Essay Question: Analyse how characters were used to explore the concept of justice.

Agatha Christie was born in September 1890 and went on to become one of the most prestigious English writers in the history of literature. In her popular mystery novel, “And Then There Were None”, the murders are arguably acts of justice, however, the classic murder mystery principle has been mutated in which the victims are in fact murderers themselves. The novel conveys the theme of justice predominately through the characters suffering. Christie used a variety of techniques throughout the novel to create suspense, capture the reader’s full attention and ensure the reader understands the theme of justice. In “And Then There Were None”, these techniques include foreshadowing, characterization, and internal & external conflict.

Foreshadowing helps the reader develop assumptions about the future of the characters and the coming of events in the novel. In “And Then There Were None”, Agatha Christie used foreshadowing in the characters dialog to indicate the fate of the guests. She also used several red herrings to cause confusion and throw the audience off-track. In chapter 15, Dr. Armstrong has mysteriously disappeared. Vera Claythorne raises the suspicion that Armstrong is alive and is trying to fool them all. Vera related Armstrong’s disappearance to a line in the poem.

“A red herring swallowed one, and then there were three.”

This situation causes the reader to become distracted by the suspicious activity of Armstrong and back off the real murderer’s track. This particular foreshadowing conveys the theme of justice, specifically for Louisa Mary Clees, the patient Armstrong got away with killing. Christie has portrayed Armstrong as the scapegoat of Wargraves crimes. At this point in the novel, it seems as though the justice for Armstrong’s crime, that he was not punished for, is to go down as the face of Wargraves murders.

In “And Then There Were None”, Agatha Christie used characterization to convey the dark and twisted side of human nature. An example of this is the character, Philip Lombard. At the beginning of the novel, Lombard is portrayed as a dangerous, and chivalrous man. He is bold and not afraid to speak his mind. In the epilouge, one of the policemen described Lombard as “the sort of fellow who might do several murders in some quiet out-of-the-way spot”.

In chapter 13, Christie related Lombard’s characteristics much like a wolf, although at the end of the novel he was weak, blinded by his love for Vera. Philip Lombard became the sheep, and Vera the wolf.

“Philip Lombard’s senses seemed heightened, rather than diminished. His ears reacted to the slightest sound. His step was lighter and quicker, his body lithe and graceful. And he smiled often, his lips curling back from his long white teeth.”

Comparing Lombard to a strong animal and then causing him to die as a weak animal conveys the novel’s theme of justice. Lombard left 21 tribesmen to starve and eventually die in East Africa. He cared about his survival only and ‘backstabbed’ 21 innocent lives. When it came time for him to die, it was Vera, the girl he loved who shot and killed Lombard so that she could ensure her survival. Agatha Christie’s way of serving justice was for Lombard to die brutally and helplessly with the same backstabbing feeling he inflicted on the tribesmen.

In “And Then There Were None”, all of the guests on the island have committed a crime that is considered murder. Some of the guests, such as Philip Lombard and Anthony Marston feel no remorse, other characters like Mrs. Rogers and Vera Claythorne feel guilty. Vera Claythorne is arguably the most conflicted character, internally and externally. She was accused of sending the young boy Cyril Hamilton to his death when she told him to swim in the rough water where she knew he would drown. Vera then tried to make his death seem a mistake so that she could have Cyril’s uncle Hugo all to herself. There are many examples of Vera Claythorne struggling with her guilty conscious throughout the novel. In chapter 2 Vera referenced her guilt when she said “The sea..so peaceful today-sometimes so cruel. The sea that dragged you down to its depth. Drowned..found drowned..drowned at sea..”. This is an example of the internal conflict Vera battled with, that eventually caused her death.

In chapter 13 Vera became hysterical after a piece of seaweed was left hanging in her room, sticks to her throat. “And then, as she stood there, listening a cold, clammy hand touched her throat-a wet hand, smelling of the sea.” We later learn that the seaweed had been left by Wargrave as a distraction to fake his death, but also to purposely surface unwelcome memories for Vera. The seaweed is a reminder that she will never escape her guilt unless she dies herself. This scene could be interpreted as a warning that soon Vera really will be clawing at her throat and for a deadly reason.

Having Vera be portrayed as the innocent and weak woman with a guilty concious conveys the theme of justice clearly. Vera struggled immensely throughout the novel with her guilt which showed the reader even though you may think you have gotten away with a crime, you will never escape the consciences inflicted on your state of mind.

There are several way Agatha Christie portrayed the theme of the novel..justice. In this essay i focused on the character’s crimes and deaths, and how they added a deeper meaning to the theme. Dr. Armstrong was never punished for operating while intoxicated, which caused an innocent patient to die. Justice was served as the person that murdered Armstrong will never face punishment or justice for doing so. Phillip Lombard betrayed 21 tribesmen in East Africa after he selfishly left them to starve and die. The justice for Lombard’s crime was that he prided himself as a strong independent man, but when the time came for his death, he was betrayed by Vera and became weak and scared. Lastly, Vera Claythorne sent the young boy Cyril Hamilton to drown for her own selfish reasons and then played his death as an accident. Her justice was not to die the same physically as Cyril, but mentally. Vera died alone, gasping for air, scared and confused, by someone else’s terms. Agatha Christie used the characters own deaths to convey justice for their crimes. This portrays the underlying message that your past will always catch up to you, and you will never truly escape justice.