1. How did Hercule Poirot solve the Murder Mystery of the Roger Ackroyd?
Debatably considered the masterpiece of Agatha Christie, the Murder of Roger Ackroyd, sets the limits for Detective Fiction to a level which was unimaginable in the Golden Age of the Detective novels. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd presents the refugee Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, who enters a situation after its central action has already taken place. Provided with the details of unfamiliar lives, he indulges in the business of deciding what is relevant and what is not, which in fact leads to the truth, and who among a group of diverse personalities has been driven to commit a crime and thereby demolishing the prevalent order. Poirot penetrates a tangle of actions and emotions and, as the agent of the reassuring patriarch, eventually establishes the order. … (Read More)
2. Comment on Agatha Christie’s Psychological Insight in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
The early 20th century was an era of rapid societal change, including a shift from the stable, unitary model of masculinity to more fluid notions of gender construction. The erosion of social and economic control and the growth of feminism have challenged the male ‘breadwinner ideal’, pressuring men to redefine ‘manliness’ As the recent #MeToo movement demonstrates, the fight to dismantle patriarchal structures and diminish male cultural dominance continues. These cultural shifts have threatened some men, leading to the rise of the ‘alt-right’ and various men’s rights groups that are striving to maintain or resurrect previous notions of “ideal” masculinity. The tension between possible male responses to these cultural crises of masculinity can be found in the wrings of Dashiel Hammett’s Red Harvest and Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Psychoanalytic theory, specifically, is helpful in demonstrating how Hammett presents a hypermasculine rejection of femininity, in contrast to Christie’s more nuanced hybrid masculine construction. … (Read More)
3. Analyse ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ as a typical example Detective Fiction.
Debatably considered the masterpiece of Agatha Christie, the Murder of Roger Ackroyd, sets the limits for Detective Fiction to a level which was unimaginable in the Golden Age of the Detective novels. Christie enjoys a reputation among critics’ circles as a writer who can easily merge the boundaries of the genre of her writing with unexpected and purely imaginative outcomes. But in the Murder of Roger Ackroyd Christie seems to utilise the (redundant) and limiting conventions of the self same “genre” to fit in with (her) plot, such that in the “inverted “detective novel the conventions and the contradictions go parallel leaving an impact which is as inexpressible as it is gripping. … (Read More)
4. Explain the Role of Narrator in the Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
The narrator of Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is Doctor James Sheppard. There is no introduction of Sheppard in the beginning of the novel but the reader finds out more about him as the story develops. He has a sister named Caroline Sheppard, who is really good at tapping into the gossip and finding out what happens in the little village where they live (10). The reader also learn that Dr. Sheppard’s hobby is gardening (32), tinkering with small technical devices (291) and playing Mah Jong (233). During the major part of the narrative, except in the last two chapters, Dr. Sheppard is a very respectable character. The other characters in the novel describe and treat him with respect. He enjoys a high degree of trust from all the other characters, and a good social standing in the community. … (Read More)
5. Write Short Notes on women characters in the Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
Agatha Christie, popularly known as “Queen of Mystery or Queen of Crime”, is a best-selling author of detective fiction. She, along with Arthur Conan Doyle, is regarded as one of the chief exponents of Golden Age of Detective Fiction There are many female characters featured in this novel and they play significant role in construction of this masterpiece.
Caroline Sheppard
Caroline Sheppard is the sister and roommate of Dr. James Sheppard (at the time, it wasn’t particularly uncommon for adult siblings to live together in English villages, even if they were fairly well-off). She’s an exceptionally gossipy, curious person, and throughout the book most of the comic relief stems from her frantic attempts to learn as much as possible about the case. Although many of Caroline’s instincts are wrong, she’s arguably the character in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd who most perfectly represents the ideal reader of Agatha Christie mysteries: she’s exceptionally curious about the murders and, crucially, she has almost meta-fictional instincts about who is and isn’t guilty. … (Read More)
