Ten Little Niggers

Then there were none otherwise known as Ten Little Niggers is the seventh most popular book of all time with more than 100 million sales and was written by Agatha Christie. The story is about ten people who arrive on a mysterious island for a reason or another; strangely their host and hostess are missing. Then, one by one they die in different circumstances.

The major themes of this novel would be, suspicion and guilt. Firstly, when the tragedies begin with the deaths of some main characters, they all start to suspect each other like they are all subsequent murderers: "Blore said deliberately: 'It wouldn't be the first you've made - if that gramophone record is to be believed!'“[1]. Secondly, with all those murderers going so fast and the fact that they have all already committed murder once time in their lives, personal guilt plays a major role in the novel: "Don't you see? We're the Zoo... Last night, we were hardly human any more. We're the Zoo... "[2]

Anthony Marston: A handsome man, born in a rich family. He killed two young children in a car accident, due to speed excess.

General John Gordon Macarthur: He is the oldest guest; he is a retired WWI hero. He is accused for the death of a lieutenant during the WWI.

Thomas Rogers: He is Mrs. Roger’s husband. His wife and he were accused of letting there employer die.

Ethel Rogers: She is the wife of Thomas Rogers and the cook. She is a weak person and she was accused for the same reason as her husband.

Emily Brent: An old religious woman. She dismissed her maid because of a pregnancy out of wedlock, her maid committed suicide later on.

Judge Lawrence Wargrave: A retired judge. Wargrave is someone intelligent and he has a big sense of authority. He is accused of murder by handing out the death penalty to someone who wasn’t confirmed as guilty.

William Henry Blore: He is a private detective. Blore is accused of killing an innocent man by sending him to jail.

Vera Elizabeth Claythorne: She is a former governess. Claythorne is one of the most intelligent characters in the novel and she was accused of killing a young boy. She feels very guilty for her crime even if she was cleared of the charge.

Philip Lombard: He is a former mercenary in Africa. Lombard has been accused of causing the deaths of many Africans by abandoning an expedition group.

Dr. Edward George Armstrong: Dr. Armstrong is a timid doctor who has been accused of the death of her patient by operating on her while drunk.

They all have one thing in common, they are all subsequent murderers and that transforms everyone into strong paranoiacs.

I would say that this novel is perfect, and due to his perfection the book is too popular what makes his unique weakness. It’s the kind of book that once you start reading it; you can’t stop because you always want to know what is going to happen next. As I said, the fact that the book is so popular caused that I already knew who was the ‘’mysterious killer’’ before reading it.

460 words.

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[1] Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None, p.127

[2] Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None, p.226