And Then There Were None

May 19, 2009 • Jordan Smith  
Filed under Creative Writing

And Then There Were None

 

I.      Given Circumstances

A. Environment

1.     Geographical: Private residence on Soldier Island off the coast of Devon, England. The climate is temperate, changing with the seasons, but is presently warm. The island is no stranger to stormy weather, being surrounded by the sea.

2.     Date: August 8 -10, 1939 in the pleasant late summer. The play begins in the afternoon and ends two days later in the morning.

3.     Economic: Though set in the late Depression, the economic status of the guests as a whole is upper middle class, though they all seem to fancy themselves as rich.

4.     Political: The political environment is less evident, but there is a strong presence of law on the island with guests ranging from policeman to judge, even a devout Christian.

5.     Social: As previously stated the guests present themselves as high-class members of society, but there is so much more to the social environment than that. There are love interests, rivalries, deceit, and an overwhelming sense of mystery and hostility; nobody trusts anyone.

6.     Religious: Though only one guest claims a faith (Christianity), she has a strong contrasting presence which somewhat symbolizes God’s judgement.

 

B.    Previous Action: Prior to the assembly of all the guests, each had received a letter from their mysterious host inviting them to his private island, claiming to have been acquainted with each in the past, as we later discover. It is also later revealed that each guest, including the caretakers of the house (who have never met their employer), has committed an act of murder in their past, one not punishable by law, but murder all the same.

 

C.    Polar attitude change of main characters: All the guests have a slightly different perspective and attitude at the beginning of the play, but as a whole they are excited and in high spirits.  But when their unknown killer starts picking them off one by one, suspicions arise and hostility is commonplace among the guests.

 

II.    Dialogue

A. Choice of words, phrases, sentence structure: Agatha Christie flaunts her genius in this play through her choice of words, phrases, and sentence structure. Filled with little one-liners and discreet clues to the fantastic insanity, Christie’s use of wordplay reveals subtle hints and elements crucial to the plot.

 

B. Use of imagery and metaphor: Equally as impressive as her choice of words, phrases, and sentence structure is Christie’s use of imagery and metaphor. The entire plot revolves around the nursery rhyme “Ten Little Soldier Boys” and its ten corresponding little china soldiers. The china soldiers represent each individual guest and the nursery rhyme as to how each will meet their fate; as the guests disappear, so do the china figures. In this way the use of imagery and metaphor is essential to the plot.

 

III.  Units: See script.

 

IV. Beats: See script.

 

V.   Character Analysis

A.   Sir Lawrence Wargrave

1.     Physical and vocal traits: Sir Lawrence Wargrave is a man of average height and size at the age of 56. His hair is dark brown, but obviously graying. He has strong facial features that predominately accentuate his cold blue eyes. His voice is deep and smooth and has a soothing, almost hypnotic tone about it.

2.     Emotional and physiological traits: Though Wargrave seems to be collect and about his wits (assuming the duty of leadership), he is absolutely insane as the mastermind behind this fantastically twisted scheme. He is aware of his insanity, but shows no signs of it on the surface, as he is self-righteous in his own sick mind.  

3.     Objective: It would appear that Wargrave’s objective, like everyone else, is to exploit the killer and find a way off the island before it’s too late, but what he really wants is the exact opposite. He is the killer, and in order to “bring them to justice” he must keep a low profile and act accordingly to the guests.

4.     Obstacle: As mentioned in the objective, Wargrave’s obstacle is to remain unsuspected by keeping a low profile. He must stealthily kill everyone off one by one according to the nursery rhyme without being discovered.

5.     Actions: In order to accomplish this Wargrave assumes the responsibility of leadership and cunningly directs the whole operation liked a skilled puppeteer. After carefully planning and executing several murders, Wargrave makes an alliance with Dr. Armstrong and fakes his own death, allowing him to later kill the doctor and orchestrate the rest of the events under the radar. 

 

 

 

B.    Vera Claythorne

1.     Physical and vocal traits: Vera Claythorne is a tall, slender, beautiful woman of 25. She has long, flowing brunette hair and stunning facial features as well as physical. She has a calm pleasant voice, with a touch of flirty tone about it.

2.     Emotional and physiological traits: Vera is a very complicated character. She presents herself as if everything is fine, but internally she can’t shake the overwhelming sense of guilt for the death she was indirectly responsible for years before; All this time it has haunted her dreams. These emotions are strongly evoked as more and more guests are murdered until she finally breaks down and loses control.     

3.     Objective: All Vera wants is to purge herself of her guilt and escape the island alive.

4.     Obstacles: The story becomes one of survival as all the guests are stranded on the island with no boat and no way of contacting help. This and choosing whom to trust prove to be the largest obstacles for Vera, and everyone else.

