Embedded Files
Speaker:
The speakers or narrators of most of Agatha Christie’s novel are the detectives or detective’s helpers themselves. This perspective is an effective way of bringing important details of cases to light that would otherwise be ignored and also introduces the reader to a new way of thinking about solving issues through the eyes of a detective. Information is also discovered strategically in order to create mystery and suspense. In both Murder on the Orient Express and The Mysterious Affair at Styles the speakers are the detectives who guide readers through the mystery while also creating suspense at the same time.
Furthermore, in Murder on the Orient Express, Hercule Poirot guides the reader through his investigation when explaining his analysis of many of the details coming from the people he meets. For example after an investigation, Hercule’s partner, M. Bouc, is looking at a button that seemingly means nothing to the crime but Poirot explains, “That button, it suggests possibilities” (pg 105). This small explanation demonstrates Poirot’s perspective on every little detail having importance to the details of the crimes he is solving. Without Poirot being the speaker of the novel, something as tiny as a button would have gone unnoticed or ignored, but because of the perspective of being a detective it becomes easier to understand the analysis of details that lead to a breakthrough in the investigation. Moreover, in The Mysterious Affair at Styles Poirot and Hastings come across several clues in Mrs. Inglethorp’s room, but Hastings pays attention to a cup of cocoa however Poirot pays no mind to it. This begins to frustrate Hastings as he doesn’t understand why Poirot would ignore clues like the cup. The perspective being not on the main detective but an assistant demonstrates an outside view to Poirot’s way of investigating while also still guiding the reader to better understand the plot. By showing this outside view of Poirot it becomes apparent that being able to read into the mind of Poirot and understand his analysis is significantly helpful in being able to solve the mystery alongside him.
Additionally, in some cases, Poirot being the speaker creates suspense for readers as they watch as he analyzes clues. In Murder on the Orient Express there is a moment where Poirot begins to connect the dots on each passenger on the train being related to the murder. This slow realization adds suspense, causing the reader to make their suspicions on how they are all connected before it is revealed. Being in the speakers perspective allows for suspense and excitement to build as the detective get closer and closer to the resolution of the case.
Character:
In most of Agatha Christie's works, her characters play a huge part in building the mystery and suspense which are essential in creating murder mystery novels. The characters that Christie includes in her murder mysteries often come from many different backgrounds and have various distinct personalities, which further creates an engaging scene that leaves readers wanting to dive deeper into the mystery. In Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile, Christie utilizes her characters in order to build up the suspense to keep readers engaged and to aid in understanding how to think through deciphering the mysteries. Each character not only comes from a different background, but also have defining complex characteristics that have differing opinions, morals, and perspectives.
Adding complexities and problems to a character is almost always a very successful method in keeping people engaged in what they are reading. Christie’s characters throughout her writing have traits and relationships that are key aspects in keeping the mystery of her novels alluring. For instance, in Murder on the Orient Express, when Poirot first encounters Mr. Ratchett, he describes him as a “bland aspect of a philanthropist,” but soon after getting closer realizes that his eyes are “small, deep-set and crafty” and that he had a “strange malevolence, an unnatural tensity” (pg 16). These juxtaposing descriptions of Mr. Ratchett quickly creates suspicion in who this man could really be, revealing that this character is multifaceted and could be just a normal old man or be hiding something sinister. Furthermore, Mr. Ratchett’s obscure demeanor immediately created suspense that made the novel engaging without any crime happening yet. Additionally, in Death on the Nile Jacqueline De Bellefort is described as having a “terrifying war between her heart and her head” (pg 273). This description of Jacqueline demonstrates how her complex feelings after being betrayed by her friend are interfering with her own morals. Knowing that Jacqueline is having such a difficult time balancing her morals creates suspense, leaving a unsubtle feeling about what may happen if she cannot balance her emotions out.
Furthermore Christie’s main characters are often the ones that narrate her novels, making the clues and crime easier to follow by seeing from the perspective of someone who is analyzing it all. In Murder on the Orient Express, the narrator and detective, Hercule Poirot, notices several small clues such as “two matches are of different shape” and a “pipe cleaner” which in other cases would have most likely been ignored since they were miniscule. Small details like these may be difficult for most to understand why could be important, however Poirot being the narrator shows his perspective and thoughts on those details. By being able to see crime scene from Poirot’s perspective, it becomes easy to follow Poirot’s mind and how to go about figuring out this crime.
