INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE

THE MOUSETRAP

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. USE YOUR OWN WORDS.

1. Agatha Christie intentionally created an atmosphere of suspicion throughout

the play. Which character(s) did you think was the murderer? What actions or
clues made you believe this?

First, I thought the murder was Christopher Wren, because when the
witnesses described the murderer, Mr. Wren had the same characteristics
and I have to add that his relaxed attitude seemed suspicious. However,
when Sargent Trotter appears in this story something was wrong about
him and fortunately when Mrs. Boyle mentioned that he was too young to
be a sergeant, he became the most suspicious of this murderer. Finally,
when Mrs. Boyle was killed I knew that the murder was Trotter because
Mrs. Boyle had doubts about him.

2. How did the suspicious environment affect the characters of the play?

The interesting thing in this suspicious environment contributes to the story

because it makes each character a suspicious one. One example might be
when it is related that Mrs. Ralston traveled to London and this is how we
ask: why did she traveled to London and didn’t say anything? Another
example could be the strange reason why Mr. Ralston came home late
after buying some things in London. These little discordances in some
characters might be misinterpreted and also make them suspicious of the
crimes.

3. What conventions did The Mousetrap follow? What rules were broken? Why
do you think Agatha Christie chose to break these rules?

The conventions this play follows are: The setting, Monkswell Manor, is the
place where everything happens and due to the blizzard the characters
have to stay there, making this place the only place where they can be and
making them suspicious of this crime.

I consider one of the rules she broke is the revelation of the murderer, it is
usual that the detective is the one who finds out the murderer. However, in
this play, there is a twist because the detective who wasn't suspicious at
first is the real murderer.

4. After reading the book, what do you think has kept this play popular for so
long? What elements do you believe draw audiences continuously?
 I consider that the unexpected twist at the end of this story is one of the
reasons for the popularity of this play. Along the play we discover different
characters and in this case, someone who we couldn’t suspect was the
murderer. The main elements that catch the audience are the characters
and how they develop their role during the play, each character has
different characteristics and each one provides their own sparkle.

5. A successful whodunit is built upon a great twist near the end where the
murderer is revealed. How did you feel of the twist ending of The Mousetrap?

When I discovered that Trotter was the murder I felt just a little surprised
because he became the suspicious number 1 in this case when Mrs. Boyle
asked him about his rank in police and then she was the first killed. Why
was she first murdered? Who didn’t want to be discovered? The only one
was Trotter.

6. Throughout the play the bonds of Mollie and Giles are tested as they both
become suspicious of each other. Mollie says, “Perhaps you never did know
me. We’ve been married how long – a year? But you don’t really know
anything about me. What I’d done or thought or felt or suffered before you
knew me”. Having only been married for a year, would they have had
inevitable problems or were their problems brought about by the events in the
play? Is Mollie’s reluctance to divulge her secrets to Giles a good choice or bad
choice? Is Giles right to demand her be honest with him or should he respect
her secrets?

I consider that problems they had might be influenced by the events of the
play, however, it’s remarkable that the decisions they took in relation to
their marriage was doubtful because although they are married, they don’t
trust in the other one, showing that this is not a solid marriage. When Molly
talks to Mr. Wren so easily about her problems, she shows that she can
establish quick relations and trust in people that she doesn’t know,
something that could be a problem in future.

In relation to Giles attitude, I consider he was jealous of Mr. Wren, but he

should respect the decisions and secrets of his wife because if they don’t
trust each other there are no reasons to be married.

7. Throughout the play, characters are frequently commenting on how they don’t
really know each other. In life is it ever really possible to know somebody or do
we all have something to hide?

As in this play, in real life it’s difficult to know a person completely.

However, along the time you spend with this person you discover new
things about them, something that I consider interesting because when
you don’t know everything about someone you learn it through
experiences and these experiences could be good or bad ones, but that is
the paradox in life.