wellington. Overall, he should just carefully and slowly appeal to Christopher to regain his trust and eventually become a father again.
Mr.Boone made a huge mistake not telling Chris about his mother and it is really something that chris would never forgive him for. I donnot think it is fair for chris to think his mom has died when she hasn't. He lived without a mother for a long time. Maybe chris didn't know what an affair was but Mr.Boone could have told him what it was instead of lying and telling chris his mom died. The only thing Mr.Boone should do is try to find chris, he should have known he went to his mother. After he finds chris he must apologize to chris and hope chris would forgive him. Also he should apologize to Mrs.Boone. He might be able to live with them or maybe chris and his mother will come back with Mr.Boone and Chris.
I think Christopher's Father has made a lot of mistakes. One the biggest was when he got very angry and killed Mrs. Shear's dog Wellington. He isn't a bad person, but his anger took over and he did it. He should tell everyone he knows that Christopher has run away. He has no idea where he went and it will him find Christopher quicker. He feelings for his wife should not interfere in the finding of christopher.
Christopher's father hid the fact that Christopher's mother had left and lied to him about her death. He also killed Wellington. Now that you have made your mistakes it is time to correct them. First you should ask Christopher's mother to come over and talk to him. You need to talk about why she left and why you lied to Christopher. Next you need to explain to Christopher that you will not hurt him and you didn't purposefully kill Wellington. It is important to answer any questions that Christopher has, make sure he understands, and make him feel safe.
Christopher's father made a lot of mistakes, but I think the biggest mistake he made was not telling Christopher the truth about his mother. If he told Christopher the truth, they could have talked about it, to get it off their chests. Also, Christopher wouldn't have been as hurt when he found those letters in his father's closet.
I think Christopher's father made a mistake not telling him about his mother. ALthough his father was proabably only trying to protect him. Chris should have known what really happened with his mother. That she is still really alive. Eventually Chris would have found out that his mother was still alive, but it should of came from his father. Chris shouldnt have found out through reading a letter.
I believe Chris’s father’s mistake was trying, and not successfully, to hide the truth from Chris on various circumstances. His first mistake was keeping Chris in the dark about his mother’s letters. Those letters were addressed to Chris and they are his property. His father had no right trying to hide them from Chris. Mr. Boone even told the absurd lie that she died of a heart attack, which made Chris all the more confused when he found the letters. Another one of his big mistakes was killing Wellington and then lying about it causing Chris to run away. I think Mr. Boone should have told Chris the truth by sitting him down and explaining very carefully why he did those things. The timing should have also been better. For example, Mr. Boone should have told Chris he was angry instead of making it worse by coming straight out and telling him that he killed Wellington. It would have been a lot better and maybe Chris wouldn’t have run away.
I believe that Mr. Boone’s biggest mistake was trying to hide the truth about Mrs. Boone from Chris. When Mrs. Boone left, times got tough for the Boone family. I can understand why Mr. Boone decided not to tell Chris what really happened, it was tough enough to handle himself, and to try to explain it to a young boy with Aspergers syndrome while he was still grieving would be even tougher. Mr. Boone eventually should have broken the news to Chris because he deserves to know what happened just as much as his dad did. He especially should have told Chris when the letters from his mother started to come so Chris could try to build a relationship with his mother. Mr. Boone makes many mistakes in this story, but I feel that hiding the existence of Chris’s mother from him was a significant one.
I think that the mistakes Mr. Boone made were trying to explain to Christopher about the affair he had, hiding the fact that his mother was still alive along with all the letters she had been writing to Christopher, and also how he murdered Wellington. It was all too much to handle for Christopher, and also probably very hard to understand.
After having his son already gone, I think Mr. Boone should try looking for Christopher, and to try and look for a way to get eye to eye with his son and explain how he is truly sorry for keeping all this from him.
