And Then There Were None Important Characters
Justice Lawrence Wargrave
Justice Wargrave has a problem, it seems he enjoys killing, but he also has a strong sense of justice. To solve this unique problem he becomes a judge, in this way he can dispense justice while at the same time legally killing, by sending murderers to their deaths.
This satisfies his desires until he retires from the bench, then he finds he has an unrelenting desire to commit murder himself. Until now, the only deaths he actually had a physical involvement with involved animals and insects, but now, after finding out his life is about to end due to illness, he wants to murder someone. He decides one person is not enough, he wants to go about it in a grand scale and this is how he decides to kill ten people. He, one day, talks to a doctor who wonders how many people have legally gotten away with murder. This begins Justice Wargraves quest to find ten people who have legally gotten away with murder. He then formulates his plan to bring them to an island and kill them, in accordance with the lines of a nursery rhyme. He at first wants no credit for his acts, but after he is done he feels the need to show the world just how smart he is and so he leaves his written confession in a bottle, which he throws out to sea.
Justice Wargrave is a man who is conflicted by his thrill of the kill and his need for justice. He enjoys seeing how much anxiety he can inflict upon those he judges guilty of murder. He is also a good actor, because he fools the others on the island into believing he is dead. He misleads the police by making his own suicide look like it follows the same pattern as the murders of the others on the island.
Philip Lombard
Philip Lombard is a cold hearted man who left 21 men to die in Africa. He and his fellow travelers had gotten lost, so they took the remaining food with them and left the 21 guides to die. He justifies his actions by taking the stance that the guides do not look at death in the same way he and his friends do, so they do not mind dying.
Philip is the only one to bring a gun with him, because he has been hired to help the Owens out of any tight spots they might get into, while on the island. This makes him a suspect after the gun mysteriously disappears and Justice Wargrave is supposedly shot and killed by the gun. The gun then mysteriously reappears, which in the end is the literal death of Philip Lombard, after Vera Claythorne shoots him in the chest with it.
Philip Lombard is a man who skirts the law and lives within his own code of moral justice. He feels as long as he can get away with an act, then it must be valid.
William Henry Blore
Mr. Blore is an ex-policeman, who lies on the stand to send an innocent man to prison. The man dies while in prison, but Blore profits from his lie by receiving a promotion. He is hired to come to Indian Island and protect Mrs. Owen's jewelry. He along with Philip Lombard are instrumental in leading the search on the island for the killer. He also casts suspicion on Philip Lombard for the deaths, as Philip Lombard casts suspicion on Mr. Blore.
William Blore is the only person who, upon arrival on the island, knows who all the other guests are and he keeps his true identity a secret from the others, for a while. After the recording accusing all of them of their various crimes is played, he is then forced to admit his true identity.
He is a trained policeman, who tries to solve the mystery of the murders, until he, too, becomes a victim.
Dr. Edward George Armstrong
Dr. Armstrong is invited to the island to look after the health of Mrs. Owen. He does not suspect the true reason for his invitation to the island. He, a few years previously, operated on a woman while he was drunk. The woman did not survive the operation, which causes the doctor to look at how he is living his life and make changes in his behavior. He has since become a successful physician and thought coming to the island would be a nice break from his hectic practice.
Instead, he became an unknowing accomplice to Justice Wargrave by helping Wargrave fake his death. As a thank you for his help, Justice Wargrave repaid him by throwing him into the sea and allowing him to drown. Dr. Armstrong is, before this, thought to be the murderer, because Mrs. Rogers died after he gave her a sedative and he alone found General Macarthur dead.
Dr. Armstrong is a man who actually wanted to make his life meaningful, by helping others. He feels true remorse and shame for the death of the woman, he is also fearful he will be found out. He fears if the truth comes out about the operation, then he will lose his license to practice medicine.
Vera Elizabeth Claythorne
Vera is hired to be a secretary to Mr. and Mrs. Owen. She looks forward to the change of pace after spending the year as a games mistress at a school. She is still trying to come to terms with the consequences of her actions, which causes the death of young boy. He stood in the way of her and her boyfriend marrying, because the boy would inherit the money she feels her boyfriend is entitled to. The boy was her boyfriend's nephew and as he was Vera's boyfriend's brother's child, then he would inherit the money. Since the boy is now dead, Vera's boyfriend will now inherit the money. What she has not counted on is her boyfriend's reaction to the child's death, which is he left her and will not communicate with her.
Vera is also ruthless, as is shown by her ability to shoot Philip Lombard and then feel happy about her actions. Vera is the last person to survive on the island, as far as she knew, but when she returned to her room, in the house, a noose and chair are there waiting for her. She understands she has to kill herself in order to make her boyfriend happy. She thinks he is in the room watching her and so she commits the final act.
Vera is a woman who is possessed with the desire to do anything to accomplish her goal of marrying her boyfriend. She is also held the most responsible by Justice Wargrave for the death of another, which is why she is the last to die. The Justice wants her to suffer the most from the anxiety of waiting for death to come to her.
