Justice

In And then there were none

Justice in And Then There Were None

"People die one by one.. and then there were none." And Then There Were None is a mystery novel by Agatha Christie. Agatha Christie is one of the most sold mystery authors, only outsold by Shakespeare and the Bible. And Then There Were None is one of the best-selling and most famous mystery novels in the world. The setting and plot of this book are interesting. Ten people are trapped on Soldier Island by a mysterious figure called U.N.Owen. These ten people committed ‘crimes’, but they are not legally punishable. After all ten people get to the island, people start to die, one by one. Then, after a lot of arguing and interrogation, they find out there is a murderer among them. At last, a person called Justice Wargrave turns out to be the murderer. In his manuscript after everyone including Wargrave died and everything ended, he turns out to be killing the ten people in an order, based on the heaviness of their commitment to their ‘crime’. Justice Wargrave was the murderer, but he was also a judge before inviting ten people to the island to murder them. Therefore, also granting that his name is Justice and he is a judge, we can say that this book includes the theme of ‘justice’ inside this book. However, it is controversial whether Wargrave plays the role of justice or whether Wargrave is just a ruthless serial killer because some say Wargrave killed people who committed bad things before but were not legally punishable. However, some also say that killing is still bad and Wargrave is the most evil person among the ten people. However, it is certain that Wargrave is the character most related to justice in the book, and that Wargrave plays a role that is closely related to ‘justice’. The role Wargrave is playing is ‘judging justice’ and this book shows the absence of a definition of justice.

The first reason is Wargrave’s background as a retired judge. Wargrave was a judge that killed many people with the law. That means he believed in justice in that way, the point of view thinking that criminals should be killed for their sins. But, not all people think like that. So, this is connected to the absence of a definition of justice. First, the fact that he was a judge can support that he was judging justice in the aspect of the plot of justice. Also, he killed many people with the law when he was a judge, which means he killed many people with the death penalty. Also, on the island, he killed all of the people there, including himself. There is a similarity in his times when he was a judge and when on Soldier Island. It is that he killed them by judging. In his times as a judge, he ‘killed’ people with the law and judging. Also, it is found out that he killed people on Soldier Island because of the heaviness of the crimes they committed. That means he judged the people on the island too. Also, he led the discussions on who is the murderer on Soldier Island. Therefore, Wargrave tries to find justice and at least wants justice. Here, it is possible to know that Wargrave judges justice on both sides.
Also, Wargrave’s reasoning is revealed in the manuscript ‘Manuscript Document Sent to Scotland Yard’. There, Wargrave states that he killed the ten people on the island by the heaviness of their ‘not legally punishable crime’. In the book, ten people are mentioned with their ‘crimes’. The quote below, from the book, mentions the crimes that these people were associated with. These are not the order of death.
“Emily Caroline Brent, that upon the 5th of November, 1931, you were responsible for the death of Beatrice Taylor.
William Henry Blore, that you brought about the death of James Stephen Landor on October 10th, 1928.
Vera Elizabeth Claythrone, that on the 11th day of August, 1935, you killed Cyril Ogilvie Hamilton.
Phillip Lombard, that upon a date in February, 1932, you were guilty of the death of twenty-one men, members of an East African Tribe.
John Gordon Macarthur, that on the 4th of January 1917, you deliberately sent your wife’s lover, Arthur Richmond, to his death.
Anthony James Marston, that upon the 14th day of November last, you were guilty of the murder of John and Lucy Combes.
Thomas Rogers and Ethel Rogers, that on the 6th of May, 1929, you brought about the death of Jeniffer Brady.
Lawrence John Wargrave, that upon the 10th day of June 1930, you were guilty of the murder of Edward Seton.
Prisoners at the bar, do you have anything to say in your defense?” (Christie 47)
Wargrave listed the sins of these people from lowest to highest: Anthony, Mrs. Rogers, Macarthur, Mr. Rogers, Brent, Wargrave (who faked his death), Armstrong, Blore, Lombard, and Vera. That is the sequence of death, and also how Wargrave judged the sins of these characters. Here, Wargrave is the killer and he is leaving the people with the heaviest sin on the island longer in order to punish them. Plus, Wargrave seems to be judging the crimes mostly by these: 1. What is the crime? And 2, Who is the target of the crime? For example, Wargrave judged Lombard and Vera’s crimes as the worst, who are people that killed 21 people due to racism(Lombard) and killed a kid by encouraging(Vera). So, it is possible to know that Wargrave focused on the number of murders that this person committed and the age of the victim.
What Wargrave wanted was for people with the heaviest sin to have more pain by getting left on the island longer. That is his form of justice. As mentioned, Wargrave was a judge who killed many people with the law, which he thought was justice. But nowadays, people usually oppose the death penalty and it is a society in which even criminals have respected rights. In this situation, we can say that people do not think the same as Wargrave. People may also think differently about how Wargrave judged the crimes of these people. So, that also connects to the absence of a definition of justice, because people think differently in terms of justice.

