A Description of the Main Characters in Agatha

A DESCRIPTION OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN AGATHA

CHRISTIE’S NOVEL MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

A PAPER

M. TOMMY HUSEIN PANDIA

REG. NO. 152202066

DIPLOMA OF ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF CULTURAL STUDIES

UNIVERSITY OF SUMATERA UTARA

MEDAN

2020

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA AUTHOR’S DECLARATION

I am M. TOMMY HUSEIN PANDIA, declare that I am the sole author of this paper. Except where the reference is made in the text of this paper, this paper contains no material published elsewhere or extracted in whole or in part from a paper by which I have qualified for or awarded another degree.

No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement in the main text of this paper. This paper has not been submitted for the award of another degree in any tertiary education.

Signed

Date : January, 2020

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA COPYRIGHT DECLARATION

Name : M. TOMMY HUSEIN PANDIA

Title of paper : The Description of The Main Characters in Agatha

Christie’s Novel Murder on The Orient Express

Qualification : D-III / Ahli Madya

Study Program : English

I am willing that my paper should be available for reproduction at the direction of the Librarian of the Diploma-III English Study Program Faculty of Culture Study USU on the understanding that users are made aware of their obligation under law of the Republic of Indonesia.

Signed

Date : January, 2020

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA ABSTRACT A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, normally written in prose form, and which is typically published as a book. There are many elements that can create a novel, one of them is character. A character is any person, animal, or figure represented in a literary work. Characters are essential to a good story, and it is the main characters that can drive plot, attract readers’ empathy (or loathing), have the greatest effect on the plot or are the most affected by the events of the story.in this paper, the writer has an interest to describe the main character in a novel written by Agatha Christie that has the best story and main character, entitled Murder on The Orient Express. It is tells about the best detective who solve a murder case on The Orient Express. In describing this novel the writer uses library research by descriptive qualitative method.

Keyword : Major, Action, Description

iii

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA ABSTRAK Novel adalah karya fiksi naratif yang relatif panjang, biasanya ditulis dalam bentuk prosa, dan yang biasanya diterbitkan sebagai buku. Ada banyak elemen yang bisa membuat novel, salah satunya adalah karakter. Karakter dapat berupa manusia, hewan, atau tokoh yang diwakili dalam sebuah karya sastra. Karakter sangat penting untuk cerita yang baik, dan karakter utama yang dapat mendorong plot, menarik empati pembaca (atau membenci), memiliki efek terbesar pada plot atau yang paling terpengaruh oleh peristiwa-peristiwa dalam cerita. Penulis tertarik untuk menggambarkan tokoh utama dalam novel karangan Agatha Christie yang memiliki cerita dan tokoh utama terbaik, berjudul Murder on The Orient Express. Bercerita tentang detektif terbaik yang menyelesaikan kasus pembunuhan di The Orient Express. Dalam menggambarkan novel ini penulis menggunakan penelitian kepustakaan dengan metode deskripsi kualitatif.

Kata Kunci : Mayor, Aksi, Deskripsi

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Alhamdulillahi rabil 'alamin, I expresses my highest gratitude to Allah SWT for love, blessing, health, opportunity, and mercy to complete this paper. This paper entitled

"A DESCRIPTION OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN AGATHA

CHRISTIE’S NOVEL MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS” is submitted as the one of the requirements to get Diploma III certificate from English Study Program in Faculty of Culture Study, University of Sumatera Utara.

I presents my sincere appreciation to :

1. Dr. Budi Agustono, M.S as the dean of Faculty of Culture Study, University

of Sumatera Utara, for the support and contribution to help my study running

well in this faculty.

2. Dra. Swesana Mardia Lubis, M.Hum as the Head of English Diploma

Study Program. Also this paper would not have been possible without the

help, support,suggestion, guidance, correction and patience of my advisor

3. Drs. Parlindungan Purba, M.Hum as my supervisor for his advice,

supervision, and crucial contribution in the improvement of the result of this

paper.

4. The Lecturers in English Diploma III for all the knowledge, help, and

support.

5. My beloved parent Ir. M. Taufik Sembiring Pandia and Meiny Mora

Lubis, S.E, also my sister Yulitami Annisa Pandia, S.S and all my big

family for your love, support and pray.

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA 6. Lyly Lyan Anwar as my girlfriend. I really appreciate for everything you

have done, thankyou very much. You are one of the reasons why I keep the

spirit to finish my college.

7. All of my friends in Solidas 2015 and everyone who help me to make this

done.