5.     Actions: In order to achieve her objective, Vera refrains from being alone as well as carefully watching others. The only person she seems to trust is Philip Lombard, another guest on the island.

 

C.    Philip Lombard

1.     Physical and vocal traits: Philip Lombard is an attractive, lean man of 34, well tanned, with the touch of the adventurer about him. He is tall and has light brown styled in a modern fashion. His voice is projected with confidence with a touch of cockiness.

2.     Emotional and physiological traits: Lombard’s infatuation with Vera is a testament to his predator nature, being competitive and use to being the alpha male. Lombard differs from the other guests in the sense that he takes even matters as serious as murder almost humorously (making jokes at the most inappropriate times) and enjoys getting a rise out of people himself. Lombard views William Blore, another guest, as a threat creating a strong rivalry between the two.

3.     Objective: Lombard is the only guess less concerned with escaping the island than wooing Miss Claythorne. Of course escaping the island and finding the killer are important to him too, but they aren’t his top priorities.

4.     Obstacles: Lombard’s biggest obstacle in all cases seems to be Blore, as direct competition for alpha male. Blore challenges Lombard in all circumstances, particularly in his motives for carrying a revolver. 

5.     Actions: In order to achieve his objectives Lombard relentlessly flirts with Vera and takes advantage of every opportunity to impress and protect her.  In regards to revealing the killer and escaping the island, Lombard, and the other young men, search the house and the island over. Lombard is also more forward and aggressive about interrogating people and making accusations.

 

D.   William Blore

1.     Physical and vocal traits: William Blore is a man of average height with a little extra weight at the age of 45. He has light brown hair with a tint of auburn and a mustache. He has soft and subtle facial features. His voice is loud and he speaks with authority and purpose.

2.     Emotional and physiological traits: Blore is a detective, which manifests itself into his character. He asks a lot of questions, is impatient, and is quick to jump to conclusions. Blore suspects Lombard throughout the duration of the play, even when seemingly persuasive evidence offers a different conclusion. A mentioned before, this creates a lot of tension and rivalry between the two.

3.     Objective: As a detective Blore is one of the more dedicated and motivated guests in exploiting the killer.

4.     Obstacles: Likewise to Lombard’s situation, Blore’s biggest obstacle proves to be Lombard.

5.     Actions: All the guests’ actions follow suite in searching for and revealing the killer, to an extent. Specific to Blore is his constant questioning of Lombard’s motives.  

 

E.    Doctor Edward Armstrong

1.     Physical and vocal traits: Doctor Armstrong is a fussy, good-looking man of 44. He is of average height and size, has dark brown hair, almost black, and a strong jaw. His voice is calm, but he often lets his nerves get the better of him. Doctoral attire, usually professional, and modest despite his abundant wealth.

2.     Emotional and physiological traits: Armstrong is a nerve doctor, which is somewhat ironic because as previously mentioned he often lets his nerves get the better of him. Since the involuntary death of one of his patients, he has become overly cautious about his actions, and is looking for peace and retribution for his misdeeds.

3.     Objective: Doctor Armstrong assists both Blore and Lombard in seeking out the murderer, but unlike the two he is more concerned about escaping the island than catching the perpetrator. Essentially he is interested in self preservation, whether it is escaping the island when that is an option or catching the murderer once it is apparent there is no way off.

4.     Obstacles: Armstrong wants solely to get off the island, away from the murderer, but the boat does not return on the morning after the guests’ arrival. After this is evident, he contributes to the search party, though the murder is ever elusive, and a constant obstacle to Dr. Armstrong’s goals. 

5.     Actions: He assists Blore and Lombard in the search effort, but only after extensively voicing his desire to get off the island.

 

F.    Emily Brent

1.     Physical and vocal traits: Emily Brent is a port spinster with a disagreeable, suspicious face. Her previously blonde hair is heavily white, she walks with her nose eternally upturned, and conducts herself in proper, and self righteous manner. She has a hawkish glance with piercing dark eyes.

2.     Emotional and physiological traits: Looks down on others primarily because she comes from old wealth as a descendent of a noble family. Furthermore, she has had a disparaging occurrence in her past involving the loss of her love to another woman accounting for her distinct coldness. She shows little guilt for the death she is responsible for, except for just before she is killed, displaying her deep seated discomfort for her prior actions.

3.     Objective: Emily is forever trying to absolve her past, the death she is responsible for, and does this primarily through degrading others, and therefore elevating her own status. She is little concerned with the drama of the island after it is apparent they will not be able to get off via the boat.

4.     Obstacles: No one takes notice of her snarky comments, as they dismiss her as a religious zealot, crazed in her elderly state.

5.     Actions: Emily is forever making judgmental remarks, and knits, showing her obvious disdain for the others in a subdued manner that stays in accord with her moral standards.

