Alex Aloise - Outside Reading 1

This semester I'm taking an adolescent literature course. One of the books I read for the class was called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. I really enjoyed the book. It's the story of a young English boy named Christopher Boone. He suffers from Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism. Christopher lives with his father. His mother died when he was younger. At the beginning of the book Christopher finds his neighbor's dog, dead in her front lawn. The dog has apparently been murdered. Christopher decides to investigate the murder, which leads to him leaving his home and travelling throughout England by himself. The reason I think this book relates to the class is because of the way that Christopher's father acts toward his son. The man has basically given up his life so that he could care for his child. He is completely selfless in his actions, only doing things that would be beneficial to Christopher. It's a great illustration of Agape. However it also raises the question of how much should one have to sacrifice to make another happy? Christopher's father has virtually no life outside of his son. I know it is good to be selfless at times, but can't it be harmful to remain that way constantly? Eventually, Mr. Boone's selflessness is what brings trouble between he and Christopher. He tried so hard to protect and care for his child that he actually ends up hurting him when a deep secret is revealed. It made me wonder: why is it that unconditional love often brings about unbearable pain?