Medan, January 2020

The Writer,

M. Tommy Husein Pandia

Reg. No. 152202066

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA TABLE OF CONTENTS

AUTHOR’S DECLARATION ...... i

ABSTRACT ...... iii

ABSTRAK ...... iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ...... v

TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... vii

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION ...... 1

1.1 Background of the study ...... 1

1.2 Problem of the study ...... 4

1.3 Objective of the study ...... 4

1.4 Scope of the study ...... 4

1.5 Significance of the study ...... 5

1.6 Method of the study ...... 5

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF LITERATURE ...... 6

2.1 The Novel ...... 6

2.2 The Character ...... 7

2.3 The Main Characterization...... 10

vii

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA 2.4 The Major Character ...... 12

2.5 The Ways to Describe The Characters in Novel ...... 13

CHAPTER III

A DESCRIPTION OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN AGATHA

CHRISTIE’S NOVEL MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS ...... 15

3.1 Hercule Poirot ...... 16

3.1.1 Action ...... 16

3.1.2. Statement y the author ...... 17

3.1.3. Statement by the other characters...... 18

3.2 Ratchett ...... 19

3.2.1. Action ...... 19

3.2.2. Statement by the other characters ...... 20

3.2.3 Description ...... 21

CHAPTER IV

CONLUSION AND SUGGESTION ...... 22

4.1 Conclution ...... 22

4.2 Suggestion ...... 23

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 24

APPENDIX ......

viii

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study

Literature (from Latin litterae (plural); letter) is the art of written work, and is not confined to published sources (although, under some circumstances, unpublished sources can also be exempt).

According to Roberts (1993: 1):

―Literature also refers to compositions that tell stories, dramatize situations, express emotions, and analyze and advocate ideas. Before the invention of writing, literary works were necessarily spoken or sung, and were retained only as long as living people performed them. From the statement concluded that there are 3 kinds of literature, namely: (1) novel (a work of prose fiction written in the narrative, usually in the form of stories), (2) drama (literature designed to be performed by actors who played works of art orally among the players (dialogue), (3) poetry (expresses a conversation or interchange that is grounded in the most deeply felt experiences of human beings). Usually, those three are classed as imaginative literature. ―

The genres of imaginative literature have much in common, but they also have distinguishing characteristics. Prose fiction, or narrative fiction, includes myths, parables, romances, novels, and short stories. The writer specially wants to describe the novel. In novel, there are elements of the building called the intrinsic elements. Which include intrinsic elements, namely : theme, plot, characters, setting and point of view. There are many approaches to analyze the literature one of them is analyzing character.

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA Character is one of important element in the novel, because there will be no story if there is no character. A character is often expressed through the actions provided for the readers with clues about the personality of character. Character is the term for the people in fiction, the heroes and villains, allies, and enemies. In realistic fiction, a character is likely to be representative of a social class, a race, and a procession: or he may be a recognizable psychological type. Character can be divided into two, namely the main characters ( major characters) and the supporting characters (minor characters). The main character is a character appear in a story, while supporting characters appear only occasionally in the story.

According to Henderson, Gloria Mason, Bill Day, and Sandra Stevenson

Waller (2009 : 19) ―The major characters are round characters usually; that is, their personalities are well developed and believable, these characters frequently changes as the story progresses; if they do, they are also as dynamic. Minor characters are often flat character: we see only one aspect of their best personality, presumably because the author does not need to reveal about them more for the purpose of the story. Flat characters are usually static characters; that is, they do not change‖

A character is more difficult to understand than a plot. ―Character is much more complex, variable, and ambiguous. Anyone can repeat what a person has done in a story, but considerable skill maybe needed to describe what a person is.‖

(Robert Scholes, Elements of Fiction An Anthology, 1981: 12)

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA According to Laurence Perrine (1988 : 65) ―Principal characters of fiction can arise from a number of events and how these characters react to the events at hand.‖

This paper is going to have the main character described in a novel ―Murder on the Orient Express‖ by Agatha Christie. The novel is chosen, because its story has a strong characteristic and of course has interesting story. The novel first published was on 1934 and then the novel became a movie on 2010.

The story features Monsieur Hercule Poirot, a clever, logical, Belgian private detective with an elaborate, waxed moustache. It was written and is set in the

1930s so some of the language and expressions are old fashioned and there are quite a lot of French phrases spoken by Poirot. At the start of the story, Poirot is at a hotel in Turkey, after finishing a case, and is sitting down to dinner when he notices an American tourist who he observes has the eyes of an animal and an air of evil about him. The next day on the Orient Express, the same man requests that

Poirot takes on his case as he says that his life is in danger. However, Poirot refuses despite the man (named Ratchett) offering him large amounts of money.

When Ratchett asks why, Poirot says it is because he doesn’t like his face. During the night, Poirot hears strange noises from other compartments in the carriage and next morning he discovers that Ratchett has been murdered in his compartment, by being stabbed twelve times. The head of the train company Monsieur Bouc, who is also travelling on the train, asks Poirot to investigate and so the story continues

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA with Poirot interviewing all the passengers travelling in the same carriage as

Ratchett – and having to work out which statements are true and which are false.

This story is not about a murder case but also how the detective can be describe in the novel. The description focused on main characters, they are

Hercule Poirot as the detective and Ratchett as the victim. The writer chooses the main character because they have interisting and wondrous character.

1.2 Problem of the study a) How is Hercule Poirot as main character potrayed in Agatha Christie’s

Novel Murder on the Orient Express. b) How is Ratchett as main character potrayed in Agatha Christie’s Novel

Murder on the Orient Express.

1.3 Objective of the study a) To describe Hercule Poirot as main character in Agatha Christie’s Novel

Murder on the Orient Express. b) To describe Ratchett as main character in Agatha Christie’s Novel Murder

on the Orient Express.

1.4 Scope of the study

The writer only focus on describing the main character in Murder on The

Orient Express Novel by Aghata Christie and the writer concerned on two of the

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA main character in the novel. They are, Hercule Poirot as the detective and Ratchett as the victim through the statements in the novel.

