Similarities Between 'And Then There Were None'

“Thunderous action and nail-biting suspense” ~ Peter Travers The similarity between the novel, And Then There Were None, and an episode of Scooby Doo, Where Are You?, is the fact that they leave their audience and readers one the edge of their seats with suspense. In the book, And Then There Were None, ten individuals are invited to an isolated island for the sole intent of their death. Among the ten, is a murderer who takes advantage of the gullible group. This book entertains readers with the use of various sensory details, mainly sound. Scooby Doo, Where are you?, is a TV series where a group of teenagers and their dog travel in their infamous green van to solve mysteries.

In season 1, episode 11 of Scooby Doo, moments after the gang approached the Franken Castle, Shaggy and Scooby get chased into the castle by a werewolf. “[CRASH] [WHIMPERING] [SNARLING]” (Joseph,1969). The use of auditory imagery in this moment of Scooby Doo, demonstrates the danger and fear Scooby and Shaggy endured. The werewolf’s snarling and loud crash creates an unsettling atmosphere for Scooby and Shaggy. The effect of these noises is Scooby’s whimpering that represents his terror. In the book, And Then There Were None, the ten individuals trapped on the island were accused of murder, by a startling voice. “There was a silence— a comfortable replete silence. Into that silence came The Voice. Without warning, inhuman, penetrating voice.” (Agatha, 2011). The silence provides comfort and serenity. However, when that silence is interrupted with an unfamiliar voice, the ten victims fear the suspense. The inhuman and penetrating voice evokes negative emotions such as panic and dismay, which creates tensions among the individuals. The effect of suspenseful details of sound in this book is very similar to the effect of the auditory imagery in Scooby

However, in the TV series, Scooby Doo, Where are you?, the sensory detail of sight is not as complex. In scooby doo, the gang arrived at their destination at a creepy castle. The teeangers should’ve known they would face an impending doom, due to the weather that night. The sky can be described as dark blue and cloudless. “And there’s not a cloud in the sky” (Joseph, 1969). The moon was full and there was visibly strong wind. The group saw the cloudless sky as a good sign, this reaction demonstrates how easily deceived those teenagers are. The full moon represents a potential encounter with werewolves. Lastly, the visual strong wind is used to warn the group of impending destruction. Unlike Scooby Doo, the book, And Then There Were None, contains much more complex visual imagery. In the book, one of the characters, Vera Claythorne approached the house on the island she had been lured too, and was shocked with its appearance. ” She had pictured it differently, close to the shore, crowned with a beautiful White House. But there was no house visible, only the boldly silhouetted rock with its faint resemblance to a giant head. There was something sinister about it. She shivered faintly” (Agatha, 2011). The fact that the island did not look like she imagined it would, represents the unpredictability the location