The Justice Theory in Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None—Based on Character Analysis

Abstract As the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie is not only famous for her ingenious design in plots but also successful in creating realistic meanings hidden behind the stories. Her works break through the limitation of detective stories, involving some social issues at her time, such as crime, class, justice, etc. Her indefatigable effort in the discussion of crime and punishment is to express her ideals of justice, which has a great influence on the development of detective fictions. In her master work And Then There Were None, the justice theory is systematically and elaborately conveyed by a special arrangement of plot and characters. This thesis is going to analyze the justice theory in And Then There Were None according to the different images of characters. The justice theory is mainly discussed from three perspectives: in judicial authority, in society and in inpiduals, through which to draw the conclusion that 1) justice is upheld by a judicial authority which is objective, impartial, brave and respectful for life; 2) justice is upheld by the restraints, the right orientations and the respect of social moral standards; 3) justice is in the awakening of moral conscience, in the sympathy with others and in the resistance against evilness. Under the repression of death in this book, Christie’s ideals of justice reveal her good wishes and humanistic care for life. 60833

Keywords: justice theory; And Then There Were None; judicial authority; social moral standards; moral conscience

论阿加莎·克里斯蒂《无人生还》中的正义理论——以分析小说人物形象为例

摘 要作为推理小说女王，阿加莎克里斯蒂的作品广受读者的欢迎，不仅因其作品中情节的独创性，更因其作品所反映出的现实意义。她的作品打破了侦探小说的局限，融入了许多其所处时代的社会问题，如犯罪行为的层出不穷，社会阶级矛盾和正义问题等。其中，她对“罪与罚”这一命题不懈的讨论，对日后推理小说的发展产生了巨大的影响。在其代表作《无人生还》中，她独特的情节安排和人物塑造传达出了一个较为系统的正义理论。本文将综合以往的研究，通过人物的不同形象来分析《无人生还》中的正义理论，并大致从以下三个层面进行论述：司法机关，社会和个人，从中传达出伸张正义需要一个客观、公正、勇敢和尊重生命的司法机关，需要一个有约束力、导向正确和尊重生命的社会道德标准，需要个人道德意识的觉醒、对他人的同情和对邪恶势力的反抗。在本书中死亡的阴影下，克里斯蒂试图传达出她对正义的理想以及她对生命的美好祝愿和人文关怀。 

毕业论文关键词：正义理论；《无人生还》；司法机关；社会道德标准；个体道德意识

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Background Information 1

1.2 Studies on Agatha Christie and her works at home and abroad 2

1.2.1 Studies on Narrative Styles 2

1.2.2 Studies on Humanities 2

1.2.3 Studies on Social Significance 3

1.2.4 Studies on Justice 4

1.3 Research problem 4

1.4 Contents and Significance