1.5 Significance of the study

The writer hopes this research would be beneficial to the readers in terms of it is information and knowledge. Also hope that the readers would understand the novel after having observed the result of description of the main character, as well as the main character image through described of Murder on the Orient Express

Novel by Agatha Christie. The writer hopes the description would motivate individuals interested in literature to do further description.

1.6 Method of the study

The writer uses descriptive qualitative method in writing this paper, and also applies some methods to complete this paper, they are library and internet sources.

The writer collect some books which are relevant and copy part of material to be reference.

UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA CHAPTER 11 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

2.1 The Novel

The word ―novel‖ comes from the Italian, Novella, which means the new

staff that small. The novel was originally developed in the region from other forms

or narrative nonfiction, such as letters, biographies, and history. But with a shift in

society and development time, the novel is not only based on data nonfiction,

author of novel can change according to the desired imagination.

According to Rees (1973:106) says that novel is a fictitious prose narrative

of considerable length in which characters and action representative of real live are

portrayed in a plot of more or less complexity. A novel is a totality, a

comprehensiveness that is artistic. As a totality, the novel has passages elements,

most related to one another in close and mutually dependent. The elements of a

novel-builder who then collectively form a totality that-in addition to the formal

elements of language, there are many more kinds. The division of the element in

question is the intrinsic and extrinsic elements.

The novel is a genre of fiction, and fiction may be defined as the art or craft

of contriving, through the written word, representations of human life that instruct

or divert or both. The various forms that fiction may take are best seen less as a

number of separate categories than as a continuum or, more accurately, a cline,

with some such brief form as the anecdote at one end of the scale and the longest

conceivable novel at the other. When any piece of fiction is long enough to

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constitute a whole book, as opposed to a mere part of a book, then it may be said to have achieved novelhood. But this state admits of its own quantitative categories, so that a relatively brief novel may be termed a novella (or, if the insubstantiality of the content matches its brevity, a novelette), and a very long novel may overflow the banks of a single volume and become a roman-fleuve, or river novel. Length is very much one of the dimensions of the genre.

2.2 Characters A novel could not be form without a story in it. It also happen in story, story could not be called as a story without any characters in it. In literary works character and characterization are important elements because they build the story.

In narrative or dramatic works it usually uses the term character and characterization.

In this chapter, there are definitions of character given by some experts.

According to Gill (1995:127), Characters are the person presented in works of narrative who convey their personal qualities through dialogue and action by which the reader or audience understand their thought, feelings, intentions and motives. A character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art (such as a novel, play, or film). Character is someone in literary work who has some sort identity (it neednot be a strong on), an identity which is made up by appearance, conversation, action, name, and possibly thoughts going in the head.

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"Character refers to be people authors create to inhabit their stories.

Characters should be believable and consistent. being believable means not that all characters be like people we have known but thwy believable in the context of the story. Consistently requires not that the characters remain exactly the same, but that any changes in character be sufficiently by what happens to them in a story"

(Literature and Our Selves a Thematic Introduction for Readers and Writers

2006:9)

From the definition above, it can be known that character belongs to people in a story that is created to make story alive. Character has to be suitable with the story situation that happens in it, and the character will be just change if there is something happens, which caused by it.

In additional, Hall emphasizes the character as something imagined by saying, " A character is an imagined person in story, whom we know from the words we read on the page". In another word, character means a figure in a story that is known and thought by readers.

(To Read Literature Fiction 1981:47)

Pickering and Hoeper state, "Character applies to any individual in a story.

For purpose of analysis, characters in fiction are customarily described by their relationship to plot, by degree of development they are given by author, and by wheter are not they undergo significant character change"

(Concise Companion to Literature 1962:24)

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From the explanation, it is known the character every person in novel; they are related to the plot, the way of authors in revealing the character, and wheter there is any change of character during the story or not.

From definitions above, it can be understood that character are people that are created in the novel or other literary works to inhabit the stories. They also have close relationship with plot, the way of authors in revealing the character, and the characters' change.

Main Character, according to Gill, is figures who hold an important role, dominant and high intensity in each conflict that builds a story, and they will also usually be complex and fully developed.

According to Charles McGraw, ―To say that someone is a character, it is suggested that he has a strange eccentric personality. To say that the character has characteristics, can be implied through his moral righteousness. To say something about a person's character, needs to be involved discussion of his personal values behavior. As a literary term, however, the character was created for a work of fiction.

(Acting is Believing, a Basic Method Second Edition, 1996:98)

A well-developed character is one that has been thoroughly characterized, with many traits shown in the narrative. The better the readers knows the character, the better the character develope. Through characterization makes characters well-rounded and complex. This allows for a sense of realism. As an example, according to F.R. Leavis, Leo Tolstoy was the creator of some of the

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most complex and psychologically believable characters in fiction. In contrast, an underdeveloped character is considered flat or stereotypical.

2.3 The Main Character According to Nurgiyantoro (2005: 176-177), ―The main character is the character who prefers the story in the novel. He is the most widely told figure, both as the perpetrator of the incident as well as the incident‖

On the other hand, there are characters that appeared once or something in the story, and may be relatively in short portion, which is called peripheral character often provide, support, illuminated the protagonist.

