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Sneha Thomas
Mrs.Cox
English 9 Honors Period 4
16 September 2015
The Opposite Sides of Wargrave
In our novel And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, we discover that each
character exposes and conceals certain factors. Lawrence John Wargrave is one example of a
character that exposes a lot but conceals important points. We learn, in the book, that Justice
Wargrave takes control of the situation to keep the others calm. Ironically, we also learn Justice
Wargrave is the killer. Mr. Wargrave exposes and conceals many details throughout the novel in
which the reader learns important lessons from him.
Justice Wargrave exposes certain information to the readers. In the very beginning of the
novel, we learn that Lawrence John Wargrave (Justice Wargrave) is a judge. He (Mr. Wargrave)
seemed to be wishing that he could order the court to be cleared (25). In this quote we realize
that Mr. Wargrave has the authority to order the court to be cleared. Therefore, we know that Mr.
Wargrave is a judge. Mr. Wargrave reveals his true intentions in the manuscript. But no artist, I
now realize can be satisfied with art alone. There is a natural craving for recognition which
cannot be gainsaid (298). In the excerpt, we, as the reader, learn that Mr. Wargrave wanted to
create a murder mystery. As a result, he picked guilty people of crimes that were not punished
and punished them for their crime. Justice Wargrave uncovers how he murdered each of the
characters specifically. In the following quote he reveals how he killed Miss. Brent, I slipped in
there a little while later- she was nearly unconscious and it was easy to inject a strong solution of
cyanide into her (294-295). Justice Wargrave opens up how he had killed each person. Mr.

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Justice Wargrave has uncovered most of the details to the reader.

Mr. Wargrave conceals many things from the reader. Mr. Wargrave hides that he is the
killer in the mystery. Only Mr. Justice Wargrave and Miss. Brent seemed comparatively
unmoved (49). This was stated in the novel after the accusations were made. Justice Wargrave
seemed to act normal and clueless to conceal that he was the killer. Mr. Wargrave was clever
enough to conceal his death from the reader. It fell to the floor revealing the high bald forehead
with, in the very middle, a round stained mark from which something had trickled (223). From
this quote, we perceive that Justice Wargrave is dead because we see the evidential factors of his
death. Mr. Justice conceals why he was against Seton. He remembered exactly how he had felt
sitting there listening, making notes, appreciating everything, tabulating every scrap of
evidence that told against the prisoner (Seton)(80). Dr. Armstrong explains the case differently,
Judge was dead against him. Turned the jury right round and they brought him in guilty. Quite
legal, though. Old Wargrave knows his law. It was almost as though he had a private down on the
fellow (65). With both of these quotes, we can determine that Justice Wargrave had a strong
contradiction to Seton, but he never reveals why he was against Seton. Justice Wargrave
disguises many key details from the reader.
The reader could learn many valuable lessons from Mr. Wargrave. One of the lessons is
to not judge a person quickly. We judge Mr. Justice Wargrave because he takes control of thing
and tries to be clueless to the murder mystery. The judge interposed. He spoke with the
authority that a lifetime in the courts had given him (54). Another lesson from Mr. Wargrave is
that nothing can be secret for too long. The order of death upon the island had been subjected
by me to special thought and care. There were, I considered, amongst my guests, varying degrees

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of guilt (292). Mr. Wargrave collected and found out the hidden crimes that the criminals
werent punished for. Also another important lesson that we and the characters learn is that you
might drift away from the solution if you think too hard. The characters all thought too hard of
the murder when Mr. Wargrave could have been suspected, but not too many people suspected
him because he was a judge who makes justice happen. Therefore they all started making
accusations of each other whereas Wargrave didnt make any accusations. We, as the reader,
discover many lessons from Mr. Wargrave.
Mr. Wargrave exposes and conceals many factors which have helped the reader learn
many notable lessons. Mr. Wargrave reveals some of his thoughts and actions, but he conceals all
the thoughts and actions of his murder. With all the information, the reader learns many lessons
from Justice Wargrave throughout the book. Lawrence John Wargrave conceals and exposes
many details in which the reader learns many lessons.

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Works Cited
Christie, Agatha. And Then There Were None. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1940.
Print.