The mistake Mr. Boone made was trying to keep Chris's mother away from him. even though in the past they had a difficult life, she was an extremely important part of him. For her to just magically die all of a sudden wasn't even a decent excuse. However, it kept Chris from becoming angry or depressed over the situation. Later in the book, Chris runs away in hopes to find his mother. I think that Mr Boone should try his hardest to find him, but say nothing when he does. This is because it is more important to show that you care, then to think up some long drawn out apology when you mess up. if Mr. Boone could comfort Chris and then drive him home, it would mean the world. Ultimately, he could even bring Chris to see his mother and let him choose what the best life for his son could be. That would be the best option, as it would remove any bad blood between the family.
I think that his mistake was telling Christopher that he killed the dog. He should have just left it at "I was angry". Because he told Christopher he killed a iving organism, Christopher has chosen to run away. If he didn't tell him that Christopher would have asked questions and would have tried to understand the situation.
ReplyDeleteChristopher's father's mistake was trying to hide the truth from Christopher. He could never have expected Chris to find out that his mother was still alive, but that doesn't make it any more right. He might have been angry, he might have wanted Christopher to stay with him because he could take care of Chris better, but he deprived Christopher of important knowledge. He should have told Chris that his mother was going away for a long time and she wouldn't be able to see him. If Chris asked why, he could say that they had a fight and she didn't want Christopher to see her get hurt.
ReplyDeleteIt would probably end up in a whole series of questions, but if he was unable to answer them all at once, Chris's dad could have just said, "I don't feel like talking about it," or "I'll tell you later." Chris would understand more than to lie about such a thing. If Chris's father had just told the truth then Chris would never have stopped trusting him. If Chris was afraid his father would have hurt him, his father could just say, "Trust me." Even though he did say this in the book, it was after Chris discovered the whole thing was a lie and thought that he couldn't trust him again.
Sorry for being so mundane about the mistake.
- David
Christopher’s father has made one major mistake in his life with Chris. He should not have lied in the first place. Chris would not have understood what an affair meant at the time, but it would have been better than saying she was dead. He could have explained it well enough that she would not be coming back for a very long time. This would have prevented all the new realizations that produced his father to lie in the first place, thus ending all thoughts of Chris running away. His father would have never been prompted to tell Chris that he killed Wellington. One event leads to another, and if Mr. Boone didn’t cover up his wife’s death and hide the letters, Chris would have never been put in the state of shock that he was. If he was never put in a state of shock, his father would have never told him about Wellington, and he would have never run away.
ReplyDeleteI think Christopher's father's biggest mistake was not telling Christopher the truth from the beginning. He should have known that Christopher likes to question everything. He should have realized that Christopher would find out the truth first about his mother, hiding the letters from Christopher was horrible. Regardless of his feelings about his wife, she is Christopher’s mother, he had no right to keep her from him, especially since she was no risk to him. He also hid the truth about killing Wellington. Even if he didn’t tell him in the beginning, after he realized that Chris was so interested in the topic, he should have sat him down and told him what happened and not waited so long.
ReplyDeleteSorry Mr. C, I forgot to answer the second part of the question.
ReplyDeleteI think Mr. Boone should contact everyone he knows and tell them that Christopher has run away. If anybody sees him, to contact him right away and keep Christopher there. Once Mr. Boone gets a chance to speak with Chris, I think he should apologize again. He should let Christopher be whereever he wants for a while, and gradually start seeing him again. He might even want to get a dog for Christopher, or perhaps a replacement for Wellington. Overall, he should just carefully and slowly appeal to Christopher to regain his trust and eventually become a father again.
Mr.Boone made a huge mistake not telling Chris about his mother and it is really something that chris would never forgive him for. I donnot think it is fair for chris to think his mom has died when she hasn't. He lived without a mother for a long time. Maybe chris didn't know what an affair was but Mr.Boone could have told him what it was instead of lying and telling chris his mom died.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing Mr.Boone should do is try to find chris, he should have known he went to his mother. After he finds chris he must apologize to chris and hope chris would forgive him. Also he should apologize to Mrs.Boone. He might be able to live with them or maybe chris and his mother will come back with Mr.Boone and Chris.
