Vera Claythorne

Vera Claythorne's weakness falls in her mental instability. She is paranoid about everything that happens, or might happen, to her. Wargrave discovers this characteristic about Vera and uses it to his benefit. He places a large hook on the ceiling of her room, causing her to be mesmerized from the first glance of it. This makes it easier for Wargrave to get her to commit suicide once he puts a noose on the hook. Vera is hallucinatory and Wargrave is aware that she will quickly talk herself into falling for his trap. Wargrave is a former judge, so he is comfortable being in a position of power and determining the fate of others. Dr. Armstrong describes him as being “as shrewd as could be when it [comes] to a point of law” and having “great …show more content…
Christie portrays Wargrave as speaking “with the authority that a lifetime in the courts had given him” (Christie 54). He uses this authoritative skill to his advantage throughout the novel. While most of the other guests are perplexed and on edge, Wargrave remains calm and collected. He erases all biases and looks only at the facts of their situation. This causes him to appear more trustworthy to most of the remaining characters. The ex-judge is extremely experienced in altering the opinions of jury members; Armstrong says Wargrave “could make their minds up for them any day of the week” (Christie 36). He can implant any idea he desires into the minds of the others and sway their thoughts about the situation. He is the first to suggest that there is a crazy murderer hunting them and that U. N. Owen is one of the ten people invited to the island. He advises everyone to be highly suspicious in order to make Owen's job as difficult as possible. In reality, he does this to cause everyone to not exclude anyone else as the possible murder and create even more …show more content…
When he is unanimously deemed leader of the meetings in the novel, he takes advantage of the opportunity to control the situation. Christie says “there was no doubt now who was in charge of the situation … he assumed command with the ease born of a long habit of authority. He definitely presided over the court” (Christie 148). Within his command, he provides sheer reason in a time of nothing but confusion. Most of the other guests do not have the nerve to say, or even think, of him as the killer because he seems to be so level-headed. They all think of Owen as being a maniacal, off-kilter person, not the reassuring