Student Question
Who is the protagonist in And Then There Were None?
Quick answer:
The protagonist in Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None can be seen as Justice Lawrence Wargrave. He orchestrates the plot on the island, driven by a warped sense of justice to punish those who escaped legal retribution. Although not a traditional hero, Wargrave is central to the narrative, embodying themes of justice and retribution. Alternatively, the notion of karma or fate can also be perceived as the story's true protagonist.
A protagonist is not always the hero of the story. He is a central figure of a story. It is common for the story to be ABOUT the protagonist. In this case. It was about Lawrence Wargrave, who if far from being a hero. He loves to kill. He has always felt a "strong sense of justice" (pg 286). In the style of "The Tell Tale Heart", Wargrave has convinced himself that he is justified in the deaths he has caused, although he has had a sadistic delight in causing death since he was a child. However, he did not want the innocent to suffer. He carefully researched each of his victims. Each of them was responsible for the death of another person. He decided to invite them all to the island because he has been told that he is dying. (pg 291) He doesn't want to die a slow and painful...
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death. He wants to go out in a "blaze of excitement. I would live before I died" (pg 292). The whole story is his story. He planned it and systematically caused the death of the other nine people. Without Wargrave, there would be no story.
Who is the protagonist in Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None?
Depending upon how one looks at the novel, Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None does not have a true protagonist. Figuratively though, the idea of the protagonist could be looked at very differently. Since each of the characters in the novel are murderers themselves (and are in turn murdered), the protagonist of the novel could be defined as karma or fate. Since each are responsible for the taking of a life, Karma (personified to represent a being who vindicates the deceased) takes the lives of the different characters.
Some readers may identify Justice Wargrave as the protagonist. Since it is his plot for justice which brings the others to the island. he could be seen as the one responsible for insuring their deaths. That said, given he himself is dead, some may not identify him as the protagonist either.