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About Me
- Mrs. Rigsby
- I grew up in a suburb of Chicago and attended the University of Missouri at Columbia for my undergrad. I have a Masters in Elementary Education from Regis. I come from a family with four kids. My sister is a teacher in Chicago. One of my brothers lives here and the other one lives in Chicago. I moved here because my husband loved Colorado and I loved him. As it turns out,I love Colorado as well.
The unusual setting of the story makes Poirot's investigation easy and difficult. It is easy because Poirot has the suspects all in one place so he can search them with ease, just going from compartment to compartment. It is also easy because Poirot only has to figure out who it is, because they are stuck and surrounded by snow. Though those parts are easy, others are very difficult. “Neatly folded on thee top of the case was a thin scarlet silk kimono embroidered with dragons.” Page 234 shows how difficult the person or people who committed this crime are being very secretive.
ReplyDeleteCamilla
The unusual setting of the story shapes the structure of Poirot's investigation because all the people who could be the possible murderer are on the train. It helps him because he has a limited amount of suspects and there are certain times and places for them to be where there alibi said they would be. The challenges represented are that there are two people, who might be on the train or made up by passengers who were in it together. It would be confusing and misleading to have unknown people on the train that could be any of the passengers. "The height of the man. It is that you would say? With the exception of Mr. Ratchett's valet, all the passengers are big men-the Italian, Colonel Arbuthnot, Hector MacQueen, Count Andrenyi. Well, that leaves us the valet-not a very likely supposition. But there is another possibility. Remember the 'womanish' voice. That gives us a choice of alternitives."[pgs. 201 & 202] The unusual setting is very important to the story because it shapes how the mystery worked.
ReplyDelete~Camryn
The odd setting of the crime makes it easier and harder for Hercule Poirot to solve it. First, they are stranded on a train in a snowdrift. This shows Poirot that the murderer could not have gone outside without leaving tracks in the snow. “’You are right,’ he announced. ‘Nobody left the carriage this way. Possibly the open window was intended to suggest that somebody did; but if so, the snow has defeated the murderer’s intention.’” (pg. 68 part 1) What doesn’t help him about this is that he wonders how the murderer could have possibly gotten in and out of the room. Another reason the setting helps Poirot is that since they are all on a train, the suspects are already there for him to interview. He can also observe their actions and behaviors more closely, if he were in a place like New York, the suspect could be off in a place like Ohio, while Poirot is trying the best he can to monitor the people around the crime scene. In addition, something else that makes it hard for him is that the murderer has to be very secretive, and is doing a good job of it. He/she is putting their disguises in other people’s compartments, such as the scarlet kimono and the Wagon Lit conductor uniform. “He went hurriedly along the corridor to his own compartment. He had, he knew, a further supply of cigarettes in one of his valises. He got it down and snapped back the lock. Then he sat back on his heels and stared. Neatly folded on the top of the case was a thin scarlet silk kimono embroidered with dragons.” (pg. 234 part 2) This case is made difficult and easy to solve by the strange setting.
ReplyDelete~ Devon
The unusual setting of the story shapes the structure of Poirot’s investigation in many ways. The murder happened on a train. That means any of the people on the train could be the murderer. Hercule can go around the rain asking suspects questions instead of having to look for them. There is no way that anybody can leave the train until it reaches a station. The setting gives him the advantage to know who the suspects are. If it hadn’t been for the snowdrift that the train got stuck in, the train would have reached the station. The suspects would leave and new people would have got on the train. The stop of the train meant that Hercule knew everybody who was on the train. On page 55 the book says “M. Bouc said solemnly ‘The murderer is with us – on the train now’”. Some challenges Poirot has to face are the fact that not only might one of the passengers could be a murderer, but somebody else too. Ratchett could have murdered himself. One of the chefs or the conductor could have been the murderer. Worst, Hercule himself might have done it.
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