How is the nature of trust explored in the novel?

Mark Haddon, the author of novel “The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night-Time”, uses the relationships between characters to explore the nature of trust. By investigating the individual relationships that the cast has with the main character, Christopher Boone, it is evident that they all have varying perceptions of trust. Christopher views the world in a different light compared to the other characters due to the severity of his autism. His condition causes him to strongly question people’s motives constantly in many different situations. These altered perceptions lead to disparate understandings of trust between relationships.
Christopher’s perception of trust stems from the understanding of his own world. Experience suggests that most people will often lie to one another in an attempt to conceal sensitive information. Although in Christopher’s perspective, he feels as though he can only trust someone if he is completely confident that they will ‘not tell lies’. He also has an inability to lie as it makes him feel ‘scared and shaky’, straying away from his values in keeping everything factual and logical. Christopher’s instincts drive him to avoid those who ‘tell lies’ and only create trust with those who he deems to speak logically and truthfully.
Manipulation of trust can be inextricably linked to a downfall within relationships. As Ed Boone, Christopher’s father continually conceals sensitive information from