Main Character, according to Gill, is figures who hold an important role, dominant and high intensity in each conflict that builds a story, and they will also usually be complex and fully developed.To say that someone is a character, it is suggested that he has a strange eccentric personality. To say that the character has characteristics, can be implied through his moral righteousness. To say something about a person's character, needs to be involved discussion of his personal values behavior. As a literary term, however, the character was created for a work of fiction.

A well-developed character is one that has been thoroughly characterized, with many traits shown in the narrative. The better the audience knows the character, the better the character development. Through characterization makes characters well-rounded and complex. This allows for a sense of realism. As an

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example, according to F.R. Leavis, Leo Tolstoy was the creator of some of the most complex and psychologically believable characters in fiction. In contrast, an underdeveloped character is considered flat or stereotypical. Character development is very important in character-driven literature, where stories focus not on events, but on individual personalities. Classic examples include War and

Peace or David Copperfield. In a tragedy, the central character generally remains fixed with whatever character flaw (hamartia) seals his fate; in a comedy the central characters typically undergo some kind of epiphany (sudden realization) whereupon they adjust their prior beliefs and practices and avert a tragic fate.

Historically, stories and plays focusing on characters became common as part of the 19th-century Romantic Movement, and character-driven literature rapidly supplanted more plot-driven literature that typically utilizes easily identifiable archetypes rather than proper character development.

Main character can be categorized as the major character. The main character is usually the singular character followed throughout the plot of a story. Also known as the ―protagonist.‖

The major characters include the protagonist, but also the antagonist and the most important other characters (―romantic lead,‖ ―confidante,‖ ―mentor‖ or what have you). These characters have subplots of their own, subordinate to the major plot.

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After that come the secondary, or minor characters. These are characters

(sometimes named, sometimes not) who play some significant role in an individual scene (a wise old taxi driver, for example) but don’t necessarily appear elsewhere, and/or don’t have a meaningful subplot worth mentioning in the story.

2.4 Major Character

In literature, a major character is defined as a character that is central to the development and resolution of the story's conflict. Most of the action of the story happens around the major character or characters, and their activity advances the plot and helps determine the outcome of the text. The major character is not always the protagonist, as almost all novels have only one protagonist and several other major characters. The protagonist is the central character that is faced with the conflict that must be resolved.

Major characters can sometimes be indistinguishable from the protagonist and antagonist, or the person creating tension or conflict. Major characters are identified by their purpose in the story and whether their activity helps or hinders the protagonist solve his problem. In a novel, the main action of the story revolves around the central character, or protagonist.

Major characters may have their own subplots that occur simultaneously with the protagonists problem. Other types of characters in a story include minor characters and extras. Minor characters do not have their own subplots, and their activity is not relevant to the solution of the protagonist's problem. Their purpose

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is often to establish a particular viewpoint. Extras are used to fill up empty space in a novel's plot. They are often used to populate a setting in order for the novel to maintain its realism.

2.5 The Ways to Describe The Characters in Novel

There are also the ways to describe the characters in the novel, Roberts and

Jacobs (1993:132) says that an author uses five ways to present their characters in the novel. As the readers, we must use our knowledge and experience to make judgments about qualities of characters being revealed.

1. Actions. What character do is our best way to understand what or who

they are, as the ordinary human beings, fictional characters do not

necessarily understand how they may be changing or why they do things

they do nevertheless, their actions express their characters.action may also

signal qualities such as naivete, weakness, deceit, a scheming personality,

strong inner conflicts, or a realization or growth of some sort

2. Description, both personal and environmental. Apperance and

environment reveal much about character’s social and economic status, of

course but they also tell us more about character traits.

3. Dramatic statement and thoughts. Although the speeches of most

character are functional-essential to keep the story moving along-they

provide material from which we can draw conclusions. Often, characters

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use speech to hide their motivate, though we as readers should see through

such a plot.

4. Statement by other characters. By studying what characters say about

each other, we can enhance our standing of the character being discussed.

Ironically, the characters doing the talking often indicate something other

than what key intend perhaps because of prejudice,s tupidity, or

foolishness.

5. Statement by the author speaking as story teller or observer. What the

author says about the character is usually accurate, and the authorial voice

can be accepted factually. However, when the authorial voice interprets

actions and characteristic, the author himself or herself assumes the role of

a reader or critic, and any opinions may be questioned. For this reason,

authors frequently avoid interpretations and devote their skill to arranging

events and speeches so that readers may draw their own conclusion.

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CHAPTER III THE DESCRIPTION OF THE MAIN CHARACTERS IN AGATHA CHRISTIE’S NOVEL MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

The writer can describe character from many aspects through the words, action, narrator, and description of another character. Describing through the words means that describing the words from the script of the story. Another principle of describing character is the action of every character must behave accordingly to their characteristics in the story. Their attitudes on acts indirectly indicate their personality and role. Our sense of characters identity and personality are derived essentially from four things: (1) their actions-what they do: (2) their word-what they say and how they say it; (3) their physical attributes-what they look like; (4) the responses of the other characters to them what other say or do to or about them. Of these however, our sense of characters coherence derives mainly from his or her speech and actions.

