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Christie: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) (CHARACTERS (Detective:…
Christie:
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
(1926)
SUBGENRE
Golden age detective fiction
a bewildering crime is committed
identity of the criminal cannot be discerned
numerous clues that appear to lead nowhere
plethora of suspects
a gentleman detective uses their powers of deduction and reasoning to solve the crime
the criminal is identified and arrested/dies
bucolic (pastoral) setting -- English village
all prominent characters are of the upper-middle class
the police are incompetent
CHARACTERS
Detective: Hercule Poirot
omnipotent
P: "I shall know--in spite of you all"
supernatural powers?
his eyes, "emitting a queer green light" {check}
limitation of "masculinity"
S: "the man reminded me of a cat"
normally socially graceful
can be endearing
"papa Poirot" ch12
can be verbally aggressive
' "Who was your last master?"
rapped
out Poirot suddenly' ch17
oddity
physically odd
"an
egg
-shaped head"
language: errors
"all my excuses for having deranged you"
Victims
Criminal: James Sheppard
psychopathic tendencies (modern reader)
motivation: human weakness?
Peripheral detective figure: Caroline
SETTING
setting enclosed
English country house
EFFECTS OF CRIME
DETECTION AND INVESTIGATION
rational
correct interpretation of circumstantial evidence
interviewing of witnesses/suspects
MORAL PURPOSE/RESTORATION OF ORDER
ends with a claim Sheppard will commit suicide/ implication he will otherwise be arrested --> hanged
GUILT AND REMORSE
None.
CONFESSION AND FORGIVENESS
JUSTICE
Legal system
Police
Justice or injustice
STRUCTURE
Movement towards order
final, bathetic sentence
cohesive tie with 1st appearance of Poirot
undermine gravity of situation - dispel anxiety
psychopathic tendency: superficial charm? (modern reader)
LANGUAGE
(generally)
CONTEXTS
Effect on the reader
Richard Raskin social & psychological functions of crime writing
ludic
tension-reduction
orienting
reassure reader that mystery will be unravelled and criminal brought to justice
wish-fulfillment: can identify with
Poirot as he vindictively accuses suspects/solves crime
Sheppard's ingenuity (ch.26-27)
see
2017 MS p.34
Literature of convalescence
(Alison Light)
recovery/escape from horrors of World War I.
Representation of women
gossipers (Caroline/Mrs Ackroyd)
young lovers (Flora/Ursula Bourne)
cold (Miss Russell)
THE CRIME
Inclusion of violence
Love, money and danger
