THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD Flashcards
‘_________ analysis’
‘merciless analysis’
‘________ power of ______ which _____ ____ ____ ____ __ __’
‘ruthless power of vision which struck fear into both of us’
‘as ____ __ _____’
‘as weak as water’
‘you should be an _________ __ _____, not a ______’
‘you should be an inventor by trade, not a doctor’
‘your ________ sister’
‘your charming sister’
‘______ of _________’ (nature vs nurture)
‘strain of weakness’
‘Caroline merely _________ __ ____ _________’
‘Caroline merely continued to look omniscient’
‘his _____ ______ is _______’
‘his moral fibre is blunted’
‘a ______, ______ thief’
‘a common, vulgar thief’
‘______ weakness’
‘innate weakness’
Quotation for lack of justice
‘I feel no pity for her’
Quotations for reputation
‘You were ruined forever’
‘Whose esteem she is anxious to retain’
‘I ______ Watson to his _______’
‘I played Watson to his Sherlock’
Quotations for Sheppard’s deceit
‘I played Watson to his Sherlock’
‘I paused a moment to choose my words carefully’
The Watson prototype
Christie manipulates this to trick her audience
Quotations to describe the police
‘weaselly countenance’
‘uncomprehendingly’
‘my death will be a grief to her, but grief passes’
Suggests that a stained reputation is forever?
Link between Christie and Sheppard
‘both she and Sheppard are engaged upon an excersise in duplicity’
Christie described as a ‘________ __ _______’
‘purveyor of puzzles’
Christie is a ‘______ ________’
‘puppet mistress’
Middle class in 1920s England- effect?
Collapse of middle class values/ identity Christie's novel looks back on these clear cut class structures- provides sense of comfort
Effect of war on Golden Age fiction
Restoration of order and triumph of good over evil provides a sense of comfort
Breakdown of gender polarity in TMORA
Poirot as a feminised character- takes care of his appearance
Does not dismiss Caroline’s methods
Human nature in TMORA
Bleak- every character holds secrets
‘You’re …..
..not so honest’
Sheppard’s tactics and ability to play
‘I myself thought I had played rather cleverly’
‘as ____ as _____’
‘as weak as water’
‘his ____ _____ is ______’
‘his moral fibre is blunted’
‘_____ weakness’
‘innate weakness’
‘_______, _____ and the ______ ____ ____’
‘method, order and the little grey cells’
Justice in MORA- intertextual link
Classic detective usually hand their work over to the police, eg Holmes
Apologia
Defence
‘I felt as though he was looking at the case ____ ____ _________ _____ __ ___ ___’
‘I felt as though he was looking at the case from some peculiar angle of his own’
Todorov’s double structure
Conceal crime, but clearly lays out investigation
Effect of Poirot’s foreigness
Brings out the Englishness of the other characters- Christie’s way of criticising
Use of stock characters
Builds up expectation
What does TMORA aim to expose about 20th century English society?
That it is deeply flawed. Criticises petty desires and jealousy
How is the title of the novel misleading?
The crime that propels the story actually predates the novel- the death of Mr Ferrars
What does the progression of the novel centre around?
A series of interviews- serve to remind the reader that every character has something to hide
Dr Sheppard and Mrs Ferrars
Although they are parallelled as murderers, Mrs Ferrars suffers from remorse, whereas Sheppard does not
Structure
27 short chapters, each with a revelation- creates momentum
Sheppard’s denouement
By bringing Sheppard to justice, Christie reassures readers that good will triumph over evil, reaffirming social order
Fernly Park
Symbol of Ackroyd’s wealth and status
Creates a kind of locked room mystery- reaffirmed through illustrations
