Agatha Christie
Death on the Nile
It is a detective novel published on 1 November 1937. In 1933, Christie traveled to Egypt, including a steamboat trip on the Nile. Afterward, she wrote the short story "Death on the Nile". In 1937, also inspired by her trip to Egypt, she wrote the novel Death on the Nile, which has little in common with the short story of the same name.
Plot:
On the luxurious steamship "Karnak", sailing on the Nile, a young millionaire, recently married and, as it turned out, had many enemies among the passengers, is murdered. Anyone could have killed the cocky and arrogant girl who had stolen her best friend's fiancé. But none of the likely suspects committed the crime. On the steamer is the great detective Hercule Poirot, who knows all the society represented on the cruise, back to London, and is aware of the possible motives of everyone present. The first thing he begins to investigate is the "love triangle".
On the luxurious steamship "Karnak", sailing on the Nile, a young millionaire, recently married and, as it turned out, had many enemies among the passengers, is murdered. Anyone could have killed the cocky and arrogant girl who had stolen her best friend's fiancé. But none of the likely suspects committed the crime. On the steamer is the great detective Hercule Poirot, who knows all the society represented on the cruise, back to London, and is aware of the possible motives of everyone present. The first thing he begins to investigate is the "love triangle".
Problematic:
While mystery and murder take center stage in "Death on the Nile", love is always on the periphery, motivating many of the key plot events. Love is one of the most written-about topics in literature, and Christie attempts to add something to the conversation by portraying romantic love from different angles. Just as no two criminals are alike - some are beyond redemption, others just a little misguided - so too, the novel suggests, are no two loves alike. Any skilled mystery writer needs to be able to conjure up plausible motivations, and Christie expertly shows how love can lead to crime - as well as how it can lead to something more.
While mystery and murder take center stage in "Death on the Nile", love is always on the periphery, motivating many of the key plot events. Love is one of the most written-about topics in literature, and Christie attempts to add something to the conversation by portraying romantic love from different angles. Just as no two criminals are alike - some are beyond redemption, others just a little misguided - so too, the novel suggests, are no two loves alike. Any skilled mystery writer needs to be able to conjure up plausible motivations, and Christie expertly shows how love can lead to crime - as well as how it can lead to something more.
Topic & issues:
1. Justice
2. Deception and Genre Expectations
3. Class
4. Romantic Love
5. Selfishness and Generosity
6. National Identity and International Connections
Characters:
1. Hercule Poirot
Peculiarities of text composition:
Agatha Christie uses a sly style to keep people from figuring out the who, what, when, where, why, and how too early into the book. She introduces the characters, sometimes going into great detail about their backgrounds, leading the reader to have suspicions about them even before the crime has been committed. Agatha words the story in a way that begin to lead one down one path to solve the mystery, but then pulls one down another in a few paragraphs. She writes what one wants to believe to keep them interested and engaged throughout the story.
Compositionally, this text can be divided into three parts.
In the first part we get acquainted with the main characters, learn their character, appearance, attitude to the world, distinctive features, i.e. we collect facts about them and also about the murder committed.
In the second part the plot develops much more rapidly. The greatest detective Hercule Poirot investigates, collects information, interrogates all potential participants of the crime.
The third part reveals Hercule Poirot's brilliant ability to investigate murders. He sits down, thinks, and comes to incredible, at first glance not obvious conclusions and finds the killer.
Agatha Christie uses a sly style to keep people from figuring out the who, what, when, where, why, and how too early into the book. She introduces the characters, sometimes going into great detail about their backgrounds, leading the reader to have suspicions about them even before the crime has been committed. Agatha words the story in a way that begin to lead one down one path to solve the mystery, but then pulls one down another in a few paragraphs. She writes what one wants to believe to keep them interested and engaged throughout the story.
Compositionally, this text can be divided into three parts.
In the first part we get acquainted with the main characters, learn their character, appearance, attitude to the world, distinctive features, i.e. we collect facts about them and also about the murder committed.
In the second part the plot develops much more rapidly. The greatest detective Hercule Poirot investigates, collects information, interrogates all potential participants of the crime.
The third part reveals Hercule Poirot's brilliant ability to investigate murders. He sits down, thinks, and comes to incredible, at first glance not obvious conclusions and finds the killer.
Genre features:
The genre of the novel is, of course, detective. It has all its main components: the novel is based on crime - murder, the figures of the detective and the murderer, the typicality of the characters, the traditional set of heroes. In addition, all the facts are revealed in the course of the narrative, which is also part of this genre. Also, this novel is an example of a classic detective of the closed type, because all the action takes place in a closed room, from which no one can leave.
The genre of the novel is, of course, detective. It has all its main components: the novel is based on crime - murder, the figures of the detective and the murderer, the typicality of the characters, the traditional set of heroes. In addition, all the facts are revealed in the course of the narrative, which is also part of this genre. Also, this novel is an example of a classic detective of the closed type, because all the action takes place in a closed room, from which no one can leave.
