Closely read the following excerpt from Chapter 191 of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. You

Question

may take notes as you read. Then, select the best answer for each question.

And I walked into the ticket office and I turned round and I could see that the policeman was still watching me so

I felt safe. And there was a long desk at the other side of the big room and a window on the desk and there was a

man standing in front of the window and there was a man behind the window, and I said to the man behind the

window, "I want to go to London."

And the man in front of the window said, "If you don't mind," and he turned round so that his back was toward

me and the man behind the window gave him a little bit of paper to sign and he signed it and pushed it back

under the window and the man behind the window gave him a ticket. And then the man in front of the window

looked at me and he said, "What the frick are you looking at?" and then he walked away.

And he had dreadlocks, which is what some black people have, but he was white, and dreadlocks is when you

never wash your hair and it looks like old rope. And he had red trousers with stars on them. And I kept my hand

on my Swiss Army knife in case he touched me.

And then there was no one else in front of the window and I said to the man behind the window, "I want to go to

London," and I hadn't been frightened when I was with the policeman but I turned round and I saw that he had

gone now and I was scared again, so I tried to pretend I was playing a game on my computer and it was called

Train to London and it was like Myst or The 11th Hour, and you had to solve lots of different problems to get to

the next level, and I could turn it off at any time.

And the man said, "Single or return?"

And I said, "What does single or return mean?"

And he said, "Do you want to go one way, or do you want to go and come back?"

And I said, "I want to stay there when I get there."

And he said, "For how long?"

And I said, "Until I go to university."

And he said, "Single, then," and then he said, "That'll be £32."

And I gave him the fifty pounds and he gave me £10 back and he said, "Don't you go throwing it away."

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And then he gave me a little yellow and orange ticket and £8 in coins and I put it all in my pocket with my knife.

And I didn't like the ticket being half yellow but I had to keep it because it was my train ticket. critical idea short

Answer 1

In this excerpt from "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time," the narrator, who is likely Christopher, navigates a ticket office while feeling both apprehensive and determined. Initially reassured by the presence of a policeman, he becomes anxious when the policeman leaves. His encounter with a man in front of the ticket window illustrates his perception of people—it includes a focus on appearance and potential threat. The interaction with the ticket seller reveals his naivety and clarity in what he wants: a one-way ticket to London. Despite feeling out of his comfort zone, Christopher's resolve to travel to London underscores his desire for independence and personal growth, while his discomfort with the ticket's colors highlights his attention to detail and feelings of control.

Overall, this excerpt emphasizes themes of isolation, personal agency, and the complexity of social interaction from Christopher's unique perspective.