D. DETECTIVE/MYSTERY
PSYCHO ANALYTIC APPROACH
To pattern people’s death to the dictates of a nursery rhyme is a something that only great minds could ever think of. No wonder, articles have showed that this literary piece is considered as Agatha’s best work of all time. Critics even quoted that this piece have sold more copies than Shakespeare and the Bible. Readers wonder how Agatha came up to this idea and what inspired her in writing this. Believe it or not, you will be amazed.
The author utilized the events in her life, her stories and incorporated violence and murders and finally made use of Sigmund Freud’s id, ego and superego in her literary piece. Each of the characters in the story have committed crimes that Judge Wargrave considered not punishable under law so he claimed justice the way he thought it should be done. This can be related to the death of Agatha’s brother. It obviously caused her pain which led her to the idea of incorporating death as sanction for sinners. The first character who died in the novel was Tony Marston. He choked on poisoned whiskey. This is related to the psychoanalytic theory in the sense that the author’s grandfather died in a car accident which made sense for her to have the man who killed two kids in the book to get murdered, perhaps just as she thought of when her grandfather was killed. Humans have the tendency to be egocentric thinking that punishing someone through hurting them or worst killing them is the only way to correct things. Sigmund Freud stated that most human behavior is the result of desires, impulses, and memories that have been repressed into an unconscious state, yet still influence actions. This helps in explaining Agatha’s novel. This meant that despite Agatha tried to detach her experiences and memories from her way of writing, it still affected it.
The novel is a little odd in the sense the each of the character faced death as a consequence of the crimes they regret doing. Ethically speaking, it should not be an eye for an eye. Yes, all of them committed something that is inhumane but killing them thinking that it is the kind of justice they deserve is morally wrong. No one has the power to decide who lives and who dies. Even if one thinks the intention of killing is good, the end does not justify the means.
References:
And There Were None Summary.(n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/andthenthere/summary/
Agatha Christie's Theory In And Then There Were None.(n.d.)Retrieved from
Mcleod, S. (2019). Id, Ego and Supergo. Retrieved from https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html#:~:text=Perhaps%20Freud's%20single%20most%20enduring,different%20stages%20in%20our%20lives.
Noorda, R. (n.d.). And Then There Were None Literary Criticism. Retrieved from https://study.com/academy/lesson/and-then-there-were-none-literary-criticism.html
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