Murder on the Orient Express
(Agatha Christie)

Murder

Murder is an obvious theme to this novel as it is a murder-mystery. The plot centers around the murder of M. Ratchett one night on the Orient Express. The murder falls under mysterious circumstances and reveals the true identity of Ratchett as a known kidnapper and murderer himself, who had walked away from the murder of young Daisy Armstrong without serving his sentence.

The plot of the novel follows Detective Poirot as he sorts through the evidence at hand and determines what actually happened the night Ratchett was murdered and “whodunit”.

Revenge

Revenge is the motive for murder in this novel. Everyone who was involved in the plot to murder Ratchett/Cassetti was tied to the Armstrong family and killed Ratchett as revenge for the death of little Daisy and the subsequent destruction of the family.

The murderers believed that as Ratchett killed Daisy he too should be killed, an eye for an eye. Poirot seemed to understand early on that the motive for the murder was revenge and that the Armstrong family was somehow connected though it took him slightly longer to work out the details.

Justice

When Daisy Armstrong was killed Cassetti was put on trial for her murder and sentenced to death, though his power and wealth managed to get him out of his sentence and he walked free.

The murderers, all associated with the Armstrong family, felt it was a sign of injustice that he be able to walk free when he had destroyed a family, and so they decided to take justice into their own hands. The murderers acted as a “jury” that decided Cassetti’s guilt must not go unpunished, and he must serve out the death sentence that he was originally meant for.

Guilt

The passengers of the Orient Express who were responsible for the murder of Ratchett slowly broke down and felt their guilt over the course of the investigation. It is the hysteria caused by the guilt that caused each individual character to slip up in a way that leaked small clues to Detective Poirot and helped him to solve the case.

Numerous characters broke down in tears at the end of the novel and admitted to Poirot who they are, though they insisted still that they were not involved and tried to protect others who they did not want incriminated, as well.

Deceit

Nearly every person aboard the Orient Express was working under an alias, and they all told lies in an attempt to not be discovered. Ratchett, who did not seem to understand why he was getting death threats, was undoubtedly a known kidnapper and child murderer named Cassetti who had walked away unpunished and every passenger on the train was someone involved with the family Cassetti had destroyed, working under a false identity to exact their revenge on him. Everyone lied to Poirot to protect themselves and others until he found the connection and exposed their true identities.

Suspense

Suspense is more of a mood than a theme, but it still sets the stage for the plot of the novel. The suspense created by the constant wondering of who committed the crime creates a thrilling and heart-pounding experience for the reader that causes them to keep turning the pages. As it seems obvious that Poirot always knows what is going on and exactly what everyone is hiding he only reveals the information to the readers a little at a time, leading up to the big reveal at the end of the novel.

Morality

While murder is an amoral act to commit, the murder of Ratchett is seen as incredibly moral and even deserved. The murder that Ratchett committed was disgusting, unnecessary, and cruel, but the murder of Ratchett by the other passengers was an act of divine intervention that they saw as not only moral but necessary and just.

Not only do the passengers see the morality in the act they have committed, but M. Bouc, Doctor Constantine, and Detective Poirot also see the morality in it, to the point that they decide to allow passengers to get away with murder and feed the police an alternative scenario.

Identity

Identity goes along with the theme of deceit in this novel as the two are mutually inclusive. The true identity of the characters aboard the Orient Express is covered with their lies and deceit. In the case of Ratchett, he is hiding his true identity as Cassetti because he is running from the law and from his violent past; in the case of the passengers they are hiding their true identities so they can perform an act of justice they found to be long overdue without tying the evidence to the Armstrong family as their name has been dragged through the mud enough.

Instinct

Detective Poirot is forced to rely on his instincts when solving the murder of Ratchett as his normal advantages, and police assistance is not available to him while aboard the train. Poirot seems to seriously enjoy solving the puzzle of murder using nothing but his own knowledge, intellect, and instincts, which prove to be correct.

Poirot’s instincts lead him to take into consideration the strange mix of evidence found and realize that there is a hodgepodge not because the killer was trying to implement someone else but because there were twelve killers.

Camaraderie

The passengers aboard the Orient Express show a sense of camaraderie in their desire to get justice for the Armstrong family and protect one another in the process. No one person on the train calls out another person as a possible suspect, and many of the characters come out and say another could not have been involved, or make up lies to protect the true identity of another passenger. They stick together, bonded by a common goal, and never throw one of their fellow vigilante’s under the bus. Mrs. Hubbard even offers to take the blame for the murder herself.