 

G.   Rogers

1.     Physical and vocal traits: Rogers is a competent middle-aged manservant. Dark brown, peppered with grays. Not a butler, but a house-parlor man. Quick and deft. Just a trifle specious and shifty, he walks properly with posture. His voice is polite and proper and he has professional mannerisms that have become second nature, as exhibited by his extreme over-use of formal titles in dialogue. 

2.     Emotional and physiological traits: He is suppressing any guilt he may have felt regarding the death of his former mistress, mostly because he got away with the death. While his wife is irritated with the immediate presence of guests so quickly after they have assumed their positions, Rogers’ extreme dedication to his position has taken over any misgivings he may have had. Following the death of his wife, Rogers suppresses his emotions and continues his duties in a blind daze of grief. He has lost some motivation to live after the death of his wife, but he hides it well.

3.     Objective: For a small time, Rogers is extremely concerned with finding the killer and survival butt after a time, his primary purpose in life is to serve and therefore he falls into his default comfort in the position of manservant.

4.     Obstacles: The fact that there is a murderer lose on the island is a constant detraction from his goal and therefore an obstacle. The death of his wife also obstructs his emotional stability.

5.     Actions: Rogers tries to keep up an air of normalcy despite the obvious disruption both the new position and then the death of his wife. He does everything to keep doing his job as a manservant.

 

H.   General Mackenzie

1.     Physical and vocal traits: General Mackenzie is an upright soldiery man with a gentle, tired face. He is handsome, despite being in his late fifties. He is clean shaven, but with distinguishing sideburns. He is nervous in speaking, socially awkward. There is a deep timber to his voice but a subtle humility which comes out in softness which betrays his slightly war-ravaged mind.

2.     Emotional and physiological traits: He is one of the most emotionally distraught characters of the play. His awkwardness at the inset of the play progresses into general resignation to his death. He shows his remorse for his doings, mostly the death of those in the bush as well as those who may have been indirectly killed by his position a general.

3.     Objective: He intends to go peacefully to his death, differing from everyone else, he does not seek the killer or to expoit him. Additionally he is fixated on his wife.

4.     Obstacles: No one understands his complacency, and he won’t ever be able to reconcile with his with his wife in life, which is complicated Mackenzie’s concern for the fate of his soul in the afterlife.

5.     Actions: He calmly awaits his death.

 

I.      Mrs. Rogers

1.     Physical and vocal traits: Mrs. Rogers slightly younger than her husband, but appears much older because is a constantly worried and easily emotionally distraught. She appears ghostly, but makes a concerted effort to keep well kempt. Her hair is brown but significantly graying. She is thin

2.     Emotional and physiological traits: She is irritated, and annoyed with the fact that their employer has dumped them off with a huge responsibility when they have only just contracted the positions.

3.     Objective: Mrs. Rogers wants to make it through the time with the guests until she are relieved by the maids, to serve to the wishes of her employer.

4.     Obstacles: The guests are extremely annoying and detrimental to the execution of her goal, and furthermore her goal is proved completely unattainable, for she is killed.

5.     Actions: She serves the guests until which time she is killed.

 

J.     Anthony Marston

1.     Physical and vocal traits: Anthony Marston is a good-looking young man of 23. Rich spoiled – not very intelligent. He is tall and muscular and has strong facial features. He has dark brown hair, almost black. His voice is deep and he speaks somewhat sarcastically and with an edge.

2.     Emotional and physiological traits: Marston is self centered and strictly concerned with being cool. He maintains the air of indifference in order to support his “cool-guy” aura. He is in favor of crime, almost in a sarcastic, or ironic statement as to his opportunism.

3.     Objective: To have a good time and meet beautiful women.

4.     Obstacles: He dies.

5.     Actions: He makes cordial advances on Vera.

 

K.   Fred Narracott

1.     Physical and vocal traits: Fred Narracott is a handsome young man of 22 with light brown hair. He is tall and well built, and has a strong, predominate chin. His voice is deep and respectful.

2.     Emotional and physiological traits: Little is known about Narracott, as he is a very minor character. All that can really be concluded about his emotional and physiological traits is that he is obedient and respectful.

3.     Objective: Narracott’s objective is simply to deliver the basket of groceries Mrs. Rogers requested and help the guests with their luggage.

4.     Obstacles: Although this might not be considered so much an obstacle to him as the guests, Narracott has been requested by his employer (the host) to not return the following day and to ignore any signs that might be interpreted as signs for help.

5.     Actions: Narracott obediently delivers the basket of groceries to Mrs. Rogers, helps the guests their luggage, and follows his employer’s instructions.

 

VI.  Theme/Idea of play: Likewise to the saying no good deed goes unnoticed, no bad deed will go unpunished.