Hercule Poirot in Murder of Roger Ackroyd

Halfway through Agatha Christie’s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Hercule Poirot—the Belgian
detective who’s been convinced to investigate the titular crime—tells the suspects, “Every one of
you in this room is concealing something from me.” Poirot’s claim is arguably the single most
important sentence in the book, summing up Christie’s belief that everyone—even nice,
ordinary-seeming people—has a dark secret, and, furthermore, that everyone, under the right
circumstances, is capable of committing a crime. The novel, also, suggests that, with a little
intelligent detective work, people’s secrets inevitably will be revealed. Through the character
of Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective who appears in dozens of other Christie
mysteries, Roger Ackroyd shows how an intelligent, rational person can use their “little grey
cells” to solve even the most challenging of mysteries. Furthermore, Christie shows how Poirot’s
flexible intellect—his combination of rational disinterest and intuitive exploration—is key to
solving the case.
The contrast Christie sets up between Poirot’s handling of the case and the official inquiry made
by the police makes an argument that investigations are best when they’re based on a
philosophical interest in human behavior and human nature, rather than personal or professional
incentives, such as the desire to close a case quickly, a quest for money or fame, or friendship
with the victims. Even before Poirot begins to investigate Roger Ackroyd’s murder, Christie
makes it clear that he’s interested in the case for purely abstract reasons. Indeed, Poirot’s
“disinterest” (i.e., the fact that he’s not financially connected to the Ackroyd family, intimately
acquainted with any of the suspects, or even legally obligated to turn over his findings to the
police) is an important part of his style of detection. Because Poirot is disinterested, he’s not
biased toward or against particular suspects. Instead, he’s free to “size up” the suspects slowly
and carefully, assessing what kinds of people they are, what their motives and secrets might be,
and whether or not they’d be capable, under the circumstances, of committing a crime. As befits
a detective who only takes cases out of abstract, philosophical interest, Poirot’s style of detection
focuses on the study of human nature. Like a good logician, Poirot proceeds from a set of
premises—everybody has secrets; everybody, under the right circumstances, is capable of
murder—and uses them to interview the suspects and draw conclusions about the crime. By
contrast, Christie portrays the sloppier style favored by the police, who have limited resources
and a strong incentive to conclude their investigation as soon as possible.
The investigative technique of Hercule Poirot becomes evident where Poirot asks Dr. Sheppard
about the man he met when he left Fernly Park on the night of the murder. This scene takes place
in the novel after the investigation has started and Fernly Park is examined by the police and
Poirot. The police clearly suspect Ralph Paton of the murder; there is no suspicion directed at Dr.
Sheppard and there have been no direct clues for the reader to suspect Dr. Sheppard either. Poirot
and Dr. Sheppard are standing in the place where Dr. Sheppard met the man on the night of the
murder: ‘You say it was nine o’clock, Dr. Sheppard, when you met this stranger outside the
gate?’ ‘Yes,’ I replied. ‘I heard the church clock chime the hour.’ ‘How long would it take him to
reach the house – to reach this window for instance?’ ‘Five minutes at the outside. Two or three
minutes only if he took the path at the right of the drive and came straight here.’ This scene on its
own does not show what is at stake. Here Dr. Sheppard is actually telling the truth and is not
omitting any information. He believes that he is talking about the stranger he met outside Fernly
park right after he murdered Roger Ackroyd, and not about his own role in the murder. What
might not be obvious to the reader is that the reason Poirot is asking, is that he has discovered a
gap in Dr. Sheppard’s alibi.
Another scene where the deception from Dr. Sheppard will be more obvious is when Dr.
Sheppard is at Poirot’s house and they are talking things over. This is in the middle of the novel
so the 15 investigation is still ongoing. Sheppard asks Poirot what he thinks about the case and
Poirot talks about how he tries to find the truth in everything: - Dr. Sheppard leaves the house at
ten minutes to nine. How do I know that?’ ‘Because I told you so.’ ‘But you might not be telling
the truth – or the watch you went by might be wrong.’ Poirot’s comment hints that Dr. Sheppard
is being treated as a suspect as well, and that he might not be reliable. This is an important clue
for the reader, and one that could actually help the reader solve the mystery. From a narrative
perspective the interesting point is how spreading out the information in the way that Christie
does here makes it possible to have the truth present and still undetected by the reader.
Poirot is unique from most other fictional detectives in the sense that he doesn’t have any one
hard and fast theory of detection. At times, he concentrates on gathering physical evidence; at
other times, he focuses on forming a psychological understanding of the suspects; and
sometimes, he allows his instincts to guide him. Christie implies that it is because Poirot is so
flexible—he uses so many different methods of detection, employing many different aspects of
his mind—that he’s such a brilliant detective.
PARAPHRASED ANSWER

