Literary Works

Monday, May 16, 2011

Evil Under the Sun








Analysis of Novel
EviL Under the Sun
By
Agatha Christie


1. Setting
Setting (of Place) : Jolly Hotel, Smugglers Island, Leather Combe Bay.
Setting (of Time) : About a quarter to twelve
Socio-Cultural Setting : On August the people usually spend their days in the sea. except American.
2. Character
Main/Major Character : 1. Captain Kenneth Marshall
He is Arlene’s present husband, proud as Lucifer
2. Arlene Stuart Marshall
Kenneth’s wife. She is very beautiful retired actress
3. Linda Marshall
Kenneth’s daughter and Arlene’s step daughter, naive and precocious.
4. Rosamund Darnley
A fashionable dressmaker and Kenneth’s past childhood friend.

Minor/Supporting Character : 5. Hercules Pairot
The famous Belgian detective, he lived at the place nearby the Jolly Hotel (Kenneth neighbor)
6. Christine Red fern
She is Patrick’s wife, she is a pretty and silent woman, she also suspected as a murderer because of her jealous to Arlene, Kenneth Marshall
7. Emily Brewster
An athletic spinster
8. Mrs. Carrie Gardener
The wife of Mr. Gardner. An American tourist
9. Mr. Odell gardener
The husband of Mrs. Carrie Gardner who quite obligingly does whatever Mrs. Gardener say.
10. Colonel Weston
The Chief Constable
11. Inspector Colgate
The investigating officer
12. Sergeant Philips
A policeman in the case
13. Patrick Red fern
Arlene’s lover and Christine’s husband. He also suspected as a murdere because he wanted Arlena’s love
14. Revered Stephen Lane
A clerical guest who quite openly declares Arlene Marshal the evilest in the land.
15. Mr. Horace Blatt
A yachtsman, a “self made” man.
16. Major Barry
A retired officer who fought in India.
17. Gladys Narracot
A Chambermaid in the Jolly Hotel.
18. Mrs. Castle
The owner of the Jolly Hotel
3. Plot
Exposition : From page 7 (Chapter I) – page 56
Complication : From page 57 (chapter 5) – page 167
Crisis : Page 168 Linda left the letter, it said: “I think this is the best way out. Ask father to try and forgive me. I killed Arlena. I thought I should be glad-but I’m not. I’m very sorry for everything”.
Falling Action : Page 168 - 186
Resolution : Page 187 – 189 (.....Rosamund cried........ “ Oh my dear, I’ve wanted to live in the countery with you all my life. Now – it’s going to come true.....)
This story usees FLASH BACK
4. Point of View : Third Person Point of View
5. Symbol : Evil
6. Tone : Scary, Horrifying, Thrill, Frightening, Dreadful
7. Theme : Mystery
8. Message : We should be aware with someone who we do not know them well wherever we are. Because someone who hurt us does not mean someone who hate us.
9. Comment : This story is too complicated for the Junior High School. It is a lot of puzzles and games. It will be more interesting if the language can be simplified, so it is compatible to the students of JHS such as Sherlock Holmes, and Detective Conan or other detective stories.


Synopsis

The Marshall’s came to Jolly Hotel, Smugglers Island, Leather Combe Bay. They spent their days in the sea sore. The Marshall family consists of Kenneth Marshall, Arlena marshall, and Linda marshall. Arlena, the present wife of Kenneth Marshall, is very beautiful retired actress, and Linda Marshall is Arlena’s stepdaughter. Linda Marshall is a girl of sixteen year old dislikes her stepmother. Arlena is a flirtatious young woman with many men attracted to her included Patric, Christine’s husband. This makes her jealous to Arlena.
Early one morning, Christine witnesses Linda accidently dropping a parcel, which reveals a number waxes. Christine asks Linda to come to Gull Cove with her. On the same morning, Arlena goes out on a float and asks Poirot not to tell anyone where she is going. In Pairot’s mind Arlena is going to meet Patrick, but he is proved wrong when Patrick asks Poirot if he has seen Arlena. When Patrict asks Emily to join him in a rowboat outing to reach Pixy Cove they find a body lying there, her arms outstretched and her face hidden by a hat. It is the strangled body of Arlena, killed at about quarte to twelve.
Hercule Poirot as a detective tries to investigate who has murdered Arlena, starting from Kenneth, Arlena’s husband, then Linda Marshall, Christine, Patrick, and Rosamund Darnely. The evidence has been collected varying from the missing bottle, scissors, and fragment of pipe. The pipe could be Kenneth’s, but he is not the only one who smokes a pipe. Poirot also enquires about the murder of Alice many years ago which she was also strungled but her murderer was never caught. Poirot tries to make a little test to find out who is the real murderer by inviting Christine and Emily to cross a narrow bridge, but Poirot gets nothing.
When they return to the hotel they found that Linda has taken six pills in an unsucessful attempt at suicide and living a letter confessing that she was the one who killed Arlena. But it can not be proved that she was the murderer. Then Poirot tries to investigate more extended. And it comes to the conclusion that Rosamund Darnely is the real murderer, Kenneth’s past childhood friend, because she loves Kenneth very much and she wants to live with him everafter.

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