In this paper the writer describes two of the main character in Murder on the

Orient Express novel. They are Hercule Poirot as the detective and Ratchett as the victim. Hercule Poirot is the greatest detective, he is a very likable character, despite his moral and intellectual greatness. He is over concerned with appearance, distracted by his moustache and has a liking for strong-willed British women

(a.k.a. Ms. Debenham). He is rather short, slightly snobby and probably lonely at times. And, Mr. Ratchett is the man who is murdered. He is stabbed a dozen times. When M. Poirot first saw Mr. Ratchett, he described him as a savage

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animal. M. Poirot thought that Mr. Ratchett looked like a kind man, but he had small, cruel eyes.

3.1 Hercule Poirot

3.1.1 Action

The writer describes Hercule Poirot by the action that the character does in the story. Based on the action that character does in the story the writer described that Hercule Poirot is deeply intuitive and invariably smarter than anyone around him, and though he can be snobby at times, he is also a likable fellow. The Belgian detective is traveling on the Orient Express when a fellow traveler is murdered; as he gathers evidence by examining the crime scene.

―Poirot looked at him. He was as white as chalk.‖ ―You had better let that man sit down,‖ he said. ―He may faint otherwise.‖ The chef de train moved slightly and the Wagon Lit man sank down in the corner and buried his face in his hands. ―Brr!‖ said Poirot. ―This is serious!‖ ―Certainly it is serious. To begin with, a murder—that in itself is a calamity of the first water. (Murder on The Orient Express, 1991:26)

As the character’s action in the story, the writer describes Hercule

Poirot as the smart detective and very critical. It is shown by the way he interviewing the passengers.

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―It is difficult to speak exactly in these matters,‖ said the doctor, ―but I think I can say definitely that death occurred between midnight and two in the morning.‖ ―When was this M. Ratchett last seen alive?‖ asked Poirot. ―He is known to have been alive at about twenty minutes to one, when he spoke to the conductor,‖ said M. Bouc. ―That is quite correct,‖ said Poirot.‖ (Murder on The Orient Express, 1991:26)

3.1.2 Statement by the author

The writer describes Hercule Poirot by the author’s statement to describe him in the story. Based on the statements by the author in the story, the writer described Hercule Poirot is a short, balding, and rather physically nondistinctive man who excels at digging beneath the surface to solve seemingly impossible crimes. His one distinct physical attribute is his luxuriant moustache, about which he is rather vain.

―Hercule Poirot addressed himself to the task of keeping his moustaches out of the soup. That difficult task accomplished, he glanced round him whilst waiting for the next course. There were only about half a dozen people in the restaurant, and of those half dozen there were only two that interested Hercule Poirot. These two sat at a table not far away. The younger was a likeable- looking young man of thirty, clearly an American. It was, however, not he but his companion who had attracted the little detective’s attention. He was a man perhaps of between sixty and seventy. From a little distance he had the bland aspect of a philanthropist. His slightly bald head, his domed forehead, the smiling mouth that displayed a very white set of false teeth—all seemed to speak of a benevolent personality. Only the eyes belied this assumption. They were small, deep-set and crafty. Not only that. As the man, making some remark to his young companion, glanced across the room, his gaze stopped on Poirot for a moment and just for that second there was a strange malevolence, an unnatural tensity in the glance.‖ (Murder on The OrientExpress, 1991:13)

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Hercule Poirot is a polite man based on the statement by the author. It is describe when Hercule Poirot picked up some beans and presented them to Mrs.

Summerhayes, based on the author’s statement written that Hercule Poirot doing that politely.

―Hercule Poirot picked up some beans from the floor where they had far and wide. Just as he finished doing so, Mrs Summerhayes came in again through the door. He presented them to her politely. ―Voici, Madame‖ ―Oh thanks awfully. I say, these beans looks a bit black. We store them, you know, in crocks, salted down, but these seem to have gone wrong. I’m afraid they won’t be very nice.‖‖ (Murder on the Orient Express, 1999)

3.1.3 Statement by the other character

The writer describes the character by the other character’s statements in the story. Poirot has a deep-rooted sense of morality and cannot let evil go unpunished; he does not always obey written laws and instead follows his own sense of what is right.

―He leaned forward, looking affectionately at the detective. ―Your faith touches me, my friend,‖ said Poirot emotionally. ―As you say, this cannot be a difficult case. I myself last night—but we will not speak of that now. In truth, this problem intrigues me. I was reflecting, not half an hour ago, that many hours of boredom lay ahead whilst we are stuck here. And now—a problem lies ready to my hand.‖ ―You accept then?‖ said M. Bouc eagerly. ―C’est entendu. You place the matter in my hands.‖

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―Good—we are all at your service.‖ ―To begin with, I should like a plan of the Istanbul-Calais coach, with a note of the people who occupied the several compartments, and I should also like to see their passports and their tickets.‖ ―Michel will get you those.‖ The Wagon Lit conductor left the compartment. ―What other passengers are there on the train?‖ asked Poirot. ―In this coach Dr. Constantine and I are the only travellers. In the coach from Bucharest is an old gentleman with a lame leg. He is well known to the conductor. Beyond that are the ordinary carriages, but these do not concern us, since they were locked after dinner had been served last night. Forward of the Istanbul-Calais coach there is only the dining-car.‖ ―Then it seems,‖ said Poirot slowly, ―as though we must look for our murderer in the Istanbul-Calais coach.‖ He turned to the doctor. ―That is what you were hinting, I think?‖ The Greek nodded. ―At half an hour after midnight we ran into the snowdrift. No one can have left the train since then.‖ M. Bouc said solemnly, ―The murderer is with us—on the train now. ...‖ (Murder on The Orient Express, 1991:30)

3.2 Ratchett

3.2.1 Action

The writer describes Ratchett by the action that he does in the story.

