And Then There Were None Essay

Life is a search for justice, but is Justice in search of justice? People want justice for the crimes that have been committed by other onto them or because they think that they deserve justice. The simple definition of justice is "The process or result of using laws to fairly judge and punish crimes and criminals" (Merraim). However, some people decide to take matter into their own hands and try to attain or give justice. In the mystery novel, And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, a judge name Justice Wargrave seeks out to bring justice to the guests of the island by killing them without anyone of the guests knowing who the culprit is. As a judge, Justice Wargrave's career is to deal with justice and he seeks for justice by killing off the guests on Indian Island in which the
significance of his search for justice incorporates one the greatest mystery novels. A judge is a person who has seen and dealt with many cases where people attain justice.
They must be able to understand and know the laws very well to hold the position of a judge for a career. The character of Justice Wargrave, has always been for justice and had instincts for legal profession. In the epilogue of the novel, Justice Wargrave writes the confession letter of what he had done on Indian island, then he puts the letter in a bottle and throws it away in the sea for anyone to find. In the letter, Wargrave states, "I have a reputation as a hanging judge, but that is unfair. I have always been strictly just and scrupulous in my summing up of a case" (Christie 352). In his statement, he gives his world that he has always been a fair judge. Justice Wargrave claims to have great knowledge of criminals and which sometimes seem to mislead the jury. He gave justice to Edward Seton, a character who was tried for murder, by sentencing him to death even when the jury did not find any evidence against him. Wargrave tends to take matter in his own hands for self administered justice. After all the cases he as went through in his career as a judge, Justice Wargrave knows what justice
is. The character of Justice Wargrave is a mastermind judge who seeks to kill for justice. He portrays himself as an obedient, wise old man to the other guests on the island. His acting of being oblivious to who the killer is and not making mistakes or giving himself up convinces the guest long enough for him to not debunk his plans. Justice also writes writes, "I have a definite sadistic delight in seeing or causing death" (Christie 351). This informs the readers that Justice wanted to kill, but did not want to cause harm on any that did not deserve it. Justice also wanted to create a mystery that nobody could solve. Since Justice wanted to kill, create a great mystery and also give justice to those who deserved it, he took drastic measures and thought of killing ten people, including himself. Justice Wargrave goes through the process of selecting all his guests and learning about them to make sure he is not causing harm to anyone that did not deserve it. he took the time to learn about each of their criminal act that the law could not punish them for. To keep his identity safe from guests and investigators, he hires a person to purchase the island under a unfamiliar name so nobody could trace it to him. Wargrave had put a lot of thought into to execute his plan properly without failing or having any suspicion on him. He mentally frightens the guests into thinking who might be dead next. Wargrave fakes his own for hours to keep killing the guests at and bring justice to them. The idea of justice is a significant part of the novel because of the irony that correlates with Justice Wargrave's name. The character of Justice Wargrave is a well thought-out character and is the most important character for the work as a whole. The readers will not know of this until the end of the novel. Without Justice Wargrave or his desire to kill and serve justice to those who deserve it, there would not be a great novel. All of the guests are guilty for murder they intentionally committed but got away with. Law could not punish them, yet they were guilty for murder. Wargrave pursuits to fulfill his desire to kill while creating a mystery. As the novel further progresses, the guests are intimidated and think about their victims they killed without getting into trouble. The guilt eats away at the fewer survivors as the group gets smaller. It may be believed that death was their only escape and that is how they would receive justice. In conclusion, the character of Justice Wargrave has had a career of a judge and has seen justice and injustice many times throughout his life. He is able to tell when someone is guilty and gives justice to those who deserve it. In his desire to kill, and create a mystery, he also gathers people who have gotten away with murder crime and makes sure they all receive justice. The character of Wargrave and his actions are significant to the work as a whole in many ways such as to teach lessons and ideas. Agatha Christie is well known for writing many mystery novels throughout her writing career. And Then There Were None is a popular novel that is still read throughout the world. "In 2015 And Then There Were None was voted the World's Favourite Christie in a global vote which saw fans from over 100 countries vote" (10 Things...). She is recognized for her work because of the such a great mystery she created using unique characters and ideas. After learning about the solved mystery, did Justice serve justice to all the guests and himself? Or was it just a mass murder?