Truth and deceit are central themes of the Curious incident which are explored throughout the novel. All the main characters are caught in a cycle of lies and truth, this consequently revealing many secrets.
First, we have the theme of deceit. Christopher’s father lies to Christopher about Judy’s death. “Christopher, I'm sorry your mothers died. She's had a heart attack. It wasn't expected”, and Christopher lies to Ed about putting an end to his investigation. “This is called a white lie. A white lie is not a lie at all. It is where you tell the truth, but you do not tell all of the truth” In his perception, this type of lie makes sense, and he utilizes logic in his favor. Both Christopher and Ed bend the truth to meet their ends and use deceit against each other. “its bloody hard telling the truth all the time” shows Ed’s exasperation with Christopher. This exasperation arising from the fact that Christopher, because of his emotional detachment, wouldn’t understand why lying was the best choice at the time; it would protect Ed’s feelings and prevent the distress Christopher would have had to go through. “Bloody” connotes anger, distress and despondency conveying how desperate Christopher’s father was. “All the time” shows that he struggles with the concept of truth and is often faced with moral dilemmas in which the best choice would have been to lie, such as Wellington’s death or Christopher’s mother. Ed realizes the trust issues Christopher has against him because of his lying, he tries to mend their broken relationship. “You have to learn to trust me, and I don’t care how long it takes.” Shows that Ed now understands how important honesty is in Christopher’s life and in families in general. “I don’t care how long it takes” conveys how desperate Ed is and how he wants to recreate their relationship, whatever it takes. However, Christopher, because of his Aspergers, uses truth as a starting point for whether he would create an emotional bond with someone and has an underdeveloped sense of empathy. For this reason, he doesn’t understand the nuances of honesty and deceit, such as why Ed thought he had to lie.
Secondly, there is also the theme of honesty. Judy is very honest with Christopher and Is also very open about her emotions, showing that she Is braver in this aspect than Ed. “And I remember that night I just cried and cried and cried and your father was really nice about it”. The repetition of the verb “cried” shows how vulnerable she is, telling this to Christopher, earning his trust. This makes the reader feel sympathy for Judy and trust her much more than before. Christopher also senses her open, truthful position and for this reason, decides to live with her.
Lastly, we have a juxtaposition of Christopher, who is incapable of lying and his father, who often struggles with the truth to show character development and the coming-of-age aspect of the novel. Christopher understands there is a gray area to when you are meant to tell the truth as it is shown in (People say that you always have to tell the truth. But they do not mean this because you are not allowed to tell old people that they are old), while Ed understands the importance of sincerity and tries to fix his relationship with Christopher.
Why does he include this theme?
I believe Mark Haddon introduces the theme of truth and lie in the novel to convey one of the most important morals of the Curious incident: how detrimental deceit can be to a family. In an extremized version, he wants to portray the barriers and conflicts it can create as Christopher is physically unable to lie while his father struggles with the truth. For example, when Ed reveals that he lied about Judy’s death, Christopher is appreciably distressed. This is because he considers his father a person he can trust and since Ed has proven otherwise, this is incredibly overwhelming for Christopher because he takes lying very seriously. Secondly, Mark Haddon included this theme of trust and honesty to accentuate how it provides comfort to Christopher and how it is a way for him to feel safe. He finds lying illogical and would consider a person who lies irrational and peculiar. He uses honesty as the basis for him to be able to trust others. He expects those close to him to never lie and doesn’t trust strangers as he isn’t certain whether they are being deceitful. This makes the reader trust Christopher’s words as he has proven he has an aversion towards deceit. This is to emphasize the way in which he finds safety in truth and therefore logic. Thirdly, Mark Haddon incorporates this theme in the novel to convey the naivete of Christopher in the outside world because of his condition, emphasizing how Christopher’s perception of the daily life situations is different to ours in various ways. Christopher doesn’t recognize the nuances of society and the real world. He only sees situations in black and white. For example, when he discovers that Ed had lied about Judy’s death, he doesn’t consider the reasons why Ed might have lied and simply views this as an unforgivable betrayal. In his point of view, a person who he trusted has deceived him. Because of this, he is forced to break out of his comfort zone and out of the bubble he has created for himself. This accentuates the unreliability of Christopher’s narration and that even though readers trust him never to lie, his naivety to the outside world shows how differently he sees it.
What does it add to the reader’s experience?
· Profundity
Firstly, I believe it adds profundity to the novel and makes it more thought-provoking. We get to consider why Christopher would find lying illogical and understand more about his different point of view. We also delve into the moral of the novel through this theme. As Christopher takes lying more seriously than others, Haddon’s point about deceit damaging relationships and families becomes more accentuated. This makes the novel more profound, making the reader appreciate it and remember it for longer.
· Level of interest
Secondly, truth and lies create much conflict and drama in the novel. This theme appears in “Wellington’s death”, “Christopher stopping his investigation” and “Judy’s supposed death”, making Christopher visibly overwhelmed. Truth and deceit are utilized to spark nearly every major conflict in the novel. This makes it more engaging, making the reader feel more captivated.
· Bildungsroman
Lastly, truth and lies leads to the portrayal of the Bildungsroman aspect of the novel. Because Christopher was lied to, his trust in the people close to him shatters. This brought him out of his comfort zone and spurred him on a journey in which he will develop his independence, decrease his naivete to the outside world and feel more prepared for his looming adulthood. At the end of the novel, he writes “and I was brave…which means I can do anything.”. “Anything” connotes vastness and infinitude. This conveys his new-found confidence and his feeling of invincibility. The adjective brave connotes endurance, courage, and assertiveness. This showing how in Christopher’s perception, writing a book and taking a trip to London are incredible feats even though to the reader they may seem conventional. This makes the readers think about their own development in character, deepening their emotional connection with Christopher. Not only this, however the Bildungsroman effect creates a sense of completion for his journey, making the readers feel as if they were part of Christopher’s emotional growth and consequently, giving the novel a satisfying ending.
In conclusion, truth and lies are a central theme which the novel revolves around. The characters are caught in a cycle of trust issues, honesty and deceit which creates many issues. It also provides us with the moral of the novel and accentuates how differently Christopher sees the world than us.
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