92 pages 3 hours read

Mark Haddon

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2003

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Chapters 163-233Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 163 Summary

When he was a young child, Christopher had no idea that other people had minds and thoughts. Now, he knows they do, but unlike most people, he doesn’t think people simply peer out at the world through their eyes but instead look at images their brain creates to help them interpret the world.

He learned this from his readings in science, and he describes experiments that prove this to be true: people’s eyes shift from one thing to another, and if they saw the entire process of shifting, the world would appear to reel dizzily, so the brain blinds that view for a moment and fills it in with an image that isn’t so disconcerting.

He’s also aware that people think a lot about the future, and this affects their decisions and plans in ways that wouldn’t occur to, for example, a dog. People think they’re different from computers because people have feelings, but to Christopher, feelings are simply more images on the screen of their minds. 

Chapter 167 Summary

His father helps Christopher bathe, dry off, and put on clean clothes. Then, his father takes the dirty clothes and bedsheets downstairs to the washing machine. Christopher sits on his bed and calms himself by doing arithmetic in his head.

blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
blurred text
Unlock IconUnlock all 92 pages of this Study Guide
Plus, gain access to 8,650+ more expert-written Study Guides.
Including features:
+ Mobile App
+ Printable PDF
+ Literary AI Tools

Related Titles

By Mark Haddon