To what extent do you agree with the view that Christie presents a society
where everyone is motivated by greed?
Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed exploration of Christie’s
authorial methods.
In ‘The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd’ Christie does portray a society where greed is a
prevailing motivator for many characters but whether, for others, this is overpowered
by desires of love, pride and freedom is up for debate . Christie utilises the close-knit
bucolic village setting of Kings Abbott to delve into how things like greed and
desperation can lead to the loss of one’s moral compass and thus lead to them
taking irrational and possibly criminal means. This is seen through the moral decline
of our murderer and also narrator of the novel - Dr James Sheppard. Ultimately
through the exploration of motives of greed and beyond, Christie conveys her belief
that everyone- even seemingly-ordinary people like Dr Sheppard- contain secrets
and, furthermore, that everyone is capable of committing a crime under the right
circumstances.
Christie introduces the novel with the death of Mrs Ferrars who died of suicide due to
inability to withstand the blackmail from Dr Sheppard. This deliberately sets the tone
for the novel- greed, immorality and blackmail. By introducing the greed and gossip
that plagues Kings Abbot and has led to Mrs Ferrars’ death, Christie foreshadows
that the death of the eponymous lead Roger Ackroyd is likely to be due to similar
means. Alternatively, Christie introduces her motif of psychology from which
throughout the novel she explores how one’s conscience has limited capacity for
guilt and responds to it in different ways. Christie constructs Poirot as a an expert in
human nature and thus a vessel through which she conveys this motif, as he viewed
the case “from some peculiar angle of his own” before later plunging into deeper
analysis on the criminal psyche. For example, in his dramatic monologue in Chapter
17, Poirot delves into the criminal psyche of a “very ordinary man” and how a “strain
of weakness”- an inability to resist “the gold mine that has opened at his feet”- can
lead to “his moral fibre” being “blunted”. Through this examination, Poirot cleverly
encapsulates the moral decline of Dr Sheppard, who arguably kills Ackroyd in a final
straw of desperation to prevent a revelation of his numerous immoral deeds of
blackmail and deception. Christies uses motif of “weakness”- seen also when Flora
confesses her and Ralph’s “scheming…scraping and lying”, she states that “We
were both weak!”. This also furthers Christie’s notion that the criminal psyche can
only withstand a certain amount of guilt and greed before they ultimately deteriorate.
Therefore, Christie suggests that it was a frantic spiral that led Sheppard to murder
his “dear friend” rather than greed.
In chapter 16- An evening at Mah Jong- some residents of King's Abbot congregate
for a games-night, which is used as an excuse to exchange and validate the latest
where everyone is motivated by greed?
Remember to include in your answer relevant detailed exploration of Christie’s
authorial methods.
In ‘The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd’ Christie does portray a society where greed is a
prevailing motivator for many characters but whether, for others, this is overpowered
by desires of love, pride and freedom is up for debate . Christie utilises the close-knit
bucolic village setting of Kings Abbott to delve into how things like greed and
desperation can lead to the loss of one’s moral compass and thus lead to them
taking irrational and possibly criminal means. This is seen through the moral decline
of our murderer and also narrator of the novel - Dr James Sheppard. Ultimately
through the exploration of motives of greed and beyond, Christie conveys her belief
that everyone- even seemingly-ordinary people like Dr Sheppard- contain secrets
and, furthermore, that everyone is capable of committing a crime under the right
circumstances.
Christie introduces the novel with the death of Mrs Ferrars who died of suicide due to
inability to withstand the blackmail from Dr Sheppard. This deliberately sets the tone
for the novel- greed, immorality and blackmail. By introducing the greed and gossip
that plagues Kings Abbot and has led to Mrs Ferrars’ death, Christie foreshadows
that the death of the eponymous lead Roger Ackroyd is likely to be due to similar
means. Alternatively, Christie introduces her motif of psychology from which
throughout the novel she explores how one’s conscience has limited capacity for
guilt and responds to it in different ways. Christie constructs Poirot as a an expert in
human nature and thus a vessel through which she conveys this motif, as he viewed
the case “from some peculiar angle of his own” before later plunging into deeper
analysis on the criminal psyche. For example, in his dramatic monologue in Chapter
17, Poirot delves into the criminal psyche of a “very ordinary man” and how a “strain
of weakness”- an inability to resist “the gold mine that has opened at his feet”- can
lead to “his moral fibre” being “blunted”. Through this examination, Poirot cleverly
encapsulates the moral decline of Dr Sheppard, who arguably kills Ackroyd in a final
straw of desperation to prevent a revelation of his numerous immoral deeds of
blackmail and deception. Christies uses motif of “weakness”- seen also when Flora
confesses her and Ralph’s “scheming…scraping and lying”, she states that “We
were both weak!”. This also furthers Christie’s notion that the criminal psyche can
only withstand a certain amount of guilt and greed before they ultimately deteriorate.
Therefore, Christie suggests that it was a frantic spiral that led Sheppard to murder
his “dear friend” rather than greed.
In chapter 16- An evening at Mah Jong- some residents of King's Abbot congregate
for a games-night, which is used as an excuse to exchange and validate the latest
