Protagonist and Antagonist- Murder on the Orient Express

Murder on the Orient Express

Agatha Christie

Pg. 275/347

The protagonist in the novel I am reading is Hercule Poirot. Hercule Poirot is a retired Belgian police officer, working as a private detective. He is described as a short, round man with an egg shaped head, green eyes and a mustache. He is a detective bestowed with astounding intellect.  He has solved numerous crimes and murders from all over the world that have baffled the police. He believes that the greatest tool for solving crimes is the mind.  He stated that in order to solve a crime one must only sit back and think. Unlike many other detectives, Poirot does not rely on such methods as examining fingerprints and collecting cigarette ash, but rather the psychology behind the case. He observes the possible motives of the suspects, their feelings and behavior.  He is very observant and intellectual, although he is very vain and prideful about his success. When solving a case, he takes into consideration every single detail, even those that may seem unimportant, and that other detectives would not pay attention to. He is a great believer of order and method, and pays attention to, and suspects everyone until the crime is solved. 

The antagonists in the story are Ratchett and a group of people on the train that gathered and organized the murder of Ratchett.

Ratchett is supposedly an American business man. He attempts to manipulate  Poirot  by pretending he is a victim and that some nasty people are after his life.  Poirot is suspicious, and refuses to help, but keeps this case in mind.  Ratchett shows Poirot the threatening letters that he himself prepared in order to use Poirot for his own protection.  We learn later that he was involved in a murder case, involving a young girl, but that he escaped the justice. The fear that he has for his own life is justified,  as later in the book he really gets killed. 

Having examined the wounds on Ratchett’s body, Poirot deduces that there must be more than one murderer and that the murderers must still be on the train.  These suspected, but unknown murderers are the other antagonists in the story.  However, at this stage, we are not aware of their true identity. They are smart and manage to mislead Poirot, by placing various clues.  Poirot has a task to identify them. Poirot becomes suspicious of all the passengers on the train, since their stories match but do not seem logical to him.

I think that the Russian Princess had something to do with the crime, because there is a link between her and the Armstrong family, and the possible motive could be revenge. Another passenger on the train I suspect is Mary Debenhem, because Poirot overheard her make a suspicious remark to one of the other passengers, and when asked for an explanation, she refused to explain.