Analysis Of And Then There Were None By Agatha Christie

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Born in Torquay, England, Agatha Christie was introduced into the cutting edge of the mystery movement. Famous writers such as Edgar Allen Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle led the mystery movement. Christie’s introduction into this enigmatic style of writing began with, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, published in 1920, which was an instant hit with the masses. However, arguably Christie’s most famous and critically acclaimed novel, And Then There Were None, gave a new objective to mystery novels. This new objective was to keep the reader’s ignorant until the very end of the story. What made Christie’s style of writing differ from Poe or Doyle was her abnegation to hint at the identity of the culprit. In conclusion, Christie’s opinion
Christie’s opinion of a mystery novel According to Shelly Ritchashon, a mystery is a detour technique in which writers obscure “key symbols and signifiers” throughout the text (Ritchason). Based on Ritchashon’s explanation of what mystery is, Christie’s novel, And Then There Were None, follows the same pattern of obscuring the killer’s identity, which in turn conceals the discernible truth. In addition, her refusal to reveal the killer’s identity keeps the readers on edge and anxious to pinpoint the killer’s identity. It also serves to keep the suspense and add drama to the novel. This secrecy is also seen in Poe’s, The Raven, which explores the slow descent into one man’s insanity (Editors). The poem’s title provides a sense of mystery, as the reader is focused solely on the bird and how it relates to the poem. The bird is also simultaneously forgotten as no mention of a raven is seen in the introduction of the poem. Another example of suspense seen in Poe’s works is his poem, The Black Cat. The poem discusses the friendship of a man and his cat, and how ultimately his friend betrays him (Editors). This sense of betrayal surprises the reader with an unexpected twist in the plot. This twist follows both Christie’s style of writing and Ritchason’s explanation of the mystery. Poe’s poem, The Telltale Heart, delves into a man’s
According to Kenneth Burke, mystery can be described as “a theory [that] is designed to discover human motives” (Burke). These motives can be seen throughout all types of writing, such as a romance novel or a science fiction. However, most are regularly seen in a mystery, as the reader is attempting to follow and perceive all the evidence that the author is presenting while simultaneously trying to discover the motive of the antagonist. The mystery is described as something difficult or impossible to explain. Christie embodies this description with her idealistic style of writing that is seen throughout all of her novels. She redefines the standard for mystery novels, and in doing so, she sets a degree of excellence that novels in the mystery genre are expected to meet. Her novel, And Then There Were None, is a prime example where the author conceals the killer’s identity for the entirety of the book, only revealing the miscreant’s motive at the very end of the book (Christie). This abnegation to hint at the culprit keeps the reader entertained and occupied with solving the mystery. She succeeds in this writing style by concealing the killer’s motive and, therefore, hiding the killer’s identity. This aspect of problem solving was her success as it kept the readers enthralled and curious for the entirety of the novel. Furthermore, Doyle wrote in this cryptic style in, The

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