Murder on the Orient Express has all the features of a great detective story, including interesting characters, thrilling suspense and a brilliant twist at the end. This story is all about the contrast between appearance and reality, and this is something the reader discovers themselves as they realize that this is not a typical detective story. Indeed, this story is unique in the sense that there is not just one or several murderers, but twelve. Each of these twelve passengers actually know each other but pretend they don't during Poirot's investigation. The fact there are twelve accomplices is significant, as this is the number of people in a jury. As such, these twelve passengers represent a unique interpretation of justice, whereby twelve people have decided that murder is justified. Poirot, symbolizing a judge, then makes the final decision to keep his discovery a secret, as he also believes the murder was justified.
As such, this text also draws on philosophical and political themes, and is not simply just for entertainment. Through the text, we question the concept of justice, and whether murder can ever truly be justified. After discovering that the victim of this text actually kidnapped an innocent child and killed her, we question whether he is truly the 'victim' at all. This is the conclusion of the twelve passengers, who have decided that they must take matters into their own hands to obtain justice for the young Daisy Armstrong.
This story is also interesting due to its wide range of characters. M. Bouc says 'All around us are people, of all classes, of all nationalities, of all ages,' which summarizes Christie's diverse choice of passengers. This aspect of the text makes it even more shocking that all the characters are connected to the case of Daisy Armstrong, considering how different they all are.
Murder on the Orient Express is more than just a murder mystery. It is a novel that utilizes a great deal of existing social issues of the era in which it was written and formed a commentary on those issues while giving the reader an intriguing yet approachable narrative. Through this approach, Agatha Christie has given the reader an opportunity to see the world through the eyes of the seasoned private investigator Hercule Poirot. In this world, nothing is at it seems and apparent coincidence belies a hidden truth, a world in which the geographical connections created by passenger railways allowed people of different nationalities and classes to rub elbows.…show more content…
M. Bouc proclaimed his views on Italians directly after the interviewing of Antonio Foscarelli, “‘He has been a long time in America, said M. Bouc, ‘and he is an Italian, and Italians use the knife! And they are great liars! I do not like Italians’” (144). These personality traits as being defined by their nationality are no more as possible as the ability to kill being defined by their nationality. These views are bigoted or prejudiced, but it is important to remember that most of the passengers are playing their respective roles in a plot to commit murder. They are adopting stereotypes about other countries in order to play their parts more effectively. A fine example of this takes place with Mrs. Hubbard. Throughout the novel she is a brash, irritating American who grates on many around her with her parody of the typical American. It is only until much later in the novel that we see how much of this is truly an act in order to get by undetected. As an American, she chose to appear more of what foreigners deem “American” in order to truly throw off the sent that she could have anything to do with the murder. That very act itself reveals perceptions of nationality in Christies’ era. In order to maintain the charade the passengers must act as someone of their class and nationality would to avoid suspicion. Amongst the social issues addressed in the novel, the insufficiency of the law in the United States drew my attention. Discussions of prohibition and laws
Murder On The Orient Express 1974
'Murder on the Orient Express' (2010) David Suchet reprised the role of Hercule Poirot in 'Murder on the Orient Express' (2010), an 80-minute movie-length episode of the television series Agatha Christie's Poirot co-produced by ITV Studios and WGBH-TV, adapted for the screen by Stewart Harcourt. The original air date was 11 July 2010 in the. Murder on the Orient Express is arguably Agatha Christie’s most famous novel. It’s certainly the most celebrated mystery that Hercule Poirot, her renowned Belgian detective, ever investigated. Especially in Murder on The Orient Express where the murderers are let off, the writer needs to make the murder as neat and un-extraordinary as possible. Of course, the planning and so forth of Ratchett's murder by the Armstrongs was quite extraordinary, but the blood and gore of the actual crime is lessened to make the murder seem more 'just. Murder on the Orient Express was released theatrically in the UK on 24 November 1974. The film was a success at the box office, given its tight budget of $1.4 million, 10 earning $36 million in North America, 10 11 making it the 11th highest-grossing film of 1974.