Based on the action that the character does, the writer describe that Ratchett is an arrogant an cynical person. He immediately gives off a sinister impression to

Poirot, to the extent that when Ratchett appeals to the detective to investigate a possible attempt on his life, Poirot refuses to take on the case.

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―Poirot looked at him thoughtfully for some minutes. His face was completely expressionless. The other could have had no clue as to what thoughts were passing in that mind. ―I regret, Monsieur,‖ he said at length, ―that I cannot oblige you.‖ The other looked at him shrewdly. ―Name your figure, then,‖ he said. Poirot shook his head. ―You do not understand, Monsieur. I have been very fortunate in my profession. I have made enough money to satisfy both my needs and my caprices. I take now only such cases as—interest me.‖ ―You’ve got a pretty good nerve,‖ said Ratchett. ―Will twenty thousand dollars tempt you?‖ ―It will not.‖ ―If you’re holding out for more, you won’t get it. I know what a thing’s worth to me.‖ ―I, also, M. Ratchett.‖ ―What’s wrong with my proposition?‖ Poirot rose. ―If you will forgive me for being personal—I do not like your face, M. Ratchett,‖ he said. And with that he left the restaurant car.‖ (Murder on The Orient Express, 1991:19)

3.2.2 Statement by the other character

The writer describes the character based on statement by the other

character. The writer described that Ratchett is an American the older man in his

sixties traveling with Mr. MacQueen, whom Poirot first encounters at a hotel in

Istanbul.

―He changed his name and left America. Since then he has been a gentleman of leisure, travelling abroad and living on his rentes.‖ ―Ah! quel animal!‖ M. Bouc’s tone was redolent of heartfelt disgust. ―I cannot regret that he is dead—not at all!‖ ―I agree with you.‖ ―Tout de même, it is not necessary that he should be killed on the Orient Express. There are other places.‖ Poirot smiled a little. He realised that M. Bouc was biased in the matter.‖ (Murder on The Orient Express, 1991:40)

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3.2.3 Personal and Environmental

The writer describes Ratchett as the rich man and also has power, based on the describe about the character. Ratchett can escape from his crime a view months ago even he was already arrested.

―Poirot and Dr. Constantine join M. Bouc in the dining car for lunch. Poirot explains the identity of M. Ratchett. Ratchett, real name Cassetti, was the kidnapper of Daisy Armstrong. Daisy was the three-year-old daughter of Colonel Armstrong, a man with great Wall St. inheritance, and the famous actress, Linda Arden. Daisy was the couple's only child. The young girl was kidnapped and the parents paid 200,000 dollars for her return, but Daisy's body was found dead. Mrs. Armstrong then had a premature child who was born dead and the Colonel shot himself, broken-hearted. At about the same time, the child's nursemaid also committed suicide suspected of some involvement with the crime. About six month later, Cassetti was arrested, but because of his enormous wealth and power he got off. Poirot believes the murderer to erase any connection to the name Armstrong destroyed the charred piece of paper.‖ (Murder on The Orient Express. 1991:89)

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CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

4.1 Conclusion

In this paper, the writer describe two of main character in Agatha Christie’s

Novel Murder on The Orient Express, they are Hercule Poirot and Mr. Ratchett.

Both of them have different strong character.

After describing the main characters in Agatha Christie’s Murder On the

Orient Express novel the writer conclude that :

1. Hercule Poirot, is the smartest detective, he has an iconic mustache. He

is a Belgian private detective, his intelligence and understanding of the

criminal mind is great. He is also a moral person.

2. Ratchett, is an American businessman, rich and powerful who involved

criminal case. He is an arrogant and cynical. His life is end in The Orient

Express murdered by all passenger.

Morality of the murder is the problem of reading Murder on The Orient Express. The reader ask themselves that they have a rights to kill a man, the novel suggest that murder is allowed under the right circumstance. If the kidnapping case is hideous and

Ratchett is also an evil, it is fine to kill him.

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4.2 Suggestion

Murder on The Orient Express Novel by Agatha Christie is a worth reading book. The character is very spectaculer, they can built the story goes interesting. The readers also can watch the movie that adopted from this novel entitled Murder on The

Orient Express to get more references in doing the study.

After describing the main character in this novel, the writer also have some problem when doing this paper. But, the writer helped with complete data source about main character and literature. The writer suggest the readers who will take this paper as the reference to have a complete data souce before do the study because data source help a lot in doing the study. And the writer hopes that this paper will make the readers understand more about character and also will be useful to the other student for describing novel especially the main character.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cassidy. J. 1991. Introducing Literature. California: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill.

