Write a character sketch of Arthur Hastings in The Mysterious Affair at Styles.
Answers
Answer:
Captain Arthur J. M. Hastings, OBE, is a fictional character created by Agatha Christie as the companion-chronicler and best friend of the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. He is first introduced in Christie's 1920 novel The Mysterious Affair at Styles and appears as a character in eight other Poirot novels and plays, in addition to being the narrator of several others.
Career Edit
Similarly to his friend Poirot, details of Hastings's life before 1916 are not revealed, though the reader is able to pinpoint Hastings's approximate birth year as 1886 from the first chapter of The Mysterious Affair at Styles, as he mentions that John Cavendish was 'a good fifteen years [his] senior' though hardly looking 'his forty-five years'. This makes Hastings thirty years old at the start of the novel. It is also mentioned later on that he was employed at Lloyd's prior to the war. Neither his first name nor his rank are mentioned in this novel. Elsewhere he states that he attended Eton College.[3][4]
Hastings meets Poirot in Belgium several years before their meeting on 16 July 1916,[5] at Styles Court, Essex, which is their first encounter in literature.[6] The two remain friends right up to Poirot's death. Although there is little evidence regarding their possible subsequent meetings, Hastings saw Poirot a year before the latter's death.
Hastings, while being no great detective himself, serves Poirot in many ways. A former British Army officer in World War I, he is brave. He has courage and is often used by Poirot for physical duties such as catching and subduing a criminal. Poirot likes to tease Hastings about being dim-witted at times, but he clearly enjoys the Captain's company. In The Mysterious Affair at Styles and The A.B.C. Murders, Hastings plays a prominent role in the resolution of the mystery, with a casual observation that leads Poirot to the guilty party: In case of the former, by mentioning that Poirot had to straighten some spill holders and ornaments in Styles, he prompts Poirot to realise that someone had moved them, causing Poirot to discover a crucial piece of evidence. In case of the latter, he suggests that the error in recipient address of a letter by the murderer was deliberate, thus causing Poirot to realise the murderer had attached greater importance to that particular murder.
Hastings represents the traditional English gentleman—not too bright but absolutely scrupulous, a throwback to the Victorian-era gentleman who is always concerned about "fair play". Hastings himself notes that he is somewhat old-fashioned. While Poirot, who is not above lying, surreptitiously reads other people's letters or eavesdrops, Hastings is horrified of such acts and usually refuses to perform them to help Poirot in one of his cases. Although he lacks Poirot's intellect, Poirot often compliments Hastings' ability to remember facts and details about their cases even if he deplores the manner in which Hastings tells the story at times. Hastings' physical appearance is rarely described in the novels because he is often the narrator. However, it is mentioned that he, like Poirot, has a moustache which becomes a target of the detective's criticism in Peril at End House: 'And your moustache. If you must have a moustache, let it be a real moustache, a thing of beauty such as mine.'[7] Although he has served in the army, Hastings is not a ruthless man by nature, with Poirot noting during his final letter to Hastings in Curtain that he knows that Hastings is not a murderer.
In Poirot's first scenario, "The Mysterious Affair in Styles," Captian Arthur JM Hastings is introduced to us. He is a fictional character created by Agatha Christie as the companion and best friend of the detective, Hercule Poirot. The year was 1916, the First World War,
Explanation:
- Hastings was thirty and after invalidation had just come back from the Front to recover. He meets Poirot whom he's met, but their relationship in crime resolution begins in styles. Hastings is the perfect partner. Poirot is fervently faithful and ready to take risk and follow his orders. At times Hastings is angry at Poirot because he does not tell him every thing, but can never be upset by Poirot long, this is his admiration for Poirot and his love for him.
- Hastings is the author and probably the closest friends of Poirot. He is a good man, with good ways and an easy personality. He serves in the British military but is away because in the war on the West Front he is injured and is convalescing in the country. This is why he is staying at Styles Court. He personally requests Poirot's private detective services after the murder at Styles.