The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Chapter 37 Quotes

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Chapter 37 Quotes

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And if I start thinking about something which didn't happen I start thinking about all the other things which didn't happen.

For example, this morning for breakfast I had Ready Brek and some hot raspberry milk shake. But if I stay that I actually had Shreddies and a mug of tea I start thinking about Coco-Pops and lemonade and porridge and Dr. Pepper and how I wasn't eating my breakfast in Egypt and there wasn't a rhinoceros in the room and Father wasn't wearing a diving suit and so on and even writing this makes me feel shaky and scared, like I do when I'm standing on the top of a very tall building and there are thousands of houses and cars and people below me and my head is so full of all these things that I'm afraid that I'm going to forget to stand up straight and hang onto the rail and I'm going to fall over and be killed. (37.3-4)

Christopher claims that he has a hard time imagining things that haven't happened to him (7.6). But it's clear from this passage that he actually has a pretty incredible imagination. Who knew that all the infinite possibilities in the universe were contained in just a single made-up breakfast?

I do not tell lies. Mother used to say that this was because I was a good person. But it is not because I am a good person. It is because I can't tell lies. (37.1)

Lying and not lying aside, what do you think: is Christopher a good person?

A lie is when you say something happened with didn't happen. But there is only ever one thing which happened at a particular time and a particular place. And there are an infinite number of things which didn't happen at that time and that place. And if I think about something which didn't happen I start thinking about all the other things which didn't happen. (37.2)

Is that really the only possible way to lie? What about saying something didn't happen that really did? Can you think of a reason why Christopher wouldn't be as concerned with that side of lying?