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Chapter 13
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Growing Up
Trust
Truth, Love, and Safety
Logic vs. Emotion
Perspective and the Absurdity of the World
Summary
Analysis
The policeman tells Christopher he is arresting him, which makes Christopher feel better because it’s exactly what policemen are expected to say. Christopher gets into the police car, and as they drive to the station, he looks out the window at the stars.
Instead of panicking at the thought of being arrested, as most people would, Christopher simply feels glad that the police are acting as they’re supposed to. This continues to build the reader’s understanding of how Christopher’s world works.
Themes
Christopher explains that the Milky Way exists because the galaxy is shaped like a disc. Then he thinks about the scientists who discovered that the sky is dark at night despite the billions of stars because the universe is expanding from the Big Bang. Eventually, the universe will stop expanding, and all the stars will begin to fall back towards the center of the universe, making the night sky blindingly bright. Except, he points out, humans will probably be extinct by then.
Furthermore, Christopher isn’t worried about being taken to the police station—instead, as he thinks about the universe, the reader begins to perceive his intelligence and his ability to comprehend concepts that baffle many people. Christopher also demonstrates his ability to see the larger picture of humanity, life, and time—a perspective often symbolized in the novel by his fascination with the stars.
Themes
