CommentontheviewsofCaroline’stheoryregardingMrs.Ferrars'death?
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Chapters 1 & 2 Analysis
The first sentence of the novel begins with the announcement of a death – firmly signaling the detective genre and establishing the event that will set the novel’s plot in motion. As the reader knows from the novel’s title, it is Roger Ackroyd whose death the novel will mostly center around – Mrs. Ferrars’ death is merely a vehicle to allow the novel to begin working towards this end. The first chapter of the novel also establishes the novel’s narrator (Dr. Sheppard), as well as the point of view he narrates from (first person). Although Dr. Sheppard appears to be fairly forthcoming with the facts of the plot, as the reader will ultimately discover, one cannot entirely trust his narration.
The first chapter contains a great deal of foreshadowing. Dr. Sheppard’s simple statement that he was “considerably upset and worried” (p.1) contains significant meaning, and actually suggests his profound involvement in the plot. He is not just upset by Mrs. Ferrars’ death, but by the implications that it will have on him.
Later on, he suggests that “as a professional man, I naturally aim at discretion” (p. 2), which on the surface seems innocuous, but gains deeper significance given Dr. Sheppard’s actual involvement in the murder. Finally, Caroline’s accusation to her brother that he is a “precious old humbug” (p. 6) is a truer statement than even she knows. His utter duplicity throughout the novel will ultimately prove that this insignificant comment elucidates the novel’s greatest secret.
If the first chapter immediately establishes the drama to pique the reader’s interest, the second chapter takes a step back to provide the reader with the necessary backstory to understand the plot. Chapter 2 is literally titled “Who’s Who In King’s Abbot” and describes the characters who inhabit the town as well as the important events leading up to Mrs. Ferrars’ death.
Indeed, most of the characters who will become major suspects in Roger Ackroyd’s murder – as well as Ackroyd himself – are introduced in Chapter 2: Ralph Paton, Miss Russell, Mrs. Cecil Ackroyd and a brief reference to Flora.
Christie includes many additional details in Chapter 2 that are easy to miss as hints of James Sheppards’ guilt. His displeasure at seeing Mrs. Ferrars and Ralph Paton together, his explanation that when he last saw Mrs. Ferrars her manner had been “normal enough considering – well – considering everything” (p. 10), as well as the “sundry other matters” (p. 10) he contemplates as he completes his rounds “mechanically” (p. 10), all point to a deeper level of guilt. However, Christie references these hints so subtly that it is almost impossible, on a first read of the novel, to recognize them as hints. Instead, Christie immediately draws attention to more overtly suspicious behavior among her other characters – specifically, Ralph Paton being in King’s Abbott without Roger Ackroyd knowing, and Miss Russells’ visit to Dr. Sheppard and her inquiry about drugs. Both of these actions suggest such clear duplicity on the part of Ralph Paton and Miss Russell that the reader is easily distracted from the more mild suspicion around the novel’s narrator. Additionally, the narration’s clarity and seemingly detailed nature appears to have left no stone unturned, so it is easy for the reader to immediately trust Dr. Sheppard and subconsciously cast him as an innocent witness to the events around him. In this way, Christie plays with the idea of a “reliable narrator” – given the general pattern of detective novels in which the narrator is usually an innocent third party, it is almost impossible not to assume Dr. Sheppard will play this same role in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. We assume Dr. Sheppard is a reliable narrator from the outset because the form of the genre requires it.
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by Jennie