Презентация - анализ романа Agatha Christie "Ten Little Niggers"

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I would like to present you the detective story under the curiosity and strange title « Ten Little Niggers » . The author of this literary work is a famous writer Agatha Christie.

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Agatha Christie was an English crime novelist, short story writer, poet, and playwright. She also wrote six romances under the name « Mary Westmacott » , but she is best known for the 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections she wrote under her own name. Agatha Christie worked in such genres as murder mystery, thriller, crime fiction, detective, romance. She was awarded by the Grand Master Award, later she received an Edgar Award. Her book « Ten Little Niggers » ( « And Then There Were None » ) was voted as the « World's Favorite Christie » . In 1971, she was made a Dame by Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace for her contribution to literature.

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I have chosen this fascinating book, following the advice of my mother. The author grabbed my attention from the original and intriguing title. It is taken, as are other of Christie's titles, after the British « blackface » song, which serves as a major plot point: Ten Little Nigger Boys. This is nevertheless one of her most significant links to the original nursery rhyme, consisting of personification of these song’s boys with the characters, with whom the action takes place. This literary work was not released until the title was changed to the last five words in the original American version of the nursery rhyme: « And Then There Were None » . It was both adapted and reprinted as « Ten Little Indians » .

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It is a mystery novel by Agatha Christie, widely considered her masterpiece and described by her as the most difficult of her books to write. The story unfolds when on a hot late August day, eight people arrive on Soldier Island, a small isolated island off the Devon coast of England.

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The subject The subject of this Agatha Christie’s best-selling novel may be formulated as murder will out. The punishment will overtake everyone who did something wrong, even if you think that nobody knows about your crime.

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The message The message may be found in A. I. Herzen statement which we should know « Terrible crimes entail terrible consequences. » It is the most awful thing in the life to hurt somebody. And nothing to say about a murder which can never be justified.

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The plot story is rather brilliantly cunning and tangled-up, because this mystery touches the readers for ingenious plot and surprise ending. The story is full of psychological digression and conveys deep thought about people’s deeds and their responsibility for it.

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The exposition In the novel, a group of people are lured into coming to an island under different pretexts, e.g. offers of employment or to enjoy a late summer holiday, or to meet with old friends. All have been complicit in the death(s) of other human beings but either escaped justice or committed an act that was not subject to legal sanction.

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The Story The guests and servants are charged with their respective "crimes" by a gramophone recording after dinner the first night and informed that they have been brought to the island to pay for their actions. They are the only people on the island, and cannot escape due to the distance from the mainland and the inclement weather, yet gradually all ten are killed in turn, in a manner that seems to parallel the ten deaths in the nursery rhyme.

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The Story In the aftermath, Marston finishes his drink. However, it was poisoned with cyanide and he chokes and dies almost immediately. Subsequently the guests notice one of the ten figurines is now broken, and the nursery rhyme appears to reflect the manner of death. The others are killed off one by one, although there is an enormous red herring, which makes the order of deaths not what it initially appears.

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The rhyme Ten little Indian Boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine. Nine little Indian Boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight. Eight little Indian Boys travelling in Devon; One said he'd stay there and then there were seven. Seven little Indian Boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were six. Six little Indian Boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five. Five little Indian Boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four. Four little Indian Boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three. Three little Indian Boys walking in the zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two. Two little Indian Boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one. One little Indian Boy left all alone; He went out and hanged himself and then there were none .

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The climax When there are only two alive people on the island we get to know about the real « Mr. Owen » who invited them to their certain death. He is not one of those two victims, he is a charge with whom they were in that house and thought that he died. This man planned his terrible chastisement and was obsessed with that idea. He was a madman.

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The denouement The denouement is very unpredictable and rather lucky. We see two last victims, who escape from the island . They are in love with each other and every reader is delight with this happy end.

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The characterization There are 10 characters in the story. Each of them is very important and significant for the better understanding of the moral of the novel. I suppose that they are main characters, but we can distinguish the most contrast to each other people. The protagonist is Justice Lawrence John Wargrave and the antagonist is Philip Lombard.

