The book And Then There Was None is a book full of suspense, thrill, and mystery. Foreshadowing and irony are two main elements that make this book suspenseful. Christie also uses character development and the characters’ past to make the reader think that anyone could be the murderer. Self-guilt also played a huge role of why some events and thoughts occurred. There are also main turning points and twists that make this book mysterious and creepy. The biggest piece of evidence that supports foreshadowing is perhaps the “Ten Little Indians” nursery rhyme. Ms.
Vera Claythrone first notices this in her room, but does not think much of it. This rhyme conducted the plot and murders. The murderer uses this rhyme to pick off the residents one-by-one. Another example of foreshadowing is when Mr. Blore is warned by an old man, in the beginning, that judgment day is close. This foreshadows Mr. Blore’s and everyone else’s death. Irony also played a huge part in making this book suspenseful. Irony is used to try to identify the possible murderer. Ms. Claythorne and Mr. Lombard also thought Mr. Blore could be the possible murderer, but then found him crushed by a bear shaped mantle piece.
Vera Claythorne and Mr. Lombard thought Dr. Armstrong was the possible killer after his disappearance, but then found him washed up on the shore. This irony creates suspense by not being able to figure out who the actual murderer is. After the record played accusing all the residents of murder, self-guilt sets in. In this case, it slowly drives Ms. Claythorne mad. She has always felt guilty about Cyril drowning. She actually starts to think Cyril is haunting her when she mistakes the cold seaweed on the hook for Cyril’s cold, wet hands around her throat. The seaweed on the hook also does some foreshadowing for where the noose will be later. A MANUSCRIPT DOCUMENT SENT TO SCOTLAND YARD… ” is the solution to all the suspense and thrill to this novel. Mr. Justice Wargrave planned out these murders because he thought justice should be served to these residents involved in prior deaths. Mr. Wargrave was ill and had not much time to live so that is why he had no problem ending his own life, too. Agatha Christie is the world’s best-selling novelist of all time because of books she wrote like And Then There Were None. This book was full of suspenseful moments. The way she creates suspense in this book makes you never want to put her book down.
The Essay on The Black Cat by Edgar Allan Poe – Suspense, Irony, Symbolism
Nathaniel Hawthorne once said, “Words-so innocent and powerless as they are, as standing in a dictionary, how potent for good and evil they become in the hands of one who knows how to combine them.” Edgar Allan Poe is one of the many few that has a very effective style of writing. By using various effects in his short stories, he draws his audience in and grabs their attention from the very ...
