The Policeman & Siobhan
English Lit: Edexcel IGCSE The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, topic 3.1.2
The Policeman's Entry
Despite the horror of what has happened to Mrs Shears’ dog, Stevens creates comedy from the entrance of the police officer.
Humour - policeman's frustration
- The policeman’s dialogue with Christopher contains several comic moments, particularly the officer’s frustrations when dealing with Christopher.
- E.g. the policeman’s sardonic (sarcastic) response to Christopher telling him that the dog is dead (“I’d got that far”) and the policeman’s ironic response to Christopher beginning to groan in distress (“Terrific”).
- Such moments create dramatic irony as, while the audience can detect the policeman’s sarcasm, Christopher cannot.
Humour - literal responses
- Christopher’s literal responses to the policeman’s questions also create humour.
- E.g. when Christopher is asked what he is doing in Mrs Shears’ garden, he responds by saying, “I’m talking to you”.
- Christopher is unable to understand what the policeman is really asking him (why is he in Mrs Shears’ garden?) and responds to the literal meaning of the policeman’s question, another sign of his autism.
Climax - Christopher hits
- The scene builds to an unexpected climax with a sudden moment of physical comedy – Christopher “hits” the policeman in response to being touched.
- Both characters’ reactions to this moment, “neither entirely sure what to say”, adds to the awkwardness and therefore the comedy.
Humour - threatening Christopher
- The policeman’s loss of dignity and composure creates a further comic moment, as he is unable to stop himself from threatening Christopher: “if you try any of that monkey business again you little shit I am going to seriously lose my rag”.
Relationship with adults
- Already, Christopher’s behaviour has caused two adults to lose their temper with him.
- Christopher’s relationship with the adult world will become a key theme of the play.
Christopher and Siobhan
After the scene in Mrs Shears’ garden, there is a short scene in which Siobhan addresses the audience, reading from Christopher’s notebook.
Purposes of these scenes
- In these scenes, Siobhan’s reading from the notebook allows her to be used as a narrator, revealing Christopher’s thoughts to the audience.
"I find people confusing"
- The key quotation in this short scene is Christopher’s opening sentence: “I find people confusing”.
- It reveals Christopher’s difficulties in communicating with those around him because of his inability to understand or interpret language which is not strictly literal and clear-cut.
- Again, Stephens foregrounds a key aspect of Christopher’s autism: his inability to ‘read’, and therefore respond appropriately to, other people.
Fluid narrative
- After a brief exchange of dialogue between Christopher and Siobhan, the scene transitions instantly to the following scene set in the police station.
- As Stephens signals at the beginning of the play, “scenes run into one another without interruption” regardless of shifts in time or place, and Stephens now returns to the main plotline.
Test yourself on The Policeman & Siobhan
What's the climax of the scene with the policeman?
What literal response does Christopher have when the policeman asks why he is in Mrs Shears' garden?
What is Siobhan reading from?
How does Stevens describe scene changes at the beginning of the play?