Linda Pastan's After Agatha Christie

In Susan Glaspell’s “A Jury of Her Peers,” Mr. Wright was found strangled in his bed; his wife was abnormally quiet and dull and claimed she did not wake up. Although Mrs. Wright doesn’t initially appear capable of murder, Mrs. Peters and Mrs. Hale conclude she strangled her husband to death, as evidenced by the crazily sewn quilt patch, the unhinged bird cage, and the mutilated canary corpse, which revealed Mrs. Wright’s motive.

To the narrator this is seen through the image of broken heads lolling as if they were at the end of a hangman's noose. The narrator thinks that if she is choked off long enough, that she too will end up with a "broken neck," like the women in the pattern. As it turns out, she isn't wrong, but her "broken neck" turns out to be a broken mind.

In the novel, Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie, the character Mrs. Hubbard shows change in personality throughout the storyline. In the beginning of the novel, Mrs. Hubbard showed herself as an innocent lady, who was frightened and afraid. Mrs. Hubbard had exclaimed to detective Hercule Poirot, "There was a murderer in the train last night, and the murderer was right there in my compartment!" (Christie 113) This proved that there was no possible way she could have murdered Ratchett, if the murderer was in her room. M. Poirot had asked a question having to with the Armstrong family because the victim of his current case was the murderer of many of the Armstrong family. "Were you acquainted with any of the Armstrong family, Mrs.

The author shows the readers that today so-called cozy mysteries has no big difference from Golden Age style mystery writing. The story occurs mainly in a small setting, such as part of a closed group, in a manor or a small village. Christie’s works still influence the readers: They still love to read Agatha Christie’s novels today.

For many European individuals, the Southern colonies offered economic opportunity and prosperous living. However, as awareness of harsh living conditions increased and events such as the London Fire of 1666 created rebuilding jobs in Europe, the number of potential colonial indentured servants heavily declined. This shortage prompted African slave labor to be preferred economically by landowners as slaves were a guaranteed workforce, politically as laws offering total ownership made slaves more desirable, and socially as many influential landowners considered the African race subservient.

In “Lives of the Dead”, O’Brien’s own innocence is preserved through the memory of Linda, a memory that remains untarnished by the inevitable corruption that results from life. O’Brien’s writings “save Linda’s life. Not her body--her life” (236). Storytelling and memories preserve the value of Linda’s existence while simultaneously allowing O’Brien to process death and destruction in a way that maintains a degree of optimism regarding his own life and future. Juxtaposing the images of body and life emphasizes his desire to save the idea of Linda while accepting the loss of her physical presence. O’Brien rejects the idea of death as absolute and final; instead he suggests that “once you are alive, you can never be dead” (244). Linda’s death solidifies her importance in O’Brien’s own development; she teaches him about life and real love as much as in death as in life. O’Brien’s paradoxical statement defines the lasting impact of Linda on him; her presence in his stories keeps her alive through memory; memories that even her death

He was not always convinced that simplicity was a desirable aesthetic and did not believe that you could find elegance in it. He still liked reading simple writings and appreciated all styles from the viewpoint of a writer. The death of Poe’s wife put resentment in Poe’s heart. In “Annabel Lee,” he writes of a love so deep that even “the angels not half as happy in heaven went envying her and me.” (Pollin 288) The only way he knew how to ease his pain was to put it into words. Annabel Lee became the expression of his very soul. Poe wrote that everything in the natural world reminded him of his beloved wife. The final stanza shows the true feelings of Edgar Allen Poe. He pours his entire soul into this single stanza.

Agatha Christie, author of the murder mystery And Then There Were None, used foreshadowing and both external and internal conflict to portray the theme of her novel that justice can be served for the crimes that go unpunished. Christie used these elements because she enjoyed mystery and she liked to keep her readers engaged while reading. Agatha Christie is still considered one of the best, if not, the best murder mystery writer today because she wrote the first murder mystery novel and she wrote many more after that that was well loved by people.

Murder is often an occurrence in the novels of Agatha Christie and have plots that change the views of the characters as well as the reader. But how does she do it? In two of her most famous novels And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express compare to each other through an overpowering psychoanalytic possession of many people at once. Psychoanalytic possession creates the characters to do what they though they would never do. It comes to them in a mindless way through their egos and super-egos knowing what they want to do through inner most desires and making them come to life. Due to the careful wording of Christie, common illnesses of

Agatha Christie uses the technique of foreshadowing to help the reader make predictions. When Mr. Blore exits the train in Oakbridge Station, he is greeted by an old man who gives him a message that a squall is coming. “He’s nearer the day of judgement than I am! But there, as it happens, he was wrong…”(Christie 17). This quote helps the reader make a prediction that death could possibly be in the near future. I learned that while reading books, mystery novels in particular, making predictions is necessary to form a connection to the text.

“The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances” (Christie, n.d.). When Agatha Christie disappeared for eleven-days, she ran away to make her husband feel bad and make him want her back, although many have disputed this simple claim. If Agatha Christie disappeared, she would not have to deal with Archie Christie divorcing her. Also, if she disappeared she would make her husband want to stay married to her.

the Orient Express is not shy of greatness. It is one of the best selling murder mysteries in history. The book truly is wonderful and keeps you guessing the whole time. Part of the reason it is so great is because the novel is influenced by Agatha's life and also the lives of many others, making it spectacular and unique. Throughout the the life of Agatha Christie, imaginary friends, famous authors, and world travels have all influenced her writing.

“Outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare, Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time. She is best known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, as well as the world’s longest-running play – The Mousetrap” (“Homepage”). The New Historicism Lens is a way for readers to speculate deeper understandings of texts by relating the text to the historical era in which it was set or written. Another aspect of this lens involves looking specifically at how the author’s life impacts their writing. Published in 1939, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, continues to be one of Christie's most successful books, and with the use of this lens, readers can observe historical happenings at the time it was written and how events in Christie’s life influenced her writing of this text.

Agatha Christie is one of the most successful crime novelists and theater writers of the 20th century. Agatha Christie's shy life led her to a world of fantasy and has helped her to evoke many personalities, including famous detective such as Hercule Poirot and Miss Marble.

Understanding the cultural context within which a text is written can help readers experience things that they may never experience in their lives. Culture leads readers intellectually and emotionally and deepens their understanding of the character’s history, the society that they live in and their individual lives. Learning culture plays a fundamental role in making readers understand the social and political context in which the novel is written, the people the author associates with, and the larger society that frames the whole work. It is hard to read literature without a solid comprehension of the work through its cultural context. In light of this information this essay will explain how culture influences the plot line, character development,