Christie, Agatha. 2017. Murder on The Orient Express. Jakarta : PT Gramedia

Christie, Agatha. 1934. Murder on The Orient Express. New York: HarperPaperbacks

Nurgiyantoro, Burhan. 1998. Teori Pengkajian Fiksi. Yogyakarta: Gadjah Mada

University Press.

Purba, Parlindungan. and friends. 2018. Buku Pedoman Penulisan Proposal / Kertas

Karya untuk Mahasiswa. Medan

Roberts, Edgar V & Henry E Jacobs. 1993. Literature: An Introduction to reading

and writing. New Jersey: Prentice- Hall, Inc

Sembiring, Matius C.A, 2014. Buku Panduan Program D3 Bahasa Inggris. Medan:

Sumatera Utara University, Faculty of Culture Study.

Tantawi, Isma. 2015. Terampil Berbahasa Indonesia. Bandung: Citapustaka Media

Perintis

Wahyudi, Siswanto. 2011. Pengantar Teori Sastra. Jakarta: Grasindo

Wellek, Rene and Austin Warren. 1990. Teori Kesusastraan. (Translated by Melani

Budianta). Jakarta: PT Gramedia https://www.biography.com/writer/agatha-christie

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APPENDIX

A. Summary

Hercule Poirot is a retired Belgian police officer that now works as a private detective. He boards the Taurus Express train, which is headed to Stamboul

(Istanbul). There are two additional passengers on the train. These are Colonel

Arbuthnot and Mary Debenham. These two individuals behave as if they do not know one another. However, Poirot takes note of behavior that implies that they are not strangers. Poirot finds the couple quite suspicious. After the train arrives in Stamboul,

Poirot takes a room at the Tokatlian Hotel. When he arrives there, he gets a telegram telling him he must return to London. While he awaits the arrival of the next train,

Poirot comes across an old friend. This is M. Bouc, who is head of the Wagon Lit. M.

Bouc arranges for Poirot to gain a space on the Orient Express. Poirot sees Ratchett and Hector McQueen eating dinner in the Tokatlian Hotel’s dining room. Poirot indicates that Ratchett is an evil man and akin to animal when describing him to M.

Bouc.

When Poirot boards the Orient Express, he is compelled to travel in a second- class cabin because the train is extraordinarily full. Hector and Ratchett McQueen are aboard the train, as well. Ratchett speaks to Poirot and requests that he works for him.

Ratchett communicates that he has been getting letters of a threatening nature. He indicates that someone wants to kill him. Poirot refuses to take on the case. M. Bouc has been assigned to the last first class cabin, but he makes arrangements to be moved

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into another coach. He bestows his first class space to Poirot. Poirot witnesses strange occurrences during his first night in first class. Poiriot is startled from his sleep early in the morning by a cry from the compartment beside him, which belongs to Ratchett. When the wagon lit conductor goes to Ratchett’s door and knocks, a voice from within says: "Ce n'est rien. Je me suis trompe" (It is nothing. I am mistaken). The strange silence that seems to pervade the train makes sleeping difficult for Poirot. After ringing her bell, Mrs. Hubbard notifies the conductor that there is a man in her room. Poirot wants some water and rings his bell, and he is told that the train is being impeded by a snow bank. A thump next door is audible to Poirot. |The train is still stuck the next morning. M. Bouc tells Poirot about Ratchett’s murder. He says that the murderer is still on the train. Poirot says that he will conduct an investigation into the case. Poirot goes about examining Rathcett’s body, as well as the man’s compartment. It is found that Rathcett has twelve stab wounds. Ratchett’s compartment’s window has been left open. It is presumed that this is to lead the investigators to believe that the murderer must have escaped out of the window.

However, there is a lack of footprints in the snow outside the window. There is a handkerchief decorated with the initial ―H‖ in the compartment. There is also a pipe cleaner, a charred piece of paper with the name ―Armstrong,‖ and a round match that is different than the type Ratchett used.

It is the piece of paper bearing the word Armstrong that aids Poirot in figuring out who Ratchett is and the reason why someone would hope to murder him. A few years in the past, a man by the name of Cassetti abducted a girl who was only three years

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old. Her name was Daisy Armstrong. Cassetti did this to demand and collect a ransom from the Armstrong family, but he murdered the child anyway. Poirot reaches the conclusion that Rachett, in fact, is Cassetti.

Interviews begin with the Wagon Lit conductor. After that, they move on to

Hector McQuen. Poirot is aware that McQueen has involvement in the case because he has knowledge of the Armstrong note that was discovered in Rachett’s compartment. Hector is taken aback by the fact that Poirot found the note, as he believed it has been entirely destroyed. Poirot inter views Masterman and then he questions Mrs. Hubbard. Mrs. Hubbard says that the murderer had been in her cabin.

Poirot receives from all the passengers appropriate alibis as the interviews take place.

However, there are some suspicious fragments that are brought to view. For example, a number of passengers saw a woman wearing a red kimono walk in the hallway on the night the murder occurred, but there is no one who will admit to having any such garment. Mrs. Hubbard communicates to Poirot that she asked Greta Ohlsson to lock the communicating door standing between herself and Ratchett. We find that

Hildegarde Schmidt came across a stranger who was wearing a Wagon Lit jacket.

