Independent+Novel+Study

Journal Entry #1 And Then There Were None December 2 2011 Pages 1-26

1)Why did you select this novel? First of all I selected this book because the title intrigued me, 'And Them Were None', which sounded suspenseful and mysterious. Therefore I decided to read the description, which said: ten people with something to hide are invited to an island, they get cut off from everything except for themselves and then start to die, one by one. I thought it would be a great book for me since it has all the things I like. This book includes suspense, mystery, murder, and most importantly no mention of love or romance.

6)What is the setting of the novel? Is the setting important or could the novel be happening anywhere? Why? The setting of the story is Indian Island, off the coast of Devon, England. Its called Indian Island because its shaped like the head of an Indian. Also this island has been in the news a lot recently, It has lots of mystery surrounding it. The setting is quite important because all the character will get have to be secluded where they cant be found and murdered one by one. If they weren't on an island they would be found or they could run away, but since they are on a secluded island, they can't.

8)How does the author get you to read on or hold your interest? The author holds your interest by having suspenseful things happen in the middle of a chapter. And then ending the chapter with a cliff hanger. An example is in chapter 2 when the author how the author described the maid as looking like the ghost of a women and looking very frightened. Then abruptly stopped talking about her and just ended the chapter with all the guests going to dinner.

Journal Entry #2 And Then There Were None December 9 2011 Pages 26-76

7)What is the initial or first problem faced by the main character? The initial problem that the 10 main characters face is determining how they will get off the mystery island alive. This problem arose when 10 strangers where invited to the island by what some thought was an old friend and others got called for work. When the main characters got the island they were told that their host has failed to arrive therefore they decided to eat dinner and go to bed. The next day while the guests where drinking tea they heard a voice as if out of no where. It tole them that they where here because they have each been involved with a murder. They started to panic and question one another about their accusations. Everyone told their stories. Then abruptly the young free spirt of the group started to choke on his whiskey and after a few seconds he was dead. The others couldn't decide if he killed himself or if he was poisoned. Later that night the butlers wife died, again no one knew what happened to her. At this point everyone was in panic mode, in the morning they were waiting for the motorboat that came everyday, but it didn't come. They have to escape and soon.

9)What new things are added to the original problem as the novel progresses? The original problem is that the 10 guests can't get off the island and are sure that their host (Mr.Owen) is trying to kill them. Things that are added to the problem are that 2 of the guests have already died. No one is sure who to trust. Also no one is too sure who Mr.Owen is and what he could do. And lastly the motorboat didn't come, therefore food supplies will start to run short and they won't be able to get off then island.

10)What plot twists or unexpected events happen as the novel goes on? Many unexpected events happen throughout this book since it is a mysterious, suspenseful novel. Some of them are when the host doesn't show up. When the most free spirited man dies randomly and in the same night dies the maid. And lastly when the motorboat doesn't come even though it comes every day.

Journal Entry #3 And Then There Were None December 15 2011 Pages 76-104

2)What information did you need to know before reading the novel?

The information you need to know what that 10 people were to be trapped on a mystery island murdered one by one. You might have wanted to know that the island had been in the news a lot recently and that it was bought by a billionaire but no one had actually been there. Lastly if you get scared easily you might want to know that this novel is very suspenseful.

5)Who is telling the story? How does this person’s perspective effect the way the story is told?

The story is told in third person. The story teller know every thing, even what the characters are thinking. I believe that the narrator is some one who was with the 10 stranded people. It might have been Mr.Owen or one of the 10 people. I'm thinking its Mr.Owen since the narrator know everything, where the people are, what they are thinking, and what they are doing.

11)Comment on the style of the novel. Is it easy or hard to follow the events?

The style of the novel is in third person and the narrator is all knowing. At time I find the events difficult to follow since the narrator switches form person to person very quickly. I found it very difficult to follow in the beginning since the characters weren't very memorable and I kept forgetting who was who. Also the narrator kept switching character really abruptly and it was difficult to keep up. It's much easier now because now I know the characters.