The second reason is the story behind the story’s plot. A brief summary of the story could be: Ten people are trapped in an island called Soldier Island, by a mysterious figure called U.N.Owen. One by one, the ten people die with the same method as the nursery rhyme everywhere on the island. They find out that there is a murderer among them. And, when they all die, the problem is solved. The person who faked his death, Wargrave was the murderer. And, in the manuscript that was given by the murderer, it says that he just wanted to kill people, just in a very amazing way. And, Justice Wargrave shows many of his secrets in the manuscript. Wargrave had, from his earliest youth, the will to kill and delight in seeing death. However, he also had contradicting emotions that he had to do right, and that he should not cause an innocent person to die due to him. He was interested in crime and punishment. That might be assumed as why he became a judge, and his delight in seeing death and his contradicting thoughts that he should not kill innocent people give out the reason why Wargrave killed many people by the death penalty. Also, Wargrave would not have killed the people on the island if they were not criminals who had sins. Wargrave performed the act of 10 murders on Soldier Island because he personally wanted to kill these people who committed sins that were not legally punishable. One more thing, Wawrgrave really enjoyed seeing a wretched criminal head to doom after committing many crimes. But, also, Wargrave did not enjoy an innocent person dying there. He was relieved that most of his cases of killing the accused were guilty. It is able to see here that Wargrave liked killing the guilty and seeing the guilty die, but does not like the innocent dying and them being hurt. So, Wargrave planned this murder on Soldier Island to be people who committed a sin. “I wanted to kill…Yes, I wanted to kill… But, incongrous as it may seen to some- I was restrained and hampered by my innate sense of justice. The innocent must not suffer.”(288)
So, why would Wargrave hate these people so much? The reason why Wargrave made a murder mystery on Soldier Island may be because of his pleasure, but there seems to be a feeling hidden in Wargrave’s heart, a feeling that opposes these people. Wargrave felt bad about criminals and people that committed sins. Wargrave would have had worse feelings because the ten people mentioned committed sins and did not get punished. As mentioned, Wargrave’s point of view in terms of justice is criminals getting the punishment that belongs to them. So, Wargrave would have hated them more. Also, these ten people were not punished after committing a sin. They were living relieved lives, because most of their crimes were committed a long time ago. Wargrave hated this. He liked criminals getting busted, but in reality the criminals did not get busted as easily as Wargrave assumed. In fact, they were living lives as normally as other people, and the ten people mentioned would have been living more normal lives because they did not get really a punishment, instead of emotions. Wargrave hated that. So, Wargrave became a judge, and most importantly, committed murder on Soldier Island. Additionally, this book may be a warning to people like these ten people that they are going to be like that. This looks like Agatha Christie’s message that she wanted to deliver to the people like this.
There is also a connection between the absence of definition of justice. Wargrave felt strong feelings against criminals and emotions that wanted to kill them, and feelings that he did not want to hurt the innocent. People may think Wargrave’s childhood was not justified. However, every murder and things that happen on this plot is completely based on Wargrave’s justice, so this plot may also symbolize the absence of a definition of justice.

The third reason is the story’s actual plot, setting and the people’s death. This story can be explained as ten sinners dying one by one. The story begins with the ten people arriving at the suspicious Soldier Island, and there is someone announcing the sin of these people. When finding out the murderer after them finding out that there is one among them, Wargrave not only leads the discussion of finding the murderer, he poses the role of actually a detective in the story. Wargrave poses a role of justice and detective in the story, as well with the murderer role in the story. A role of justice and detective in a story makes people judge things. In the story, as well, Wargrave judges many things including the alibi and people. His actions were easily seen in his dialogues, and the other people may have accepted him as a judge because he was good with the job of judge in the earlier years. Anyways, he poses the role of detective in the story, figuring out things. And, this is judging justice as well. Also, Wargrave faking his death is a role of justice-judging. Wargrave is a judge, and he puts himself in the fourth-heavy sinner among the ten of them. In this part, Wargrave was judging justice, comparing with the other people, and also thinking about his life again. According to the manuscript, it is shown that Wargrave lived a very complicated life. He focused too much on killing and punishing the criminals. He actually did not focus on ‘is this justified?’ and only believed in his justice. That is a sin for a judge, and Wargrave might have thought like that while on the island, too. The experience on the island could have been a time for rehabilitation for everyone, because first, they were reminded of the crimes, and they were trapped in an island. The statement made by MacArthur is one of the examples. “None of us are going to leave the island. That’s the plan. You know, it’s the relief! You will know it when you get older…” (129) Also, MacArthur thinks again about the ex-wife. So, in the process of faking his death and killing himself, Wargrave once more judged justice.
Also, the book shows the absence of definition. In this book, each character delivers their own form of justice. For example, Emily Brent shows her expression as ‘I did nothing bad’ and some others don’t. With this, it is possible to know that there is no definition of justice. Also, Agatha Christie was a racist that wrote this book, known by the original title. This book not only shows the characters’ point of view, it also shows the author’s point of view and shows the absence of a definition of justice.

In conclusion, Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None displays a message that there is no definition of justice, and that Justice Wargrave judges justice. Wargrave was a good character that looked like a detective, and he was actually a detective, a judge, a murderer, and justice. The book displays racism as well, that can be Agatha Christie’s justice. Therefore, once again, this book delivers the message of justice: Wargrave plays the role of a justice-judge and the book shows that there is no correct definition of justice. But, also, should this justice be justified?











Works Cited
Christie, Agatha. And Then There Were None. 1939. HarperCollins, 2019.