Selfishness in and then There Were None by Agatha Christie

Nothing sounds better than a vacation to an island for most people, at least that's what 10 individuals thought at first. In And Then There Were None 10 people are sent to an island for crimes unfathomable to the regular person; they've all murdered someone in one grisly way or another. While on the island, these 10 people are left for dead, each are killed off one by one.

In Agatha Christie’s novel, And Then There Were None, two people who were most deserving of death were Philip Lombard and General Macarthur because of their selfish acts against others; however Emily Brent was least deserving of death because she did not actually murder anybody, unlike the others on the island. And because of the actions of everyone on the island, it lead to justice being served. Philip Lombard was beyond a doubt was one of the most selfish on the island. During the first few hours of them being on the island a gramophone record was played, exposing why each of the inhabitants of the island were now exiled and left to die there. The gramophone announced, “Philip Lombard that upon a date in February, 1932, you were guilty of twenty-one men, members of a West African tribe.” Obviously this act against another group of people was selfish because he raided a tribe of twenty-one men for himself. Instead of just taking what he needed to get buy, he stole everything from them and left them there to die. Lombard treated these people like they objects, as if they had nothing to lose, but he had everything to lose. It was selfish to rob those people of their lives, when he had the opportunity to spare their lives and only take the little food and water it would have taken him to get by.

Another example of Philip Lombard's selfishness is when he started to think about Vera Claythorne when he first saw her. He didn’t think about her as a person, he thought about her as an object that he could get with, thinking, “He’d rather like to take her on.” Lombard wasn’t thinking about whether or not she would “fancy him,” he was only thinking about whether or not he would be able to get with her as his personal gain. Just as with the African tribe, he was only thinking of her as an object in his court. One last way Lombard showed his selfishness is when he hid his revolver from everyone on the island; he only admitted to owning it when Blore called him out saying, “I want to know why you brought a revolver down here.” Lombard knew there was a murderer on the island and he continued to hide his revolver from the other inhabitants so he could use it for himself, rather than making it known that he had one. He used the revolver to put himself up as an advantage against the others. It was selfish to hide the revolver because he is in the same boat as everyone else on the island; he is there because he had killed people just like everyone else, with the exception of Emily Brent.

Philip Lombard was a selfish man no doubt, but so was General Macarthur. General Macarthur was also a selfish man who had knowingly lead a man to his death. During the first few hours of being on the island the gramophone played and it was stated that, “John Gordon Macarthur that on the 4th of January 1917, you deliberately sent your wife's lover, Arthur Richmond, to his death.” After hearing the gramophone play it’s evident that Macarthur did not have any remorse for killing Arthur Richmond; he was selfish in the sense that he couldn’t let go of his wife whom obviously loved Richmond very much. General Macarthur wrongfully killed Richmond for his own personal gain against his wife. It was selfish of him to take someone's life away from and everybody that they loved.

Another act of selfishness was General Macarthur inevitably taking his wife’s as well. After killing her lover out of spite for a personal gain, his wife becomes very distant and sickly, General Macarthur explains, “She hadn’t seemed very real anymore. And then, three or four years later, she’d got double pneumonia and died.” General Macarthur means that after he had killed his wife's lover she became very depressed; she stopped taking care of herself. His wife became very sick and let herself go because she thought she had nothing to live for anymore, her true love was taken away from her. It was selfish of General Macarthur to take away his wife's lover and then he took her away from himself. He was also selfish because he never told his wife what he had done, “Leslie hadn’t known.” General Macarthur allowed his wife to slip away from him and he also allowed her to wither away. It was selfish of him for not telling her because she didn’t deserve to be treated that way. She didn’t deserve to be looked at as a pawn or a piece of arm candy to be tossed around.

General Macarthur was a deceitful, selfish man. Despite the fact that Emily Brent was involved in a young girl's suicide, she should not have been accounted for her death. After Vera and Emily Brent head out to walk and talk Vera learns why Emily Brent is on the island. Emily Brent explains, “Naturally I did not keep her an hour under my roof. No one shall say that I condoned immorality.” Obviously Emily Brent cared more about what others thought of her as a person than she did about other people on general. Emily Brent was deserving to die because she had the opportunity to save a young girl's life and she did not because others would see her as tolerant of that type of behavior. However her death was unnecessary because she did not actually kill anyone. While talking to Vera, Emily admits, “her action- her own sin- that was what drove her to it. If she had behaved like a decent, modest, young woman none of this would have happened.” It’s evident that Emily Brent was just sticking to her morals. She did not intend on ultimately leading this girl to her death. Emily Brent thought that the young girl was immoral and had every right to be entitled to her own opinion; she was only sticking to her own personal beliefs.

Another reason Emily Brent didn't deserve to die is because, it's stated that, “She took her own life.” This means that Emily Brent had absolutely nothing on her hands, the girl killed herself. Emily Brent didn't physically harm the girl in any way possible, like rest of the people on the island. She did not kill anyone, she only stuck to her personal beliefs, it is not her fault that the girl couldn't find the will to live. It also is not her fault that the girl committed a “sin” that went against Emily Brents’ beliefs. The girl brought the reign of hell upon herself when she decided to do something, “immoral.” Emily Brent did not deserve to die because did not kill anyone.

All in all, Philip Lombard and General Macarthur were the most selfish and deceitful on the island because of the lives they had taken away and for other selfish actions against the other inhabitants. Emily Brent was least deserving of death because she did not commit a crime. It is not a crime to stick to your personal belief system or morals.