I think Christopher's Father has made a lot of mistakes. One the biggest was when he got very angry and killed Mrs. Shear's dog Wellington. He isn't a bad person, but his anger took over and he did it. He should tell everyone he knows that Christopher has run away. He has no idea where he went and it will him find Christopher quicker. He feelings for his wife should not interfere in the finding of christopher.
ReplyDeleteChristopher's father hid the fact that Christopher's mother had left and lied to him about her death. He also killed Wellington. Now that you have made your mistakes it is time to correct them. First you should ask Christopher's mother to come over and talk to him. You need to talk about why she left and why you lied to Christopher. Next you need to explain to Christopher that you will not hurt him and you didn't purposefully kill Wellington. It is important to answer any questions that Christopher has, make sure he understands, and make him feel safe.
ReplyDeleteChristopher's father made a lot of mistakes, but I think the biggest mistake he made was not telling Christopher the truth about his mother. If he told Christopher the truth, they could have talked about it, to get it off their chests. Also, Christopher wouldn't have been as hurt when he found those letters in his father's closet.
ReplyDeleteI think Christopher's father made a mistake not telling him about his mother. ALthough his father was proabably only trying to protect him. Chris should have known what really happened with his mother. That she is still really alive. Eventually Chris would have found out that his mother was still alive, but it should of came from his father. Chris shouldnt have found out through reading a letter.
ReplyDeleteI believe Chris’s father’s mistake was trying, and not successfully, to hide the truth from Chris on various circumstances. His first mistake was keeping Chris in the dark about his mother’s letters. Those letters were addressed to Chris and they are his property. His father had no right trying to hide them from Chris. Mr. Boone even told the absurd lie that she died of a heart attack, which made Chris all the more confused when he found the letters. Another one of his big mistakes was killing Wellington and then lying about it causing Chris to run away. I think Mr. Boone should have told Chris the truth by sitting him down and explaining very carefully why he did those things. The timing should have also been better. For example, Mr. Boone should have told Chris he was angry instead of making it worse by coming straight out and telling him that he killed Wellington. It would have been a lot better and maybe Chris wouldn’t have run away.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Mr. Boone’s biggest mistake was trying to hide the truth about Mrs. Boone from Chris. When Mrs. Boone left, times got tough for the Boone family. I can understand why Mr. Boone decided not to tell Chris what really happened, it was tough enough to handle himself, and to try to explain it to a young boy with Aspergers syndrome while he was still grieving would be even tougher. Mr. Boone eventually should have broken the news to Chris because he deserves to know what happened just as much as his dad did. He especially should have told Chris when the letters from his mother started to come so Chris could try to build a relationship with his mother. Mr. Boone makes many mistakes in this story, but I feel that hiding the existence of Chris’s mother from him was a significant one.
ReplyDeleteI think that the mistakes Mr. Boone made were trying to explain to Christopher about the affair he had, hiding the fact that his mother was still alive along with all the letters she had been writing to Christopher, and also how he murdered Wellington. It was all too much to handle for Christopher, and also probably very hard to understand.
ReplyDeleteAfter having his son already gone, I think Mr. Boone should try looking for Christopher, and to try and look for a way to get eye to eye with his son and explain how he is truly sorry for keeping all this from him.
The mistake Mr. Boone made was trying to keep Chris's mother away from him. even though in the past they had a difficult life, she was an extremely important part of him. For her to just magically die all of a sudden wasn't even a decent excuse. However, it kept Chris from becoming angry or depressed over the situation. Later in the book, Chris runs away in hopes to find his mother. I think that Mr Boone should try his hardest to find him, but say nothing when he does. This is because it is more important to show that you care, then to think up some long drawn out apology when you mess up. if Mr. Boone could comfort Chris and then drive him home, it would mean the world. Ultimately, he could even bring Chris to see his mother and let him choose what the best life for his son could be. That would be the best option, as it would remove any bad blood between the family.
ReplyDelete