Blog

NEED TO HAVE ACCESS TO OR HAVE READ THE ABC MURDERS BY AGATHA CHRISTIE.
In answering the questions, be sure to give the novel’s title (underlined or italicized) and the author’s full name. Remember, the correct style is to use the author’s full name the first time you mention it, then the last name only.
Specific aspects of Poirot’s personality qualify him as a “distinctive” individual. These characteristics may be what helps make him “a good detective.” Chapter 1 carefully lays out Poirot’s character traits. In a paragraph, discuss what you can deduce about Poirot from the following situations:
a. He dyes his hair.
b. He chooses an apartment (a flat) because of its symmetrical appearance.
c. He speaks formal English and throws in French words.
d. He eats at the Ritz.
e. He knows exactly where to find the A.B.C. letter when he wants to show it to Hastings.
f. He objects to Hastings’s suggestion that Poirot uses his instincts to solve crimes.
g. He calls Hastings his “mascot.” (How would you feel if you were Hastings?)
2. Create your own chart like this and fill in the information:
Murder 1 Murder 2 Murder 3
Who
What
When
Where
Why
To whom
How
Clues/evidence around murder scene
Other unusual information
Poriot’s questioning techniques: Who does he question? How does he get them to reveal
information the

y don’t want to reveal? Other observations about Poirot’s questioning techniques?
3. Using the information from your chart, identify and discuss the clues or circumstances that are similar among the murders. How does Poirot explain these similarities?
4. Why is A. B. Cust a suspect? To answer this question, type the following headings in your document and fill in the information under each of these headings:
a. facts pointing to and against Cust being the murderer
b. Cust’s possible motives for each murder
c. why Cust would write letters to Poirot before each murder
d. how Cust might profit from each of the murders
5. Hastings, our narrator, writes the story after the case has been solved. Why did Christie use Hastings rather than Poirot (first person) or herself (omniscient—all knowing) as the narrator? How does Hastings’s narration add to or detract from the story? What do we gain by getting the story after the actual happenings were finished? Write a paragraph.
6. Last, but not least, refer to the eight elements of detective fiction in this lesson. In a paragraph for each element, discuss how closely The A.B.C. Murders follows each element. Give examples and the page number for where each of these elements appears. If the story doesn’t have the element, tell me.
Please make sure to edit for punctuation and grammer.