Halfway through Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Hercule Poirot—the Belgian
detective who was persuaded to prosecute the felony—tells the perpetrators, "Everyone in this
room is hiding something from me." Poirot's declaration is perhaps the single most relevant
sentence in the novel, summing up Christie's conviction that everyone—even good, ordinary-
looking people—has a dark secret and, furthermore, that everyone, under the right
circumstances, is capable of committing a crime. The novel also indicates that, with a bit of
insightful detective work, people's secrets will finally be uncovered. Through the character of
Hercule Poirot, a Belgian detective who appears in hundreds of other Christie mysteries, Roger
Ackroyd reveals how an intelligent, logical person can use his "little grey cells" to solve even the
most difficult of mysteries. In addition, Christie shows how Poirot's versatile intellect—his
mixture of logical disinterest and intuitive exploration—is the secret to resolving the matter.
The difference between Poirot's treatment of the case and the official investigation by the police
argues that investigations are best if they are focused on a philosophical interest in human
conduct and human nature, rather than on personal or professional incentives, such as a desire to
close a case quickly, a search for money or fame, or friendship with the victims. Even before
Poirot began investigating the murder of Roger Ackroyd, Christie made it clear that he was
involved in the case for purely hypothetical motives. Indeed, Poirot's "disinterest" (i.e. the fact
that he is not financially linked to the Accroyd family, that he is personally acquainted with any
of the suspects, or even legally obliged to hand over his findings to the police) is an integral part
of his detective style. Since Poirot is disinterested, he has no prejudice for or against individual
suspects. Instead, he is free to "scale" the suspects slowly and carefully, decide what kind of
people they are, what their motivations and secrets may be, and whether or not, under the
circumstances, they might be capable of committing a crime. As a detective who takes crimes
out of abstract, philosophic interest only, Poirot's style of detection focuses on the study of
human nature. Like a good logician, Poirot starts from a collection of premises—everybody has
secrets; everybody, under the right conditions, is capable of murder—and uses them to interview
the suspects and draw conclusions about the crime. On the other hand, Christie depicts the
sloppier style favoured by the police, who have minimal resources and a strong desire to
complete their investigation as quickly as possible.
Hercule Poirot's detective method becomes clear where Poirot asks Dr. Sheppard about the man
he encountered when he left Fernly Park on the night of the murder. This scene takes place in the
novel after the investigation has begun and Fernly Park is investigated by the police and Poirot.
It is clear that the police accuse Ralph Paton of the murder; there is no suspicion of Dr. Sheppard
and there is no direct clue for the reader to suspect Dr. Sheppard. Poirot and Dr. Sheppard are
standing in the spot where Dr. Sheppard met the man on the night of the murder: 'You mean it
was 9 o'clock, Dr. Sheppard, when you met this stranger outside the gate?' 'Yes,' I said. 'I heard
the clock in the church chime the hour.' 'How long does it take him to get to the door, to enter
this window, for example?' 'Five minutes outside. It was just two or three minutes if he took the
road to the right of the drive and came right here.' This scene does not reveal what is at stake on
its own. In fact, Dr. Sheppard is telling the truth here and does not omit any detail. He claims he's
talking about the stranger he met outside of Fernly Park right after Roger Ackroyd was
murdered, not about his own part in the murder. What may not be clear to the reader is that the
reason Poirot asks is that he has found a loophole in Dr. Sheppard's alibi.

Another scene where Dr. Sheppard's deceit is going to be more evident is when Dr. Sheppard is
at Poirot's house and they're talking about stuff. This is in the middle of the book, but the 15
investigations are still underway. Sheppard asks Poirot what he thinks of the situation, and Poirot
speaks about how he's trying to find the truth in everything: -Dr. Sheppard leaves the house ten
minutes to nine. How am I supposed to know that?" 'Because I said so to you.' 'But you might
not be telling the truth, or the watch you went through may be wrong.' Poirot's remark indicates
that Dr. Sheppard is being viewed as a suspect, and that he may not be credible. This is an
interesting hint to the reader, and one that might potentially help the reader solve the mystery.
From a narrative viewpoint, the important point is how to spread the facts in the way that
Christie does here makes it possible for the reader to have the reality present and yet undetected.

Poirot is peculiar to most other fictional detectives in the sense that he has no hard and quick
detection theory at all. At times, he focuses on collecting forensic evidence; at other times, he
focuses on developing a psychological understanding of the suspects; and often, he allows his
intuition to direct him. Christie suggests that it is because Poirot is so flexible—he uses so many
different methods of identification, using many different facets of his mind—that he is such a
brilliant detective.