‘Poirotʼs pursuit of the truth does not benefit
the inhabitants of Kingʼs Abbot.ʼ
‘Poirotʼs pursuit of the truth does not benefit the inhabitants of Kingʼs Abbot.ʼ
To what extent do you agree with this view?
Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed exploration of Christieʼs authorial
methods.
The rotten core at the centre of the society being uncovered.
Dr Sheppardʼs suicide not being the restoration of natural order some readers would have
wanted.
In Chapter 7, as Flora Ackroyd requests for Poirotʼs help in solving the case the repetition of the
word “truth” throughout the chapter as Poirot repeatedly asks if it is “all the truth” that the
characters truly want, foreshadows how the obtaining of this may not have the positive
consequences intended. In this essay I will therefore discuss to what extent ‘Poirotʼs pursuit of
the truth does not benefit the inhabitants of Kingʼs Abbotʼ.
In crime fiction, specifically detective fiction ‘truthʼ is a key element where the detective figures
denouement presents the truth to the dramatis personae and reader. However, in revealing to
the cast of characters the exact type of criminal which would have killed Mr Ackroyd and
blackmailed Mrs Ferrars, Poirot avoids telling the truth instead telling the criminal to step
forward; “-to save Captain Paton the real criminal must confess” subverting the detectives role
as the provider of truth and giving that the position to the criminal he calls upon to speak it.
Through this it becomes clear that the novel is not like much of crime fiction twisting the genre
away from its original decorum as it becomes clear towards the end that the characters do not
find out the truth. As Poirot reveals his knowledge to Dr Sheppard and also the reader
confronting him as being the criminal; “-in fact Dr Sheppard!”, he gives the criminal a way to
escape the legal tribunal system by committing suicide as a form of “poetic justice”. He does
not reveal the identity of the criminal to the rest of the characters and therefore does not
provide them with the truth only himself and the reader. Through this it can be argued that
Poirotʼs pursuit of truth does not benefit those around him through the very fact that they do
not find out. His motivation as a detective seems to solely function to justify his own moral code
removing the disruption of natural order in society (Dr Sheppard) so that the sunny village of
Kingʼs Abbot can function the same way with the criminal gone.
However, Poirotʼs pursuit does not simply gloss over the numerous crimes committed by the
other characters. It instead digs up the rotten core at the heart of Kingʼs Abbot society finding
the petty vanities and central theme of greed within most of the characters. In Chapter 12 as
Poirot states “Every one of you in this room is concealing something from me… Each one of you
has something to hide”, the declarative rhetoric statement leads to a domino effect in the
the inhabitants of Kingʼs Abbot.ʼ
‘Poirotʼs pursuit of the truth does not benefit the inhabitants of Kingʼs Abbot.ʼ
To what extent do you agree with this view?
Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed exploration of Christieʼs authorial
methods.
The rotten core at the centre of the society being uncovered.
Dr Sheppardʼs suicide not being the restoration of natural order some readers would have
wanted.
In Chapter 7, as Flora Ackroyd requests for Poirotʼs help in solving the case the repetition of the
word “truth” throughout the chapter as Poirot repeatedly asks if it is “all the truth” that the
characters truly want, foreshadows how the obtaining of this may not have the positive
consequences intended. In this essay I will therefore discuss to what extent ‘Poirotʼs pursuit of
the truth does not benefit the inhabitants of Kingʼs Abbotʼ.
In crime fiction, specifically detective fiction ‘truthʼ is a key element where the detective figures
denouement presents the truth to the dramatis personae and reader. However, in revealing to
the cast of characters the exact type of criminal which would have killed Mr Ackroyd and
blackmailed Mrs Ferrars, Poirot avoids telling the truth instead telling the criminal to step
forward; “-to save Captain Paton the real criminal must confess” subverting the detectives role
as the provider of truth and giving that the position to the criminal he calls upon to speak it.
Through this it becomes clear that the novel is not like much of crime fiction twisting the genre
away from its original decorum as it becomes clear towards the end that the characters do not
find out the truth. As Poirot reveals his knowledge to Dr Sheppard and also the reader
confronting him as being the criminal; “-in fact Dr Sheppard!”, he gives the criminal a way to
escape the legal tribunal system by committing suicide as a form of “poetic justice”. He does
not reveal the identity of the criminal to the rest of the characters and therefore does not
provide them with the truth only himself and the reader. Through this it can be argued that
Poirotʼs pursuit of truth does not benefit those around him through the very fact that they do
not find out. His motivation as a detective seems to solely function to justify his own moral code
removing the disruption of natural order in society (Dr Sheppard) so that the sunny village of
Kingʼs Abbot can function the same way with the criminal gone.
However, Poirotʼs pursuit does not simply gloss over the numerous crimes committed by the
other characters. It instead digs up the rotten core at the heart of Kingʼs Abbot society finding
the petty vanities and central theme of greed within most of the characters. In Chapter 12 as
Poirot states “Every one of you in this room is concealing something from me… Each one of you
has something to hide”, the declarative rhetoric statement leads to a domino effect in the
