1.3+Exemplar

Hey guys this is the first exemplar. It is an Excellence.

In the novel __The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time__ by Mark Haddon an important relationship existed between the protagonist, Chris and his teacher aide Siobhan. I found this relationship complex and interesting because of Siobhan's figurative symbolism as a teacher, her initial involvement in Chris' rites of passage and the links this relationship had to the themes of communication and journey.

Haddon used the character of Siobhan as an irreplaceable guide and mentor for his autistic protagonist Chris. As Chris is only a teenager, her role is vital as she is Chris' lifeline, supporting him and helping him to understand other people and how to interact. Their relationship is long and stable as Chris recounts "eight years ago when I met Siobhan". This relationship is important because as readers we can relate with having a role model in our life, this therefore causing the reader to gain a better understanding of Chris, and Siobhan as a symbol for understanding as well as support.

On the other hand Siobhan's involvement with Chris initiates the plot and demands us to see the bigger picture. Siobhan instructs Chris to write a book that is "something that I would want to read" as told by Chris. Through skillfully crafted foreshadowing we see Siobhan's intention; she knew this task would help Chris develop but only the reader can interpret the major consequences this will have; especially when Chris finds some letters with writing that he "only knew three people who did circles above their i's" one of them "was mother" even though "mother is dead". A foreshadowing event that catapults Chris to run away and find his mother.

Haddon creates Siobhan as a catalyst for the theme of communication. She is very understanding towards CHris and gets him to draw "little pictures" of faces to "show what it means", including a happy face for happy, a frown for sad and so on. Small but significant examples that develop Chris' understanding of humans and in turn develop our empathy towards others.

Through Siobhan and Chris' relationship we learn the lessons Siobhan teaches Chris as well as our own personal lessons. Siobhan's support causes us to acknowledge other's support in our own lives. When Siobhan initiates Chris' rites of passage (by writing the book) we quickly learn to interpret Haddon's foreshadowing techniques which can be applied in real life.