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Hanna O-Lee

Ms. Starry

English 9 Honors: Period 3

31 August 2017

Summer Reading Essay: Mr. Justice Wargrave

“‘They’re going mad… They’ll all go mad… Afraid of death… we’re all afraid of

death… ​I’m​ afraid of death… Yes, but that doesn’t stop death from coming…’” (Christie 214).

Death is a frightening concept. One doesn’t know when, why, or how it will come, but one thing

is for certain: it ​will​ come. Murder is at hand. Lives are on the line. Written in third-person

omniscient, ​And Then There Were None​ by Agatha Christie is an absolute masterpiece when it

comes to murder mysteries. Her developed characters play their individual roles to the

significance of the main plot. Each one is an example of a stock character, in other words, a type

of character that has been seen or read before in other fictional works. Lawrence Wargrave is a

perfect representation as the embodiment of inevitable vigilante justice. He’s the one behind the

scenes, playing the playing cards one by one, and following through with the execution of his

bloodthirsty plan. This particular character contributes a great deal to the novel’s overall

message: one cannot escape the past.

Ten people were invited to Soldier Island, each person for a different reason. It was only

a short time before they realized they they were going to be killed one by one. It started with

Anthony Marston… then Mrs. Rogers… then General Macarthur… Everyone was frightened to

death, pointing fingers to a possible stranger on the island or maybe some sort of supernatural

being. In the midst of all this fear and confusion, Wargrave proposes an entirely new perspective
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to look at the situation. “(...) Given the scheme in question which is neither more nor less than

the execution of justice upon certain individuals for offences which the law cannot touch, ​there is

only one way in which that scheme could be accomplished​. Mr. Owen could only come to the

island in one way. It is perfectly clear. ​Mr. Owen is one of us…​.’” (Christie 150).

With a background of being a court judge and having an obsession for justice, Wargrave

sought revenge for cases that the law could not touch, a justice not bound by rules. Slowly, he

started anonymously collecting victims and luring them to the mysterious Soldier Island. He

pretended to be one of the them, an unaware and clueless individual traveling in Devon and

planning to take a short trip to a luxury island. Going undercover and pulling the strings

backstage, he played his part to solving the “mystery.” To furthermore blend in with the crowd,

the judge made this accusation to spark suspicion within the group of secretly-guilty guests. A

brilliant idea it was. The victims would be too busy blaming each other to even think of

preparing themselves from coming danger.

Justice Wargrave displayed his arrogance several times in the novel. It was clear he had

pride in what he did and the actions he took. His role can be described in many different ways:

God, a trap-setter, a murderer, a madman… As a stock character, it can be said that Lawrence

closely resembles several characters of Edgar Allen Poe’s writing, dark and solemn.

On the outside, Wargrave was a judge. On the inside, he was nothing more than a greedy

murderer. His excellent intellect served him well in reaching his goals throughout the novel,

making his actions inevitable. He was the one who knew the past crimes of each guest which

were left untouched by the law which overlooked society. He was the one who decided to take

matters into his own hands. He was the one who decided it was well worth his own life to
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commit this dramatic, mysterious, theatrical murder to not one, but ​nine​ people. Lawrence

Wargrave was the reason why at first, there were nine guests and one murderer on Soldier Island.

And then there were none.

In a letter that was enclosed in a bottle and cast out to sea, the judge explains everything

about what had truly happened behind the scenes. The execution of the plan is revealed. He

confesses what actions he took in order to meet his ultimate goal, as well as how he

accomplished them. Wargrave solves the “mystery” by explaining how it was nothing more than

a well thought-out, methodical plan to ensure the execution of justice.

“When the sea goes down, there will come from the mainland boats and men.

And they will find ten dead bodies and an unsolved problem on Soldier Island.

Signed:

Lawrence Wargrave​” (Christie, 300).