Symbolism In And Then There Were None By Agatha Christie

Eight people are invited to Indian Island, a piece of land that a famous movie star millionaire is said to have purchased. The one thing all these people have in common is that they were all somehow involved in someone’s death. Soon they all learn that they were tricked into coming to the island which will result in their certain deaths. In every persons’ bedroom there was a poem that hinted at how each was going to die, and ten porcelain figures on the dining room table that mysteriously disappear with each death. One of them was the murderer because there was no one else on the island, leading to suspicion, accusations, and chaos. In the end it was learned that two of the characters on the island did in fact plan all the deaths, but one threatens to tell people. In turn, Lawrence Wargrave kills him off. He was punishing these people for crimes they had committed then he himself committed suicide. In And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie develops the theme “one must atone for their sins” through the use of symbolism, setting, and internal conflict.

In the novel, Christie utilizes symbolism to develop to the theme. Both the violent storm and the china figure represent many different things ranging from death to the character’s backgrounds. The fierce weather symbolizes the violent acts that took place on Indian Island and previous faults the characters had committed. General Macarthur for example was pinned with the death of one of his soldiers. He sent the man to a brutal fight knowing that he would die. Also, the vicious storm is representative of the murders that were occurring on the island. The porcelain Indian figures embodied each of the ten people on the island. As a person dies, one of the men mysteriously disappears...

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...money she lost not only Cyril, but her boyfriend. This event left her in an almost depressed position. The image of him drowning is constantly on her mind whilst on the island where she is very often left alone to just her thoughts. Near the end she had begun regretting what she did. The memory and guilt of her actions affect her so much, she committed suicide. This in turn was her punishment for plotting the death of an innocent boy. Furthermore her internal conflicts lead her to the retribution of her actions.

As seen through the use of symbolism, setting, and internal conflict, Agatha Christie has created the theme “no wrongdoing goes unpunished” in And Then There Were None. Each of the characters paid for their sins through death on Indian Island. Each character either took their own life, due to the regret of their actions or by it was done by an outside force.