The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time

Theme Words:

• isolation
• fear
• lies/deceit
• love
• identity
• truth

Quotes:

"I didn't speak to anyone and for the whole afternoon I sat in the corner of the Library groaning with my head pressed into the join between the two walls and this made me feel calm and safe"(178).

"Also, dogs are faithful and they do not tell lies because they cannot talk"(143).

Commentary:

-This shows the true and rough reality that Christopher faces everyday because of his condition. It ties into a lot of the themes such as isolation and fear. Many encounters with Christopher such as talking to strangers or not knowing where he is is a very fearful situation for him. And being so afraid of almost everything unknown, causes him to pt himself in isolation because its the only way he is comfortable.


-This quote ties in to the themes of truth and lies/deceit. Throughout the entire novel, Christopher is tied in the middle of numerous amounts of lies, which he doesn't permit. This causes him to feel very fearful of people that lie, for example his father. He doesn't trust very easily, so when you break his trust its extremely hard to earn back. Also, when he is lied to, it is difficult for him to accept and makes him very uncomfortable and puts himself into isolation again.

Connections:

1. I connected Christopher to myself in a way that being lied to hurts me a lot. He doesn't take explanations very well, and I usually let my emotions get in the way before someone can explain the situation. 

2. The second connection I made to was another book Different Like Me by Jennifer Elder. It is a book that was written to inform little kids of inspirational idols from the world of science, art, math and philosophy that all have autism. This relates this book in the way that Christopher has an extreme obsession with doing well in math and physics (things that are rational and can be proven, not just assumed).

Lolita

Theme Words: 

• youth

• innocence

• love

• sex 

• communication/language

Quotations:

"I knew that I had fallen in love with Lolita forever; but I also knew she would not be forever Lolita"(134).

"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin my soul [. . .] She was lo, plain Lo, in the morning, standing four feet ten in one sock. She was Lola in slacks. She was Dolly at school. She was Dolores on the dotted line; but in my arms, she was always Lolita"(136).

Commentary:

-The first quote demonstrates the desperate but genuine love that Hubert has for Lolita. It relates to the themes of youth and language because Hubert knows at the mere age of 14, while he will always love Lolita, she is constantly changing and consistently finding herself throughout the story. The quote also has an artistic, heart wrenching play on it showing that Lolita will only love him for the time being and that it is very possible in the near future she will outgrow him (which she does).

-The second quote kind of ties back to the point made in the first. Lolita's character is constantly changing. She is a different person in every aspect of her life. It shows the obsessive nature of the love between Hubert and Lolita. 

Connections:

1. One connection that can be made is to myself. In many ways, I feel that I can relate to Lolita (not in the way where I dig older men) but she is a very indecisive and picky girl. She tends to have an attitude and expects the world to cater to her needs. She also doesn't like to be tied down or controlled. 
2. Another connection is to the world/society. There is a huge contrast in the generations that Hubert and Lolita were raised in. This is a connection that is present in reality between the children and adults of todays society. Many of them clash on ideas, morals and perspectives. It also shows that our society is constantly changing around us. The trends, rules, beliefs and opinions of todays world will change completely from 10 to 20 years from now.