2. The second reference to Sherlock Holmes is in the novel's own title!
" The "Silver Blaze" is a short Sherlock Holmes story about the disappearance of a race horse and the apparent murder of its trainer just before a race. It contains the following dialogue:
Detective Gregory: "Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"
Holmes: "To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time."
Gregory: "The dog did nothing in the night-time."
Holmes: "That was the curious incident." "
Source for "Silver Blaze" quote: http://www.funtrivia.com/submitquiz.cfm?quiz=311475
Mood: The mood of this novel is serious and straight forward. The entire novel takes on a very serious tone, and even in the beginning of the book Christopher explains that "There are no jokes in this story." Christopher's disability causes him to have problems reading other people's faces or expressions. He finds it hard to tell when they are joking or not, so he does not like to be poked or prodded. Therefore, he does not joke either. It is almost as if he does not know how, and he wants to reiterate how "true" everything in his story is. That is why there are no jokes, and no metaphors. What you read is what you get, and that's all.
Motifs: One motif that appears in the story is the color of cars. When Christopher sees yellow cars, it is going to be a horrible day. When he sees red cars, it is going to be a good day or a super good day. The fact that he uses these colors is to assign some sort of logic into his daily routine because he does not like unpredictability, which comes naturally from his disability.
Another motif that appears is math. Numbers and functions appear in almost every chapter of the novel. The reason being is that he is incredibly skilled at math, but also it is because he likes to relate life to numbers. If he can find a way to relate a life event to a formula or number, he immediately feels better knowing there is some sort of connection between life's events and physical explanations. Christopher's world REVOLVES around math.
Symbols:
The A- Level Math Test - The math test that Christopher aspires to take is one that the rest of his classmates would never be able to pass as long as they live. The fact that Christopher sees his peers as lower than him, he wants to prove that he is smarter than anyone else with "Special Needs" by getting an A on this math/science test. It is a way of him boosting his confidence. Textual evidence comes from when he states he wishes he could call his classmates "Stupid", but it is supposed to be called "Special Needs". He claims everyone has "Special Needs" so that should not be a saying. He knows he is more capable than his classmates.
Wellington/Toby/Sandy - Throughout the story, Christopher has an intense bond with any animals around him. Textual evidence will also show just by the beginning of the novel when he sees Wellington dead on the ground and has to go hug the dead body. It does not matter that there is blood everywhere or what anyone will think. He feels so disheartened by this that he has to go hug Wellington. His pet rat, Toby, goes with him on his journey on the train by himself. He finds solace in animals that he cannot find in people, and finds them easier to interact with. Animals play a huge impact on Chris until the very end of the novel. When Toby dies, Father gifts him with a golden retriever named Sandy to give him a new companion.
Major Conflicts:
1. When Christopher discovers the 43 letters addressed to him underneath Father's bed, it opens up an entire new world that has been unknown to him for years. He had been lied to for years thinking that Mother was not alive, and now everything he knew had disappeared just like that. That was the turning event in the story in which Father finally had to be honest with both himself and with Christopher and confess everything he had done. Without that event, Christopher never would have left to find Mother and grown up as a person.
2. The other major conflict in the story is when Father shows up at Mother's flat to get Christopher back. While Christopher is trying to sleep, he is woken up by commotion outside of the bedroom. He realizes that it is Mr. Shears, Mother, and Father all screaming at each other. This conflict is major because it leads to the resolution between Mother and Father. This war cannot continue forever when there is a child involved, and there must be some peaceful common ground despite all that has happened. This final major conflict was another turning point in the story, but this time moving toward the resolution and not toward the climax.
Theme: The main theme of this story is Independence. Christopher is not a normal child; he clearly has a disability. Having a mental disability hinders one's ability to be free and independent. They need more help than other kids would and are very dependent on their parents and guardians. Christopher battles against his disability for independence throughout the entire novel. He is not battling Mother or Father, he is only battling his own demons that were handed to him. He constantly refers to things his parents would say to him, and how they would fight over the fact that he needed so much attention. He would say that Mother would tell him he was leading her into an "early grave" when he would throw fits. His big tantrum in a store is the entire reason for Mother and Father's final fight. His taking of the A-Level Math test was his way of proving he was capable of something all on his own.