Journal Entry #4 And Then There Were None January 6 2012 Pages 104-152

13)To what age group is the novel aimed? Support your answer with evidence. I suppose that this book is aimed toward an older age group; about 15 and older. I think this because there are many traumatic things that happen throughout the story. Such as the dead of all the characters, and the great explanation of how they died. Mostly how these deaths where all planned out and how they followed a poem that all the characters than read. Lastly how at the end the characters started to lose their mind, and slowly became crazy.

20)Is the novel believable? This novel is somewhat believable. It is kind of like am episode of criminal minds. By the fact that some one has gathered 10 people that have all committed murder yet have not been punished by the law. The most odd thing is that the person who planned all this was one of the 10 people and in the end after everyone had been killed, he killed himself. The idea of a mass murder of murderers was very well planned, how it was on an island, how there was a storm coming, and how the remaining character just lost their mind at the end.

21)Why would you (or why wouldn't you) recommend this novel to a friend? I would recommend this book to a friend that I knew wouldn't be scared easily. Since this has a easy to follow interesting plot. Most of the book focuses on the plot and not on the character or setting. Although this book is terrifying, it is a great read. I personally liked the book because it was good mystery and it kept you guessing on who the murderer is. But it ended up being a hardcore mind trip at the end.

Journal Entry #5 And Then There Were None January 13 2012 Pages 152-189

16)What is the climax of the novel? The climax of the novel started with the rising action when Vera said she was going to bed but while she was going up the stair some one started to strangle her. She screamed out and the men rushed to help her. Once they confirmed that she was alright, they all realized that the judge was missing. They went around looking for him and they found him in a chair dead (or so they thought), with a bullet through his head. Then that very night when everyone barricaded themselves in their room, when Blore heard a sound out in the hall. He began to follow it and saw a figure leave the house. He called on Lombard and Armstrong, but Armstrong wasn't there. They went to search for the figure and Armstrong. But failed to find anything.

19)What were the major things that helped to resolve the plot? The major things that happened to resolve the plot are that the readers thought all the character where dead since Blore's head was smashed in, Armstrong had drowned, Vera shot Lombard, and then proceeded to hang herself. The resolve mostly came in the epilogue when two detectives came to the island to solve the murders. This is where the readers read the letter that the master mind wrote, about how and why had committed the mass murders. The readers also find out that the murderer was the judge.

22)Why did (or didn't) this novel meet your expectations? This novel met my exceptions because I expected it to be scary and mysterious which it was. It had many unexpected plot twists, and at the beginning of the book there was a great deal of foreshadowing. I also liked this book because of how unexpected it was and how it always kept you guessing.


 * Characterization **
 * Kate Melnyk **
 * And Then There Were None **
 * Judge Lawrence Wargrave **


 * For my character sketch I chose to do the main character, Judge Lawrence Wargrave. The judge is the most important character because he organized the mass murder . He is described to as an ugly man, with a ‘frog like face’, a ‘tortoise like neck’ and ‘shrewd eyes’. He’s a retired judge, know as the hanging judge. He was also described as an old weak looking man. His intelligence makes up for his lack of good looks. Wargrave was very smart, he was the one who rounded up the murderers, bought Indian Island, brought them all to the island and killed them off one by one. He chose to murder these people because he decided they were criminals untouched by the law and he wanted revenge and to create a murder mastermind. No one even suspected it was him, since he established himself as the leader of the group. Having successfully tricking everyone into thinking he was innocent, the judge started to command everyone, like organizing searches and locking away the drugs and weapons to keep others safe. Everyone followed his lead because he kept his cool and seemed to know what to do. I would personally not want to be his friend. One because he’s ugly and very smart which means he would outsmart me on all occasions. Also because he’s very creepy and a homicidal maniac, he would probably find flaws in his friends and kill them. I would not enjoy being him I don’t think I would like committing a mass murder just for fun and then killing myself. **

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