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Justice Lawrence John Wargrave , a retired judge, known as a "hanging judge" for liberally awarding the death penalty in different murder cases. Having a hidden desire of a sadistic urge of causing death only on guilty persons and finding himself with only a short time to live, he creates a game in which, as island owner "U.N. Owen" (a homonym of "Unknown"). Philip Lombard , a soldier of fortune. He comes to the island with a loaded revolver, as suggested by Isaac Morris. Of all the "guests" he is the only one to theorize that "U.N. Owen" might be Wargrave , but the others reject this and it does him no good. Vera Elizabeth Claythorne , a cool, efficient, resourceful young woman. She has largely worked at secretarial jobs ever since her job as a governess ended in the death of her charge, Cyril Hamilton, whom she intentionally allowed to swim out to sea – as the child had wanted to do but had theretofore been denied as too dangerous – and drown. Anthony James Marston killed two young children while driving recklessly. He was the first island victim, poisoned with cyanide slipped into his drink.

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Mrs Ethel Rogers , the cook/housekeeper and Thomas Rogers' wife, described as a pale and ghostlike woman who walks in mortal fear. She was Owen's second victim, dying in her sleep. Thomas Rogers , the butler and Ethel Rogers' husband. He dominated his weak-willed wife and they killed their former elderly employer. He was killed when bludgeoned with an axe as he cut firewood in the woodshed. General John Gordon Macarthur , a retired World War I war hero, who sent his late wife's lover to his death. He is bludgeoned while left sitting along the shore. Emily Caroline Brent , an elderly religiously rigid spinster. She was left alone in the kitchen and injected in the neck with cyanide. Dr Edward George Armstrong , a Harley Street doctor, responsible for the death of a patient after he operated on her while drunk. He trusts Wargrave , and helps the judge fake his death. Later he is pushed into the sea and drowns. William Henry Blore , a former police inspector, accused of falsifying in court for a bribe from a dangerous criminal gang, which resulted in an innocent man being convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment. He died in prison.

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conflicts We may observe three types of external conflicts: man against man which reveal how intricate and complicated relations between people. The main thread of the story is based on the conflict against set of values – it is a men who committed awful murders and forget about human feelings and values of life. The third one is a conflict man against society and set of circumstances. We may see the charge who wanted to punish crimes by himself. Then there is one more conflict, it is internal one within both characters. The person who believed that he is a hand of justice.

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stylistic devices Let’s see what stylistic devices contribute to the expressiveness of the detective story. There are some stylistic devices on the phonetic level : 1) « You ou ght t o t ry Arms t rong »; 2) « Some l i ttle d i ff i cult y , i t s ee med …»; 3) « Honey in the comb, and strain it yourself through a muslin bag. Drip, drip, drip... »; 4 ) « bumblebee ». On the lexical level : 1) « a curious meal » ; 2) « The word burst from her lips like an exploding shell » ; 3) « dead voice »; 4) « wolf-like smile ».

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stylistic devices On the syntactical level : 1) « It's crazy - every thing's crazy. I'm going crazy »; 2) « Watch and pray », he said. « Watch and pray »; 3) « Beautiful weather we are having ». Miss Brent said: « Yes, indeed »; 4) « She had been going to Italy to be at one with Nature and the contadini . Later she had proceeded to Syria where she proposed live at one with Nature and the bedouin ».

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Topical vocabulary intriguing [ ɪnˈtriːgɪŋ ] – интригующий; entail [ɪnˈteɪl ] - влечь за собой; ingenious [ ɪnˈʤiːnjəs ] – оригинальный; pretext [ˈpriːtekst ] - предлог, повод; inclement [ɪnˈklemənt ] – суровый; aftermath [ˈ ɑːftəmæ θ] – последствия; choke [ʧəʊk ] – задыхаться; subsequently [ˈ sʌbsɪkwəntlɪ ] – впоследствии; figurine [ˈfɪgjʊriːn ] – статуэтка; red herring [ red ˈherɪŋ ] - отвлекающий маневр; chastisement [ˈ ʧæstɪzmənt ] – наказание; butler [ˈ bʌtlə ] – дворецкий; bribe [ braɪb ] – взятка.

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conclusion « What is done by night appears by day »

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let's look at a fragment from the film adaptation of this book

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thank you for your attention