English 59 ACC

Essay #8: Analyzing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Context:

In class we’re reading and discussing Mark Haddon’s novel The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. We’ve also read and discussed many different pieces related to the way the brain works and develops as well as how an individual or society may be affected by disability. We’ve also learned about the writing process, the parts of an academic essay, and different elements of critical thinking like analysis and synthesis. This essay assignment will allow you to demonstrate what you’ve learned. For this essay, you will draw upon all of these sources to write an essay analyzing Christopher’s situation from the novel and one previous reading in more depth.

The Assignment:

Choose one of the options below to write a complete academic essay about. Regardless of the option you choose, the final draft of your essay should be at least three pages long in MLA format and it should thoroughly analyze the novel using the reading(s) of your choice from the previous units.

  1. Reflect back on Carol Dweck’s article “Brainology.” Apply her concept of the fixed and growth mindset to Christopher. In what ways does he have a fixed and growth mindset? Which mindset is his dominant one? Use details from the novel and Dweck’s article to support the position you take in your thesis.
  1. Reflect back on Dobb’s “The Science of Success” and Hallowell’s introduction to the book Childhood Roots of Adult Happiness. Apply the ideas from one of these readings to Christopher and speculate about his future happiness. Based on what we’ve learned about Christopher in this novel, will he be happy as an adult? Consider his environment: does his family/environment foster his growth into a happy adult? Use details from the novel and the reading to support the position you take in your thesis.
  1. Readers of the novel notice that Christopher has a unique perspective, and he has been described as being on the Autism spectrum. While the term “disability” may have negative connotations, we’ve read pieces like Hallowell’s chapter “From Moral to Deficit-Based to Strength-Based Thinking” from the book Superparenting for ADHD. Discuss Christopher from a strength-based perspective. In what ways is Christopher’s unique perspective a benefit to him or others? Use details from the novel and the reading to support the position you take in your thesis.
  1. Readers of the novel notice that Christopher has a unique perspective, and he has been described as being on the Autism spectrum. The common view is that he struggles in life because of his disability. However, in “Disability and Institutional Change,” Schriner and Scotch argue that a disability is causes by a mismatch between a person and his or her environment. This perspective is called the “human variation model.” In what ways does Christopher’s environment match his needs? In what ways does his environment create challenges for him? Ultimately, is the environment Christopher is in a good match for him? Use details from the novel and the reading to support the position you take in your thesis.

Things to Shoot For:

·  Clear, specific thesis statement that directly addresses the prompt

·  Multiple body paragraphs that

--follow an organizational strategy

--are guided by topic sentences explaining the thesis

--include specific examples (these can be personal experiences or observations, hypothetical situations, and throughout the body you must use examples from reading and the novel)

--apply concepts from the reading to examples, using some quotations

·  Carefully proofread sentences

Important Dates:

·  Work on outlines in class:

·  Draft Due:

·  Essay Due: