Great social skills or great intelligence? The ability to make friends in the blink of an eye, or the ability to solve quadratic equations in a second? This choice is easy for Christopher John Francis Boone, the book's protagonist: there is no choice. Christopher was likely born with autism and suffers from certain disabilities and challenges. On the contrary, he also excels in certain things. Mark Haddon's novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, demonstrates the types of challenges and rewards that autistic people encounter on a daily basis. Sometimes autism can be challenging and difficult to live with, but it can also be rewarding and empowering. And sometimes these so-called challenges can intertwine with the so-called rewards and be the opposite of what would usually be classified. As the story progresses, Christopher shows readers how difficult autism can be to live with, due to its complete nature. lack of social skills, awkward behavior, inability to understand indirect language and his non-existent sense of humor. On pages 7 and 8, while Christopher is being yelled at by the police officer, he treats him in a rather unconventional manner. While being yelled at, Christopher rolls onto the lawn and begins to moan, to drown out all the noise coming to him. He does this because "too many things come to my mind from the outside world", which shows that he does not know how to handle confrontation well. Right after he curls into a ball, the cop picks Christopher up and lifts him up. Christopher then punches the cop, leading to his arrest. Christopher's inability to understand rhetorical questions and sarcasm is very evident in the story. On page 81, Christopher is being picked up ... middle of paper ... would have always been the kindest friends Christopher would ever have, because she is so welcoming and comforting. Sometimes so-called “handicaps” turn out to be useful after all. Mark Haddon's beautifully written and detailed novel shows the highs and lows of autism, as well as a combination thereof. Christopher is a very clumsy person, but at the same time a bit of a virtuoso when it comes to numbers and mathematics. He has a brilliant attention to detail, but he cannot understand the simplest forms of humor. These advantages and disadvantages may also occasionally intersect, when what some would call an advanced ability turns out to have a negative impact, as does an empowering "handicap." Haddon successfully shows how being autistic is both giving and receiving in everyday life, dictating the lives of very diverse people, Christopher John Francis Boone.