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Unraveling The Mystery: And Then There Were None By Agatha Christie

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Unraveling The Mystery By reading “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie, I noticed how the author used subtle clues to point out the killer in the novel. This story started off with a description of a a mysterious island called Indian Island. The main characters traveled to the island by ferry per an invitation from a Mr. or Mrs. U.N. Owen. The main characters, Vera Claybourne, Emily Brent, Philip Lombard, General Macarthur, Dr. Armstrong, Mr. Blore, Anthony Marston, and Justice Wargrave all thought they were heading on an exciting getaway. When they arrived on the island, the house servants, Mr. and Mrs. Rodgers, were there to escort them to their rooms. They come to find out that nobody there had actually met the owner, U.N. Owen. …show more content…

As the guests acquainted themselves with each other, a voice boomed over a loudspeaker. The unknown voice charged each guest with the murder of another person. The guests then figured out that U.N. Owen stood for unknown, and Justice Wargrave declares that there may be a lunatic that lured them all to the island. Each person feels the need to explain the circumstances behind their acquisition of murder. In most of the cases, there is a reasonable explanation. They were never tried for their part in the killing, and justice couldn’t touch them. Shortly after that, Marston takes a sip of his drink and keels over dead. People assume it to be suicide, but one of the ten little indian figures is missing from the table. When more suspicious deaths happen, the guests become paranoid and on edge. They start to turn on each other and question motives, belongings, and whereabouts. After every death, an Indian figurine disappears. The guests have their own theory on who is the killer, and Wargrave declares that nobody, except the dead, are out of the equation. After everyone is dead, the reader finds out that Justice Wargrave masterminded the killings. He had a strong desire for justice …show more content…

As one of the last people alive on the island, the others realized Wargrave had gone missing. Wargrave was then found by Dr. Armstrong with an apparent gunshot wound through the forehead. “It (a wig) fell to the floor, revealing the high bald forehead with, in the very middle, a round stained mark from which something had trickled” (Christie 151). This stained mark can be paralleled to the “mark of Cain” in the Bible. Cain was the first murderer and was marked after killing his brother Able. This incident is described in the Bible with this quote, “And the Lord said unto him, Therefore, whoever kills Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark on Cain, lest anyone finding him should kill him” ( King James Bible, Genesis 4.15). In the text, we can assume that the wound is to be interpreted as a mark because the killer in the book is playing God. He is taking justice into his own hand because the guests on the island are sinners that cannot be held legally responsible for their transgressions. This specific instance can serve as a clue that Justice Wargrave is a

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