Student’s Last Name 1

Student’s Name

Professor’s Name

Course Name

6th May, 2016

Did justice really prevail in “And then there were none” by Agatha Christie

Introduction

The story of “And then there were none” revolves around the ten people who had

gathered on an island thinking that they were there for different purposes. But soon they are

accused of different murders respectively by someone through a recorded message and that the

time had come to pay for their crimes. Soon, one by one each of them starts dying in manner

similar to ones sketched in the nursery rhyme of “Ten Little Indians”. The main theme of the

story is that Judge Wargrave stages the entire thing in order to punish them for their crimes

which they had committed but were not punished due to lack of evidence. He justifies it saying

that justice should always prevail (Agatha Christie, 1939).

Thesis Statement: Although ten people gathered on the island had committed murders they were

not repentant of; Wargrave didn’t have any right to punish them just because of his beliefs.

Wargrave’s action in the story is unjustified

There was a silence—a comfortable replete silence. Into that silence came The Voice. Without

warning, inhuman, penetrating . . . “Ladies and gentlemen! Silence, please! . . . You are charged

with the following indictments (“And then there were none”-by Agatha Christie)”
 Student’s Last Name 2

Justice Wargrave is shown to have a deep faith and belief that the crime must not go

unpunished and the justice must prevail. In his tenure of being a judge, he delivered justice in

numerous cases. But there were also some cases where he couldn’t provide justice as there was

no conclusive evidence against the accused people. Thus, Wargrave thinks that although he was

constrained due to the legal system, he can still deliver justice by killing all the guilty people. He

chose cases where he felt that the offenders had felt no guilt of their crimes and thus deserved to

be punished more than those who had felt the guilt and regretted their crimes even if they were

not punished (Agatha Christie, 1939). The theme and his intentions (without revealing it was

him) are evident from the beginning where the entire party is gathered and recording is played

accusing them of their crimes.

“Oh, yes. I’ve no doubt in my own mind that we have been invited here by a madman – probably

a dangerous homicidal lunatic (“And then there were none”-by Agatha Christie)”

The above quote defines the character of Wargrave and also that what he did was not

sane or justice. If every person who believes that a certain person has committed a crime and

starts taking action on their beliefs and killing people as personal or psychological vendetta, then

it will just create chaos and increase the crime in society. Justice Wargrave should have known

having worked in the legal system that it is the work of courts and police to investigate and pass

verdicts on a crime based on proofs and evidences and not just on the basis of one’s beliefs

(Agatha Christie, 1939). This can lead to biased and wrongful verdicts at times.

Conclusion

The deeds of Wargrave in the novel, “And then there were none” were not justified and

were based on his innate beliefs and desire to provide justice. He could have dig in for more
 Student’s Last Name 3

evidences or interrogated the accused people in depth in order to bring them to justice. But the

path taken by him was wrong and not justified in the eyes of both legal systems and from

humanistic perspectives.

Works Cited

Agatha Christie. “And then there were none”, Collins Crime Club, 1939.