And Then There Were None Literary Analysis Essay Sample

In the novel by Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None, she portrays many different ways people act when they carry guilt on their shoulders. Vera Claythorne, Emily Brent, and Dr. Armstrong all represent different ways guilt can affect one's life.  Vera Claythrone turns crazy from her guilt and ultimately ends up killing herself. Emily Brent ignores her Guilt which eventually leads up to her turning herself mad. Dr. Armstronsg acknowledges that he is guilty, repents and takes responsibility for his actions, and becomes sober. Agatha Christie shows that living with guilt can affect how you live in either a positive or negative way. 

Vera Claythorne never doubted that she was guilty but she never made that public to anyone around her. At the end that cost her her life. Vera Claythrone was obsessed with Hugo and believed he was the love of her life. She was going to make that happen, even if that involved killing a child. Vera would always say that she turned her head for a second and Cyril ended up drowning, and she couldn't reach him in time. Whenever It was time for Vera to go to sleep, she would always end up thinking about Hugo and Cyril. “I feel awful. I must go to bed ... I’m dead beat.” … “She’d begin to think of Cornwall—of Hugo—of—of what she’d said to Cyril.” ( Chapter 14 Pg 227) …. “ You can go to the rock Cyril.” (Chapter 16 page 269)  The readers are aware at the end of the novel, that Vera is guilty of the murder of Cyril. Throughout the novel, Agatha Christie shows that everything Vera did was merely for Hugo. Throughout the novel the readers see Vera's guilt grow more and more throughout each of the characters' deaths. Vera Guilt ends up eating her up.  Vera Clathrone's guilt grew so much that it ultimately ended up making her kill herself. 

Emily Brent believes she was innocent for the death of Beatrice Taylor, but with time on the island, she starts changing her mind.  Emily Brent is being accused of the death of Beatrice Taylor. Emily goes to her room and starts reading the Bible and then starts writing in her diary. She writes that McArthur has been killed and how the group thinks the murderer is among them. She started to write about who she thought the murder is when she started to get tired.  She opened it and began writing….She sat for some time without moving. Her eyes grew vague and filmy. The pencil straggled drunkenly in her fingers. In shaking loose capitals she wrote: THE MURDERER’S NAME IS BEATRICE TAYLOR…(Chapter 10 Page 75) When Emily Brent writes that Beatrice Taylor is the murder, she thinks she has gone mad. When Emily came to the island she truly did believe she was innocent. Through the novel many characters see her as a nice old lady.  After hearing everyone's crimes and slowly seeing everyone die, she slowly realizes she is not that innocent after all. When Emily Brent holds in all of her guilt, she starts acting mad which starts to ruin her life, with the result of her being dead.

 Dr. Armstrong was able to take his guilt and turn around his life and make guilt be a positive in his life.  In the beginning chapters of the novel, Dr. Armstrong reflects, on a mistake in his past. He accidentally killed a woman while operating on her while he was drunk. In chapter six, we open up to Dr. Armstrong having a nightmare of him operating on a patient with their head covered. He takes off the covering and imagines different characters under the blade.  “They shouldn’t cover up the face like that...if he could only see the face”. (p.92)  By remembering he didn't see the face he was forced to acknowledge someone was under the sheet. Maybe if he would have seen a person under the sheet that night, he would have understood his actions before they became consequences. Dr. Armstromg no longer drinks and still practices medicine but he often looks back on this night and is still guilty.  Due to Dr. Armstrong's Guilt, he was able to become sober, which changed his life for the better. 

Agatha Christie portrays in the novel and then there were none, guilt can deeply affect someone life in a either a positive way, or a negative. Vera Claythorne has so much guilt that she ends up killing herself. Throughout the novel, Emily Brent starts to feel guilty and turns crazy from her guilt. Dr. Armstrong is able to turn around his guilt and make it a positive in his life by becoming sober. Having Guilt on your shoulders can either break or make someone's life.