3.1.1

Discovering the Dead Dog & Christopher's Autism

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Christopher Discovers the Dead Dog

The play opens with 15-year-old Christopher Boone standing over the dead body of Mrs Shears’ dog. The dog lies on the ground, having been stabbed with a garden fork.

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Shocking image of a dead dog

  • The opening image of a dead dog lying onstage with “a large garden fork sticking out of its side” is shocking in its presentation of brutal violence.
  • It is also surreal – an unexpected, nightmarish image more suited to violent horror or thriller stories.
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Dead dog - catalyst

  • The dead dog is the catalyst for subsequent events in the play.
  • Christopher is determined to solve the mystery of what happened to Wellington, Mrs Shears’ dog.
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Introducing Mrs Shears

  • The audience is only briefly introduced to Mrs Shears in this opening scene.
  • That her first two lines of dialogue both feature her swearing (“What in fuck’s name have you done to my dog?”) illustrates her anger and shock.
  • The imperative “Get away from my dog” is repeated three times, suggesting Christopher is unwilling to leave the dog or is momentarily confused by Mrs Shears’ anger.
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Introducing Siobhan's narrative

  • The audience is also introduced to Christopher through the figure of Siobhan, his teacher.
  • Siobhan reads from Christopher’s notebook, a dramatic device allowing the audience access to Christopher’s thoughts.

Stevens Reveals Christopher’s Autism

Stevens uses the opening scene to signal Christopher’s autism, revealed in his speech, actions and reactions.

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Factual language

  • Christopher’s language is distinctive.
  • His opening lines are made up of a succession of short sentences, which tend to list facts and display a sharp eye for precise, and not always relevant, detail (e.g. the orange leaf stuck to the bottom of the policeman’s shoe).
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Aptitude for Maths

  • It is clear that Christopher has an aptitude for Maths and can memorise and recite countries, capital cities and “every prime number up to 7507”.
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Reaction to Mrs Shears' anger

  • Christopher’s reaction to Mrs Shears’ anger - covering his ears with his hands, rolling forward and “groaning” while he presses his forehead to the ground - reveals the distress he feels when confronted by emotions that he cannot process, a behavioural trait often associated with severe autism.

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