Examples Of Foreshadowing In And Then There Were None

Culminating Essay

In her time, Agatha Christie was one of the best crime novelists. As a matter of fact, decades later she is still one of the best crime novelists due to her remarkable skills in writing suspense-themed stories. An example would be her book, And Then There Were None, which is a murder mystery surrounding ten people on an isolated island. There are many aspects of writing that are important in a mystery novel, such as literary devices. Christie’s unique use of certain literary devices such as foreshadowing, imagery, and point of view, all contribute to create suspense in the novel, And Then There Were None. One of Christie’s many skills includes her great use of foreshadowing. Foreshadowing is an important literary device

Right from the very first sentence of the book, readers can tell the story is in third person, “In the corner of a first-class smoking carriage, Mr. Justice Wargrave, lately retired from the bench, puffed at a cigar and ran an interested eye through the political news in the Times” (Christie, 4). The story constantly changes perspective, so if it were in first person, then the changing perspective would also include change in the way each character thinks. There would be too much confusion for the readers because everyone thinks differently, and it would be hard to keep up with every type of thought process. The book being in the third person makes everything simpler for the reason that the readers can easily rely on the narrator to tell the story. This literary device is also important because of the fact that it keeps the readers questioning about what will happen next. For example, there is a part near the end where Vera Clayhorne feels like she is being watched by the man she loved, and at the same time notices a hook on the ceiling, “She didn't like that hook on the ceiling. It drew your eyes, fascinated you... a big black hook… V Ex-Inspector Blore sat on the side of his bed.” (Christie, 183). Just as the readers get drawn in on Vera’s situation and possible suicide, the setting changes to Mr. Blore’s point of view. This keeps the readers hanging, and makes them want to keep reading through everyone else’s perspectives until they get back to Vera’s to find out what happens with her. This is a constant occurrence throughout all the character’s perspectives. After reading about one character’s perspective and being left hanging, one moves on to the next character’s perspective and once again left hanging. This way the reader worries about each character’s situation at all times. However, the changing perspectives not only creates suspense, but as