Agatha Christie uses a number of analogies throughout her mystery novel And Then There Were None. In chapter 9, part I, Lombard says to Blore: "We're all in the same boat. We've got to pull together." This analogy compares the people on the island to rowers in a boat. Just as cooperation with the oars is necessary for a boat to make its way across the water, so the accused people must cooperate with each other to deal with the strange situation they find themselves in. In the same section, Blore makes another analogy, suggesting that Mr. Owen has lured the people onto the island with incentives, just as someone baits a mousetrap with cheese. The payment Blore was offered was "Mr. Owen's little bit of cheese."
In chapter 9, section VII, Christie creates an analogy of a courtroom when Justice Wargrave conducts interviews of each of the guests. First, "Rogers, summoned before the court, had very little to tell." The narrative refers to swearing and evidence, and the chapter concludes with Lombard muttering, "The court will now adjourn."
In chapter 10, when Lombard explains why he believes Wargrave is the murderer, he creates an analogy between the judge and God, saying, "He's played God Almighty for a good many months every year." He explains that the judge thinks he is omnipotent, like God, and wields the power of life and death, also like God.
In chapter 12, a bee sting is the analogy for Miss Brent's death by a hypodermic needle. A bee sting consists of poison and a prick. Miss Brent is poisoned--she was given something to make her dizzy and giddy, and then a chloroformed handkerchief was placed under her nose so that she would not resist or cry out when the hypodermic needle stung her, injecting poison.
The nursery rhyme and china figures work together to make the sequential murders analogous to a child's game. In chapter 15, Vera says, "Dressing up the judge ... drugging Mrs. Rogers so she overslept herself--arranging for a bumblebee when Miss Brent died! It's like some horrible child playing a game."
In the epilogue, Wargrave's confession, he compares his dastardly series of murders with the work of an artist. He created something quite original, but then he found that he had a "craving for recognition" like an artist would have, which caused him to write the note explaining his genius and his masterpiece.
Christie weaves these analogies skillfully throughout the novel, creating deeper interest and deeper levels of emotion in her readers.
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