Essay2

By: Kevin I van Leeuwen

The two novels that I wish to compare are: Ordinary People by Judith Guest and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night time by Mark Haddon. The two books are both about a boy. Conrad is the main character in Ordinary People, He is an insecure boy of 17 years old, in the book he becomes 18. He wants to have everything under control. That is something that he has in common with the boy from The Curious incident of the Dog in the Night time. The boy in this book is called Christopher Boone and he is a fifteen-year-old who has the Syndrome of Asperges. You can compare this with PDDNOS or autism. He doesn’t like to be touched and trusts only a few people. He also doesn't like changes. He wants to be in control of everything. When reading both books, both Conrad and Christopher develop in their own special way. They gain experience in life. The first loses his mother because she is thinking about a divorce and the second finds his mother after many years. By learning what they learn, they grow mentally. They find out who they are, what they are worth. They are not just boys with problems. The are boys that can overcome these problems when they are properly stimulated. The conclusion is that although both books are about a boy, they are different in the way that they are written and in the ‘adventures’ that the main characters experience.