Agatha Christie wrote a lot of beautiful and intricate works in her life. However, in her career there were both more worthy and less significant ones. How the genius of the detective succumbed to collective responsibility?
Today we will consider another case with detective Hercule Poirot and the difficult moral choice that he has to make in the novel “Murder on the Orient Express”. So sit back, it will be interesting!
Brief information
The plot is based on a mysterious, strange and terrible murder, the victim of which is an American named Ratchett. The action takes place in an express train. It, in addition to the deceased, is filled with people of different classes, nationalities and professions.
Later, our detective Poirot learns that the crime was played out as if by notes, and everything was thought out. However, his appearance in the compartment next to Ratchett somewhat confuses the plans of the conspirators. And yet this does not interfere with them so much as to refuse to implement their plans.
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It also soon turns out that Ratchett is a fake surname. The young man’s name is actually John Cassette, and he was involved in the terrible tragedy of the murder of Daisy Armstrong’s child a few years ago.
The fact is that the man kidnapped the child and demanded a ransom for her, and having received the money, he nevertheless dealt with the hostage. After that, the mother went mad, and the father hanged himself.
This is the beginning of our novel. Spoilers await you ahead.
How did the novel end
The fact is that almost all the passengers in the compartment where Cassette is traveling, in one way or another, are connected with the Armstrong family. Each of them did quite a lot and everything in their power to lure the killer into the confined space of the train.
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The reason for this behavior is simple – relatives, friends and relatives of the heartbroken family are tired of waiting for justice from official authorities. Therefore, they act decisively.
Next, let’s briefly talk about the actors:
Linda Arden is Daisy’s grandmother, part-time actress. Pilar Estravados is Daisy’s nanny who fell asleep the night Cassette broke into their house. Gerhard Hardman is a former detective who tried to close the case by catching the killer. Princess Dragomiroff is a friend of Daisy’s goddaughter. Hildegard Schmidt is the assistant to the princess and, in combination, the cook of the Armstrong family. Hector McQueen is the son of a disgraced prosecutor who once worked for the Armstrongs. Edward Henry Masterman is a military man and comrade of Colonel Armstrong.
As we can see, all the characters who were nearby near Ratchett were connected with the family in which he brought grief. Therefore, it is not surprising that Poirot initially received a false version with a mysterious stranger who entered the compartment of the murdered.
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For everyone else, alibis were invented, which were confirmed by all participants in the crime.
However, over time, the detective comes to the point that they are all connected, and then everything becomes more or less clear to him.
Poirot soon, after making some inquiries, realizes who was killed and how he is related to the others. Hence the clue.
However, contrary to common sense, he lets everyone go, as he understands the moral state of all those present in the car. At the same time, behind the act of the protagonist Poirot is a great moral work and the evolution of Poirot. Yes, the passengers have committed a great crime, but for them this is not a simple act of revenge, but a kind of compensation for damage.
Photo: Apple Zen
It is symbolic that at the first meeting of Ratchett and Poirot, the hero says that it is never too late to change. Therefore, at the end of the novel, he acts in accordance with his own advice.
This concludes our analysis. If you have any questions or suggestions, be sure to write them in the comments. And we have prepared other reviews for you. Here they are:
Analysis of the meaning of the novel “The Burden of Human Passions” by Maugham or the biography of an ordinary person
The meaning of the visual novel “Watchmen” or how to show supers from a human point of view
The meaning of the book “War does not have a woman’s face” or how the fair sex survived in a human meat grinder
How did Sienkiewicz’s novel “Kamo Gryadeshi” end or how the Poles wrote about Antiquity
Peaceful sky above your head and see you soon on the pages of new articles!
