CIDNT-Why AP?
In my last blog post about "Why AP?" for The Road, I created a basic checklist for determining if a book meets the College Board's standard. However, I believe that The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time does not entirely meet that checklist, but it is still AP. My biggest reason for it not fitting into the checklist is because of how unique this book is in comparison to others. All other novels read this year have been very complicated and pretty hard to read/follow. This book was extremely easy to read because of it's style. It is an AP level book with pictures scattered on almost every page. However, I believe it still is an AP level book because of certain aspects involved that stem deeper than the writing style.
The first aspect is the journey that Chris undergoes. While there is a psychological journey he goes through, I am really talking about his physical journey from moving to his father to his mother. Chris hates being away from home or school and hates being out of his comfort zone. Yet, he was so terrified of his father that he felt the need to travel by train to London and find his mother. It took him many hours and lots of chest grabbing pain to get through but he eventually made it to his goal and was reunited with his mother. This journey of his was something that he never thought that he would ever do and it made him stronger. At a point where he considered giving up Chris said to himself "'I can do this,' because I was doing really well and I was in London and I would find my mother" (172). This is a huge leap for Chris's character because before this journey he would have just shut down and given up. However, his drive to find his mother and get away from his father led him to keep going. Although on a much bigger scale, this event directly relates to Chris talking to his neighbors to try to figure out who killed the dog. Chris's journey shows his tendency to work really hard when there is something he wants/needs.
A staple of AP level novels is a character going on a journey. To me, Song of Solomon was the deepest and highest level book that was read this year. It not only had the devices needed to show deeper meaning, but it also had character development through a physical and mental journey. As already mentioned, Chris clearly goes through a physical journey to his mother. However, Chris also experiences a mental journey that changes him. Before the journey, Christopher showed a want to be by himself away from other people for many reasons. One of Chris's dreams is to be an astronaut because "To be a good astronaut you have to be intelligent and I'm intelligent...You also have to be someone who would like being on their own in a tiny space-craft thousands and thousands of miles away from the surface of the earth and not panic or get claustrophobia or homesick or insane. And I really like little spaces, so long as there is no one else in them with me" (50). Chris has shown his opinion of wanting to be alone many times before his journey. He shows a huge leap in his character growth after the journey because he wants to be with people. However, there is a small catch to that statement. For his whole life he has been surrounded by "normal people" who don't understand him and who he doesn't understand. After his journey he realizes that he just wants to be understood and understand others. In a dream he creates a world where "...there is no one left in the world except people who don't look at other people's faces and who don't know what these pictures mean and these people are all special like me...And I can go anywhere in the world and I know that no one is going to talk to me or touch me or ask me a question" (198-199). Chris just wants to be "normal" in a sense by being with other people like him. Other people like him won't ask him questions he doesn't understand or even touch him. It is not that Chris wants to be alone, he just doesn't want to be near others that don't understand him. It is finally realized after his journey that he really does want to be with people like him.
Although The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time does not necessarily meet some of the requirements to be considered an AP level book. I believe that the journey alone shows that it can be considered one. However, in comparison to Milkman's journey it does not compete. There just aren't enough ties between devices such as motifs, symbols, and others to make as strong as a journey as in Song of Solomon. At the end of the day this book could be argued for either AP or non AP because there is evidence to support both. But what does it really matter if the book makes you think deeper past the plot. Isn't that what an AP level book is suppose to do?
The first aspect is the journey that Chris undergoes. While there is a psychological journey he goes through, I am really talking about his physical journey from moving to his father to his mother. Chris hates being away from home or school and hates being out of his comfort zone. Yet, he was so terrified of his father that he felt the need to travel by train to London and find his mother. It took him many hours and lots of chest grabbing pain to get through but he eventually made it to his goal and was reunited with his mother. This journey of his was something that he never thought that he would ever do and it made him stronger. At a point where he considered giving up Chris said to himself "'I can do this,' because I was doing really well and I was in London and I would find my mother" (172). This is a huge leap for Chris's character because before this journey he would have just shut down and given up. However, his drive to find his mother and get away from his father led him to keep going. Although on a much bigger scale, this event directly relates to Chris talking to his neighbors to try to figure out who killed the dog. Chris's journey shows his tendency to work really hard when there is something he wants/needs.
A staple of AP level novels is a character going on a journey. To me, Song of Solomon was the deepest and highest level book that was read this year. It not only had the devices needed to show deeper meaning, but it also had character development through a physical and mental journey. As already mentioned, Chris clearly goes through a physical journey to his mother. However, Chris also experiences a mental journey that changes him. Before the journey, Christopher showed a want to be by himself away from other people for many reasons. One of Chris's dreams is to be an astronaut because "To be a good astronaut you have to be intelligent and I'm intelligent...You also have to be someone who would like being on their own in a tiny space-craft thousands and thousands of miles away from the surface of the earth and not panic or get claustrophobia or homesick or insane. And I really like little spaces, so long as there is no one else in them with me" (50). Chris has shown his opinion of wanting to be alone many times before his journey. He shows a huge leap in his character growth after the journey because he wants to be with people. However, there is a small catch to that statement. For his whole life he has been surrounded by "normal people" who don't understand him and who he doesn't understand. After his journey he realizes that he just wants to be understood and understand others. In a dream he creates a world where "...there is no one left in the world except people who don't look at other people's faces and who don't know what these pictures mean and these people are all special like me...And I can go anywhere in the world and I know that no one is going to talk to me or touch me or ask me a question" (198-199). Chris just wants to be "normal" in a sense by being with other people like him. Other people like him won't ask him questions he doesn't understand or even touch him. It is not that Chris wants to be alone, he just doesn't want to be near others that don't understand him. It is finally realized after his journey that he really does want to be with people like him.
Although The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time does not necessarily meet some of the requirements to be considered an AP level book. I believe that the journey alone shows that it can be considered one. However, in comparison to Milkman's journey it does not compete. There just aren't enough ties between devices such as motifs, symbols, and others to make as strong as a journey as in Song of Solomon. At the end of the day this book could be argued for either AP or non AP because there is evidence to support both. But what does it really matter if the book makes you think deeper past the plot. Isn't that what an AP level book is suppose to do?
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