Poirot checks through the luggage of every passenger. As he does this, he takes note of a few things that interest him. These include the fact that the label on

Countess Andrenji’s luggage is wet, there is a Wagon Lit uniform in a bag belonging to Hildegarde, and the red kimono is present in a piece of luggage belonging to Poirot himself.

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Once the luggage check is over, the facts of the case are reviewed by Poirot, M.

Bouc, and Dr. Constantine. They come up with a list of questions. Poirot sits and ponders the case, keeping these questions and the evidence in mind. After spending time in a sort of trance-like state, Poirot finds he has discovered a way to solve the case. Prior to fully revealing this solution, he asks several people to come in and he reveals their real identities. Poirot finds that Countess Andrenji is really Helena

Goldenberg, Daisy Armstrong’s aunt. She got her luggage label wet and tried to obscure her name, in order to hide her identity. Additionally, it is found that Mary

Debenham was Daisy’s governess. On top of that, Antionio Foscanelli was

Armstrong’s chauffer, and Greta Ohlsson was nurse to Daisy Armstrong. Princess

Dragomiroff takes back her handkerchief from Poirot. This is the same handkerchief that was found in Ratchett’s compartment. Poirot brings all the passengers into the dining car and he sets forth two potential solutions. The first possible solution is that a stranger got onto the train at Vincovci and murdered Ratchett. The second possibility is that every passenger on the Orient Express had involvement in the murder. He states that twelve of the train’s thirteen passengers, all of whom are close to the Armstrong case, murdered Ratchett in an attempt to avenge Daisy’s

Armstrong’s murder. Mrs. Hubbard, who has been revealed to be Linda Arden, states that the second solution is the correct one. Poirot makes the suggestion that M. Bouc and Dr. Constantine tell the police that the first solution is the correct one, in order to protect the family. Dr. Constantine and M. Bouc accept this suggestion.

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B. Biography

Agatha Christie was a mystery writer who was one of the world's top-selling authors with works like 'Murder on the Orient Express' and 'The Mystery of the Blue

Train.'

Best-selling author Agatha Christie published her first novel, The Mysterious

Affair at Styles, in 1920, and went on to become one of the most famous writers in history, with mysteries like Murder at the Vicarage, Partners in Crime and Sad

Cypress. She sold billions of copies of her work and was also a noted playwright and romance author.

Christie was born Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller on September 15, 1890, in

Torquay, Devon, in the southwest part of England. The youngest of three siblings, she was educated at home by her mother, who encouraged her daughter to write. As a

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child, Christie enjoyed fantasy play and creating characters, and, when she was 16, she moved to Paris for a time to study vocals and piano.

In 1914, she wed Colonel Archibald Christie, a Royal Flying Corps pilot, and took up nursing during World War I. She published her first book, The Mysterious

Affair at Styles, in 1920; the story focused on the murder of a rich heiress and introduced readers to one of Christie's most famous characters—Belgian detective

Hercule Poirot.

In 1926, Christie released The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, a hit which was later marked as a genre classic and one of the author's all-time favorites. She dealt with tumult that same year, however, as her mother died and her husband revealed that he was in a relationship with another woman. Traumatized by the revelation,

Christie disappeared only to be discovered by authorities several days later at a

Harrogate hotel, registered under the name of her husband's mistress.

Christie would recover, with her and Archibald divorcing in 1928. In 1930, she married archaeology professor Max Mallowan, with whom she traveled on several expeditions, later recounting her trips in the 1946 memoir Come, Tell Me

How You Live. The year of her new nuptials also saw the release of Murder at the

Vicarage, which became another classic and introduced readers to Miss Jane Marple, an enquiring village lady.

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Poirot and Marple are Christie's most well-known detectives, with the two featured in dozens of novels and short stories. Poirot made the most appearances in

Christie's work in titles that included Ackroyd, The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) and Death in the Clouds (1935). Miss Marple has been featured in books like The

Moving Finger (1942) and A Pocket Full of Rye (1953), and been played on screen by actresses like Angela Lansbury, Helen Hayes and Geraldine McEwan. Other notable Christie characters include Tuppence and Tommy Beresford, Colonel Race,

Parker Pyne and Ariadne Oliver.

Writing well into her later years, Christie wrote more than 70 detective novels as well as short fiction. Though she also wrote romance novels like Unfinished

Portrait (1934) and A Daughter's a Daughter (1952) under the name Mary

Westmacott, Christie's success as an author of sleuth stories has earned her titles like the "Queen of Crime" and the "Queen of Mystery." Christie can also be considered a queen of all publishing genres as she is one of the top-selling authors in history, with her combined works selling more than 2 billion copies worldwide.

Christie was a renowned playwright as well, with works like The Hollow

(1951) and Verdict (1958). Her play The Mousetrap opened in 1952 at the

Ambassador Theatre and—at more than 8,800 showings during 21 years—holds the record for the longest unbroken run in a London theater. Additionally, several of

Christie's works have become popular movies, including Murder on the Orient

Express (1974) and Death on the Nile (1978).

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Christie was made a dame in 1971. In 1974, she made her last public appearance for the opening night of the play version of Murder on the Orient Express.

Christie died on January 12, 1976.

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