Character Analysis: And Then There Were None By Agatha Christie

Many people have done something wrong in their life, but is the crime committed worth such a severe penalty as death? In the murder mystery, “And Then There Were None” the author, Agatha Christie had created a concept where people were killed chronologically based on how severe the crime was. Not all characters that were killed off deserved their fate. While Vera Claythorne deserved to die, Dr. Armstrong, and Justice Wargrave did not.

The dreadful crime that Vera Claythorne committed, lead to her being the second to last person to die on Indian Island. In the eyes of Justice Wargrave, she committed the worst crime of all. Therefore with Wargrave’s control he granted Vera with the most severe punishment, which was suffering the longest out

This act was based upon his drunkenness and unable to control his alcoholism. Dr.Armstrong's wariness made him an important pawn in Wargraves meticulous plan, yet his crime was different from Vera in the sense of he had sustained a bad habit and he was unable to control it. In the beginning when all the characters arrived to the island a record played which stated all the crimes everyone committed. When it was to be said that Dr.Armstrong killed a patient by the name of Louisa Mary Clees. “He thought: ‘Drunk - that's what it was - drunk... And I operated! Nerves all to pieces - hands shaking. I killed her, all right. Poor devil - elderly woman - simple job if I'd been sober.”(Pg.231) Dr. Armstrong feels deep remorse which can be shown through his hands trembling and the way he presents how his actions were wrong. Ironically, Dr.Armstrong feels as if being a doctor is too much pressure on him, which lead him to drinking. Unfortunately, Dr.Armstrong performed on the patient drunk and Louisa Mary Clees was dead because he botched the surgery. Although Dr.Armstrong killed a patient he had no intention to do so and did not realize the consequences of being drunk which shows he is unwary. After the incident Dr. Armstrong attempted to change his ways of drinking, which shows that he never had any intention to kill the woman and would want to prevent this mistake from happening again. “Aloud he grunted: ‘Drinks are in the hall.’ Dr. Armstrong said: ‘I must go and pay my respects to my host and hostess." (Pg.212) This shows that Dr. Armstrong is trying to remove himself from the drinking environment and does not want to go back to his bad ways. As the book goes on Dr. Armstrong helped Mr.Wargrave fake his own death, they meet at the edge of a cliff. In order for Mr. Wargrave to kill the rest of the guests remaining on the island, he needs to kill Dr.Armstrong to keep his