Ultimately, it’s the characters in Agatha Christie’s novels that really engage people as well as helping the story move along.
Setting:
In Murder on the Orient Express and The Mysterious Affair at Styles both of the novel’s settings add to the intensity of the mysteries that take place at each location. There are also distinct aspects of each novel that cause the environment to have a tenseness or discomfort caused by setting itself and the connections between characters.
Specifically, Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express is set on a train ride in between Istanbul and London, away from all of the characters homes. The train ends up getting stuck, isolating the passengers to each other and rising tensions in between them. As passengers from all social classes and several different countries are aboard the train, a murder takes place and Hercule Poirot has to analyze each and every one of them. While Poirot investigates, it is clear that the environment these passengers are in create a tense atmosphere and allows for division by social class to happen, passing the blame for the murder around. One of the men helping Poirot brings up before the murder ever happens, “All around us are people, of all classes, of all nationalities, of all ages. For three days these people, these strangers to one another, are brought together. They sleep and eat under one roof, they cannot get away from each other” (pg 24). This observation demonstrates how easily emotions can erupt in a setting like the Orient Express where strangers are stuck together. The build up in tension because of the setting alone creates a sort of suspense that foreshadows a disturbing event that may take place due to the passengers emotions. Due to each passengers differences, it is difficult to trust each other especially in a time of a horrific event such as after the murder of Mr. Ratchett.
Furthermore, the setting of The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie is at Styles Court, during World War I, in a large manor where several members of a family reside. Similarly to Murder on the Orient Express, tension is very high in this isolated manor between the members of the Inglethorp family. This tense environment is shown quickly as the narrator, Hastings, is told about the families disapproval of Emily Inglethorp’s husband who they believe is after her money. However, there are many people who are dependents of Emily in the house, and after her death Poirot and Hastings are tasked with finding whose greed got the best of them. The tension that lingers in the manor is demonstrated when John Cavendish is first telling Hastings about his mother’s new husband, “The fellow must be at least twenty years younger than she is! It’s simply bare-faced fortune hunting” (pg 3). This description immediately introduces the tensions about Mr. Inglethorp that are obvious throughout the whole family in the manor. Ultimately, the environment the murder happened in created a massive amount of distrust and erupted tension between characters.
Plot/Structure:
The structure of Agatha Christie’s novels are all made in a specific way in order to keep the reader wanting to find out more about the mystery that is brewing. Often she will begin with introducing the main characters and setting while subtly foreshadowing the murderous events that will take place, then the murder takes place, leading to days of investigation and hardships in order to solve the mystery. The plots of her writing also have a pattern throughout her novels usually focusing on morality. Whether it be the morality of death itself or greed, there are clear patterns in Christie’s plots and structure.
Furthermore, in both of Agatha Christie’s novels, Murder on the Orient Express and The Mysterious Affair at Styles, the structure is created to keep readers engaged and wondering what may happen next. One of Christie’s most common structural patterns is foreshadowing which is used a lot in The Mysterious Affair at Styles. For example, when Hastings first brings up wanting to be a detective Mary Cavendish innocent brings up how “there were probably countless cases of poisoning quite unsuspected” (pg 7). This talk about poison subtly foreshadows Mrs. Inglethorp’s murder later that night by poison which causes the reader to suspect that the murder may be related to the murder before learning about it. Allowing readers to speculate increases their engagement in the novel ultimately forcing them to have to dive deeper in to the mystery.
Moreover, a second pattern that is often portrayed in Agatha Christie’s novels is her characters’ fight with morality. Explicitly in Murder on the Orient Express, the narrator and detective of the murder that takes place has to battle with his own morality when solving the murder. This is due to Poirot finding out the motivation behind the murder of Mr. Ratchet was because he kidnapped and murdered a little girl in the United States. This is demonstrated when the passengers on the train explain why they killed Ratchett, “There had been other children before Daisy-there might have been others in the future. Society had condemned him, we were only carrying out the sentence” (pg 264). Knowing that Ratchett’s murder was in revenge for an innocent little girl forces the readers to think about the morality of this murder. This leaves the readers wondering how Poirot will end the case knowing the circumstances of the murder. This pattern of the morality of several complex events are prevalent throughout many Christie books, in some cases its the morality of murder, greed, or jealousy.
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