And Then There Were None

In the book And Then There Were None, ten characters are invited to an island by an anonymous host. At the Island, there is a poem that tells a story about ten Indian boys who all die in unique ways. Coincidentally, there are ten figurines that are designed as Indian boys on a plate on the dinner table inside the only house on the island, a mansion. As the story progresses, the characters find out everyone who was invited to the island had committed murder but avoided the consequences by finding a loophole in the law. Determining to grant the victims of the guests’ acts the justice they deserve, the unidentified Mr. U. N. Owen commits murders of his own, killing each guest in correspondence with the Indian poem. Using mystery and murder, Agatha
While babysitting him, Cyril had wanted to swim out to a rock in a lake Vera took him to visit. Usually, she would say no, that it was too far for him, but this particular day she had allowed him to. Cyril drowned and Vera swam out to try and save him, so she claims. In the beginning of the story, after the gramophone announcement and mention of Cyril, Vera explains herself by saying “I swam after him… I couldn’t get there in time…. It was awful…. But it wasn’t my fault… and his mother-she was so kind.” (Christie 44). As the tale progresses, it is revealed that Cyril’s father, Hugo, was having romantic relations with Vera. As Vera was climbing the stairs in the mansion, ready to finish the poem ending in “one lonely Indian boy [hanging] his little self”, she is convinced by her growing crazy conscience that Hugo is waiting for her. She opened the door to her room and thought at the sight, “A rope with a noose all ready? And a chair to stand upon-a chair that could be kicked away…. That was what Hugo wanted.” (Christie 184). Vera had lost her mind from the weight of the guilt. So with the idea in her head that she was truly fulfilling Hugo’s wishes and avenging Cyril, she kicked the chair away and hung her little