Guilt: and Then There Were None

Guilt: And Then There Were None And Then There Were None is a book about many mysteries. It is all about planning and plotting deaths and trying to solve the mystery behind them. Many different themes reoccur throughout this novel. One main theme that truly seems to either severely affect or have no affect at all on the characters is guilt. Guilt plays a huge role when it comes to the deaths in this book. Many characters struggle a great deal with it. Vera Claythorne is one of the main characters who has the hardest time with feeling guilt in her life. She is accused of killing a little boy named Cyril. Cyril was drowning and she tried to save him, but the mystery was whether or not she truly tried to save him. Vera is nervous to go back on the sea because it reminds her of her crime. She tries really hard not to harp on her past but it is all she can think about and being on the sea makes it worse. When Vera accepts that she is guilty and tries to move on, she comes to the conclusion that everyone else must too be guilty for something and tries to figure it all out. Towards the end of the novel, Vera's guilt really starts to get the best of her. She had gone mad because of it. In one part of the novel, she is by the shore and she feels the seaweed on her shoulder. She gets freaked out because she thinks the seaweed on her shoulder is Cyril's hand. Towards the very end of the novel, Vera learns to accept that she truly did plan and plot to kill Cyril. Her admitting to herself that she truly did plan and plot Cyril's death causes her more madness. She realizes that there is no room for forgiveness. She deserves a punishment...left alone on the island she kills herself. General Macarthur feels some guilt for his past in the army. He was accused of killing Arthur Richmond, a man who was serving under him in the war in France and was killed in action. He told Vera that Richmond was his wife's lover and he was so upset that he sent Richmond on an