Jenny PangENG2DMs.

SteeleDecember 12, 2017 Importance of the Main Characters’ DecisionsBoth Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon show that the main characters influence their families through their decisions. Nevertheless, Romeo, Juliet and Christopher greatly influence their families in different ways by their decisions.In The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Christopher’s decision rebuilds relationship with his parents.

Christopher is afraid of living with his father who kills Wellington, so he deicides to find his mother who lives in London. It is a good decision because his father doesn’t want him to meet his mother again, if he doesn’t take the initiative to find his mother, he and his mother will never meet again. Furthermore, if his mother doesn’t take him back to Swindon, he and his father will have no chance to reconcile. When Christopher returns to Swindon, his father is very happy and wants to regain his trust sincerely. “You have to learn to trust me… And I don’t care how long it takes… … Because this is important. This is more important than anything else.” (Haddon 218) Eventually, the relationship with his father gradually improves.

“And Father made a vegetable patch in the garden and I helped him. And we planted carrots and pea and spinach …” (Haddon 220) Also, Christopher faces a lot of difficulties on his way to London, such as adapting to the new environment and understanding other people. By overcoming these difficulties, he has more confidence to face challenges in his life and gradually become more independent. At first, his parents’ conflict is that his mother can’t take care of him very well, but now with his gradual independence, he can live a better life alone, which reduces the pressure on his parents to take care of him. Therefore, it can mitigate the conflict between his parents. All in all, Christopher’s decision has an extremely positive influence on his family.

In Romeo and Juliet, Juliet’s decision has a great effect on her family. Juliet is forced into marriage with Paris, so she goes to Friar Lawrence for help. She pulls her knife to force Friar Lawrence to come up with a plan in a very short time.

“If in thy wisdom thou const give no help, Do thou but call me resolution wise, And with this knife I’ll help it presently.” (4,1, l.53-55) Consequently, the plan he comes up with in such a hurry is doomed to be imperfect. Also, the plan makes Romeo misunderstand Juliet’s death, resulting Romeo makes an impulsive decision. In summary, Juliet should not threaten to suicide in order to let Friar Lawrence help her. Her impulsive and immature action indirectly leads to the tragedy, and then their families end their feud because of her and Romeo’s death. In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo makes a rash decision that leads to his death, which influences his family strongly. When Romeo gets the message about Juliet’s death, he makes a rash decision and says ‘”Well, Juliet, I will lie with thee tonight.

“‘ (5,1, l.36) He should go to ask Friar Lawrence more information first rather than go straight to the tomb. If he stays calm and finds out why Juliet laying in the tomb, he and Juliet will not suicide later. In conclusion, Romeo’s impulsion leads him to make a hasty decision which is he goes directly to the tomb without asking Friar Lawrence for the truth. This decision leads directly to the tragedy, but eventually two families end their feud due to the tragedy.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and Romeo and Juliet are two similar books because they all write that the main characters significantly affect their families through their decisions. Christopher’s right decision directly affects his family, but the irrational decisions of Romeo and Juliet indirectly change their families. Nevertheless, their decisions all have a huge effect on their families.Reference:Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Anchor Canada, 2004.

Haddon, Mark. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. Anchor Canada, 2004.

Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet. Spark Publishing, 2003.Shakespeare, William. Romeo and Juliet.

Spark Publishing, 2003.