General John Gordon Macarthur
He is accused of sending his wife's lover to his death in battle. He, now as an old man, feels great remorse for his actions. He at the time felt it was the right thing to do, also it was the perfect way to get rid of the man. No one could accuse him of killing the man, after all it happens during war time and all General Macarthur did is to send him on a mission. Now, after witnessing the other deaths on the island, General Macarthur sits in a chair looking out at the sea, welcoming the coming of death. He feels it will be a relief to not have the burden of guilt on him anymore. He is the only one on the island who is not afraid to die.
Anthony James Marston
He killed two children by driving down their street too fast, as they were walking out of their house. Instead of feeling sorrow for the pain he inflicts on their family and the needless loss of life, he feels inconvenienced. He is angry, because the court took away his driver's license for a year. He feels it is an unjust punishment, after all the children should have been looking out for him. He has no sense of feeling guilty or responsible for his own actions. Because he is judged unable to acknowledge the consequences of his actions, Justice Wargrave kills him first. Mr. Justice Wargrave feels those who are less able to understand the consequences of their actions should not have to suffer the anxiety the others do, and so they are given quicker deaths.
Emily Caroline Brent
She was a self-righteous spinster, who thinks of herself as moral and justified in all her actions. The fact she threw out a young housemaid, because the girl was unwed and pregnant, does not faze her at all. The result of her action is the maid threw herself into a river and drown. Miss Brent thinks the maid brought all of this on herself and she does not have a bit of responsibility in the death. She sees her actions as the proper thing to do under the circumstances. It is not right to have an unwed mother in her employment, so firing the girl is the only course of action she can take.
She also feels she would be the one person who does not have a chance of being killed. Justice Wargrave thinks differently and kills her as she sits in her chair.
Thomas Rogers
He is the butler and general man about the house. He helps his wife keep the house running and makes sure the guests are kept comfortable. He and his wife are also guarding a secret. The woman they have been taking care of for years was seriously ill and in her will she leaves them a tidy sum of money. It is this money, which gives Mr. and Mrs. Rogers the incentive to delay giving her lifesaving help on the night she dies.
After Mrs. Rogers dies, Mr. Rogers carries on as if nothing has happened. He is distraught at the time of her death, but when he is around the guests he acts as if nothing has occurred. He does try to help figure out who is behind the deaths, but only does so when directly asked to help. He is a man who keeps his thoughts and emotions to himself. He is killed as he chops wood for the house.
Ethel Rogers
She is very distressed when The Voice reads the charges against her and her husband. She is so upset she faints and needs to be sedated so she can sleep. It was for her her final sleep as Justice Wargrave made sure she is given an overdose, which kills her. She until this point is a good cook and excellent housekeeper for the guests on the island.
Justice Wargrave has a problem, it seems he enjoys killing, but he also has a strong sense of justice. To solve this unique problem he becomes a judge, in this way he can dispense justice while at the same time legally killing, by sending murderers to their deaths.
This satisfies his desires until he retires from the bench, then he finds he has an unrelenting desire to commit murder himself. Until now, the only deaths he actually had a physical involvement with involved animals and insects, but now, after finding out his life is about to end due to illness, he wants to murder someone. He decides one person is not enough, he wants to go about it in a grand scale and this is how he decides to kill ten people. He, one day, talks to a doctor who wonders how many people have legally gotten away with murder. This begins Justice Wargraves quest to find ten people who have legally gotten away with murder. He then formulates his plan to bring them to an island and kill them, in accordance with the lines of a nursery rhyme. He at first wants no credit for his acts, but after he is done he feels the need to show the world just how smart he is and so he leaves his written confession in a bottle, which he throws out to sea.
Justice Wargrave is a man who is conflicted by his thrill of the kill and his need for justice. He enjoys seeing how much anxiety he can inflict upon those he judges guilty of murder. He is also a good actor, because he fools the others on the island into believing he is dead. He misleads the police by making his own suicide look like it follows the same pattern as the murders of the others on the island.
Philip Lombard
Philip Lombard is a cold hearted man who left 21 men to die in Africa. He and his fellow travelers had gotten lost, so they took the remaining food with them and left the 21 guides to die. He justifies his actions by taking the stance that the guides do not look at death in the same way he and his friends do, so they do not mind dying.
Philip is the only one to bring a gun with him, because he has been hired to help the Owens out of any tight spots they might get into, while on the island. This makes him a suspect after the gun mysteriously disappears and Justice Wargrave is supposedly shot and killed by the gun. The gun then mysteriously reappears, which in the end is the literal death of Philip Lombard, after Vera Claythorne shoots him in the chest with it.
Philip Lombard is a man who skirts the law and lives within his own code of moral justice. He feels as long as he can get away with an act, then it must be valid.
William Henry Blore
Mr. Blore is an ex-policeman, who lies on the stand to send an innocent man to prison. The man dies while in prison, but Blore profits from his lie by receiving a promotion. He is hired to come to Indian Island and protect Mrs. Owen's jewelry. He along with Philip Lombard are instrumental in leading the search on the island for the killer. He also casts suspicion on Philip Lombard for the deaths, as Philip Lombard casts suspicion on Mr. Blore.
