Exploring Mystery and Intrigue: A Personal Reflection

Name:
Miit Patel

Book:
And Then There Were None

Author:
Agatha Christie

                 To begin with, growing up in a
family of four, my sister and I admired mystery books and movies. One of my
favorite books of all time is The Red
Pyramid. This book is all about two siblings trying to save their parents
from being in an evil monster’s captivity. One of my favorite movies of all
time is Gone Girl, which is all about
a wife who escapes his egotistic husband only to hurt his reputation. She does
this by planning an escape that seems as if the husband murdered her. In And Then There Were None, ten strangers
go on a mysterious island in order to relax during their vacations, but they
all die according to a poem. Evidence supporting

my thesis is, “Five little
soldier boys going in for law; one got in Chancery and then there were Four”
(Christie 183). This stanza from the poem shows how one of the strangers died
according to the poem. I really respect this book considering it's known as,
“The Queen of Mystery.”

                 In addition, throughout this
book, all the characters have somewhat suspected each other. The lack of trust
reminds me of my friends and how we have a hard time deciding who to choose on
our team while playing a competitive sport. Sure we all have our doubts on who
to choose while playing sports but my friends and I just make a big deal out of
it. Once I pulled a prank on a friend but he knew about it. I suspected that it
was one of my other friends who told him and I was right. The evidence that
shows the lack of trust among the strangers is, “She was very odd in the kitchen
when we were getting breakfast. Her eyes—” (Christie 164). This proves the lack
of trust from some survivors towards an old lady.

                Going on, the message that I
believe that the author is trying to convey is that your own guilt will kill
you. Even in my religious book, Gita, God says that the Karma you create will
award you or it may destroy you. I really respect this message as it has been
said to me multiple times in many ways. In this book, Vera Claythorne gets
killed by her own guilt, which was of killing a young boy.

I also think that
the author is saying that we shouldn’t be greedy since it can cause many
disasters in your life. All the strangers were also greedy in a way by

coming
on this island without personally knowing the owner.

The evidence that supports
my statement is, “She climbed up on the chair, her eyes staring in front of her
like a sleepwalker’s . . . She adjusted the noose round her neck. Hugo was
there to see she did what she had to do. She kicked away the chair. . .”
(Christie 222). In this sentence, Hugo is the only witness who knew of the
crime Vera had committed. Vera being guilty thought that killing herself is
what Hugo would want.

                 In my
opinion, this book is fantastic. Of all the books I read over the past years
this has truly lived up to my expectations. I believe that the author has an
amazing point of view. I assume that the author really knows what the readers
want in her books. She has written many mystery books and I am going to try to
read as many as I can throughout my life. Her words are really strong and each
word speaks out the meaning. All the characters were well introduced and she
had given enough information about each and every one of them. I could clearly
picture all the characters in my mind. Agatha Christie also used vivid
vocabulary and there were many literary terms used. She also left me on the
edge of my seat at the end of every

chapter.