Hercule Poirot and the Tricky Performers of Stereotypes in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express

Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express (1934) remains well-read, and its hero Hercule Poirot continues to enjoy popular currency. Yet the text has not aged well due to some of its now clichéd plot developments and dialogue, as well as Christie’s depiction of class, ethnic and national prejud...

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Autor principal:	Kenneth Eckert
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Lodz University Press 2021
Materias:	agatha christie murder on the orient express hercule poirot detective fiction british fiction prejudice stereotypes Literature (General) PN1-6790
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/dc69968402734d19998f7e913c03fca8
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:dc69968402734d19998f7e913c03fca82021-12-01T06:51:57ZHercule Poirot and the Tricky Performers of Stereotypes in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express2083-29312084-574X10.18778/2083-2931.11.13https://doaj.org/article/dc69968402734d19998f7e913c03fca82021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://czasopisma.uni.lodz.pl/textmatters/article/view/11267https://doaj.org/toc/2083-2931https://doaj.org/toc/2084-574XAgatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express (1934) remains well-read, and its hero Hercule Poirot continues to enjoy popular currency. Yet the text has not aged well due to some of its now clichéd plot developments and dialogue, as well as Christie’s depiction of class, ethnic and national prejudices in it and her other novels. This study hopes to re-energize discussion on Murder by finding defensible reasons for its apparent flaws. Not only do the stereotypical behaviors of the passengers narratively distract Poirot and the reader from a solution, but their flaws serve as foils against which Poirot’s heroic gravitas and cultural values are positively contrasted. Further, criticism often misses the point that the passengers are performing their behaviors, and if so, the deployment of stereotypes as only acted performances destabilizes them as permanent aspects of national or ethnic identity. Can Murder then be read as an anti-racist text?Kenneth EckertLodz University Pressarticleagatha christiemurder on the orient expresshercule poirotdetective fictionbritish fictionprejudicestereotypesLiterature (General)PN1-6790ENText Matters, Iss 11, Pp 186-203 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	agatha christie murder on the orient express hercule poirot detective fiction british fiction prejudice stereotypes Literature (General) PN1-6790
spellingShingle	agatha christie murder on the orient express hercule poirot detective fiction british fiction prejudice stereotypes Literature (General) PN1-6790 Kenneth Eckert Hercule Poirot and the Tricky Performers of Stereotypes in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express
description	Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express (1934) remains well-read, and its hero Hercule Poirot continues to enjoy popular currency. Yet the text has not aged well due to some of its now clichéd plot developments and dialogue, as well as Christie’s depiction of class, ethnic and national prejudices in it and her other novels. This study hopes to re-energize discussion on Murder by finding defensible reasons for its apparent flaws. Not only do the stereotypical behaviors of the passengers narratively distract Poirot and the reader from a solution, but their flaws serve as foils against which Poirot’s heroic gravitas and cultural values are positively contrasted. Further, criticism often misses the point that the passengers are performing their behaviors, and if so, the deployment of stereotypes as only acted performances destabilizes them as permanent aspects of national or ethnic identity. Can Murder then be read as an anti-racist text?
format	article
author	Kenneth Eckert
author_facet	Kenneth Eckert
author_sort	Kenneth Eckert
title	Hercule Poirot and the Tricky Performers of Stereotypes in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express
title_short	Hercule Poirot and the Tricky Performers of Stereotypes in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express
title_full	Hercule Poirot and the Tricky Performers of Stereotypes in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express
title_fullStr	Hercule Poirot and the Tricky Performers of Stereotypes in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express
title_full_unstemmed	Hercule Poirot and the Tricky Performers of Stereotypes in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express
title_sort	hercule poirot and the tricky performers of stereotypes in agatha christie’s murder on the orient express
publisher	Lodz University Press
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/dc69968402734d19998f7e913c03fca8
work_keys_str_mv	AT kennetheckert herculepoirotandthetrickyperformersofstereotypesinagathachristiesmurderontheorientexpress
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Hercule Poirot and the Tricky Performers of Stereotypes in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express

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