William Blore is the only person who, upon arrival on the island, knows who all the other guests are and he keeps his true identity a secret from the others, for a while. After the recording accusing all of them of their various crimes is played, he is then forced to admit his true identity.
He is a trained policeman, who tries to solve the mystery of the murders, until he, too, becomes a victim.
Dr. Edward George Armstrong
Dr. Armstrong is invited to the island to look after the health of Mrs. Owen. He does not suspect the true reason for his invitation to the island. He, a few years previously, operated on a woman while he was drunk. The woman did not survive the operation, which causes the doctor to look at how he is living his life and make changes in his behavior. He has since become a successful physician and thought coming to the island would be a nice break from his hectic practice.
Instead, he became an unknowing accomplice to Justice Wargrave by helping Wargrave fake his death. As a thank you for his help, Justice Wargrave repaid him by throwing him into the sea and allowing him to drown. Dr. Armstrong is, before this, thought to be the murderer, because Mrs. Rogers died after he gave her a sedative and he alone found General Macarthur dead.
Dr. Armstrong is a man who actually wanted to make his life meaningful, by helping others. He feels true remorse and shame for the death of the woman, he is also fearful he will be found out. He fears if the truth comes out about the operation, then he will lose his license to practice medicine.
Vera Elizabeth Claythorne
Vera is hired to be a secretary to Mr. and Mrs. Owen. She looks forward to the change of pace after spending the year as a games mistress at a school. She is still trying to come to terms with the consequences of her actions, which causes the death of young boy. He stood in the way of her and her boyfriend marrying, because the boy would inherit the money she feels her boyfriend is entitled to. The boy was her boyfriend's nephew and as he was Vera's boyfriend's brother's child, then he would inherit the money. Since the boy is now dead, Vera's boyfriend will now inherit the money. What she has not counted on is her boyfriend's reaction to the child's death, which is he left her and will not communicate with her.
Vera is also ruthless, as is shown by her ability to shoot Philip Lombard and then feel happy about her actions. Vera is the last person to survive on the island, as far as she knew, but when she returned to her room, in the house, a noose and chair are there waiting for her. She understands she has to kill herself in order to make her boyfriend happy. She thinks he is in the room watching her and so she commits the final act.
Vera is a woman who is possessed with the desire to do anything to accomplish her goal of marrying her boyfriend. She is also held the most responsible by Justice Wargrave for the death of another, which is why she is the last to die. The Justice wants her to suffer the most from the anxiety of waiting for death to come to her.
General John Gordon Macarthur
He is accused of sending his wife's lover to his death in battle. He, now as an old man, feels great remorse for his actions. He at the time felt it was the right thing to do, also it was the perfect way to get rid of the man. No one could accuse him of killing the man, after all it happens during war time and all General Macarthur did is to send him on a mission. Now, after witnessing the other deaths on the island, General Macarthur sits in a chair looking out at the sea, welcoming the coming of death. He feels it will be a relief to not have the burden of guilt on him anymore. He is the only one on the island who is not afraid to die.
Anthony James Marston
He killed two children by driving down their street too fast, as they were walking out of their house. Instead of feeling sorrow for the pain he inflicts on their family and the needless loss of life, he feels inconvenienced. He is angry, because the court took away his driver's license for a year. He feels it is an unjust punishment, after all the children should have been looking out for him. He has no sense of feeling guilty or responsible for his own actions. Because he is judged unable to acknowledge the consequences of his actions, Justice Wargrave kills him first. Mr. Justice Wargrave feels those who are less able to understand the consequences of their actions should not have to suffer the anxiety the others do, and so they are given quicker deaths.
Emily Caroline Brent
She was a self-righteous spinster, who thinks of herself as moral and justified in all her actions. The fact she threw out a young housemaid, because the girl was unwed and pregnant, does not faze her at all. The result of her action is the maid threw herself into a river and drown. Miss Brent thinks the maid brought all of this on herself and she does not have a bit of responsibility in the death. She sees her actions as the proper thing to do under the circumstances. It is not right to have an unwed mother in her employment, so firing the girl is the only course of action she can take.
She also feels she would be the one person who does not have a chance of being killed. Justice Wargrave thinks differently and kills her as she sits in her chair.
Thomas Rogers
He is the butler and general man about the house. He helps his wife keep the house running and makes sure the guests are kept comfortable. He and his wife are also guarding a secret. The woman they have been taking care of for years was seriously ill and in her will she leaves them a tidy sum of money. It is this money, which gives Mr. and Mrs. Rogers the incentive to delay giving her lifesaving help on the night she dies.
After Mrs. Rogers dies, Mr. Rogers carries on as if nothing has happened. He is distraught at the time of her death, but when he is around the guests he acts as if nothing has occurred. He does try to help figure out who is behind the deaths, but only does so when directly asked to help. He is a man who keeps his thoughts and emotions to himself. He is killed as he chops wood for the house.
Ethel Rogers
She is very distressed when The Voice reads the charges against her and her husband. She is so upset she faints and needs to be sedated so she can sleep. It was for her her final sleep as Justice Wargrave made sure she is given an overdose, which kills her. She until this point is a good cook and excellent housekeeper for the guests on the island.
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