The Scales of Justice and Society in Murder on the Orient Express

Murder on the Orient Express is more than just a murder mystery. It is a novel that utilizes a great deal of existing social issues of the era in which it was written and formed a commentary on those issues while giving the reader an intriguing yet approachable narrative. Through this approach, Agatha Christie has given the reader an opportunity to see the world through the eyes of the seasoned private investigator Hercule Poirot. In this world, nothing is at it seems and apparent coincidence belies a hidden truth, a world in which the geographical connections created by passenger railways allowed people of different nationalities and classes to rub elbows.
He responds rather casually that prohibition never really concerned him. Hardman openly discusses the topic of speakeasies with M. Bouc. He is planning to conceal whatever alcohol remains by the time he gets to Paris; prohibition has not curbed his drinking habits. The entire novel, being centered around a man who brazenly murdered a three year old child and was acquitted is a very blunt commentary of the ineptitude and pitfalls of the legal system. In this world that Christie has created on this train, it is clear that the only justice the characters find that which they themselves dish out. Even when confronted with the murder, Mrs. Hubbard scoffs at the notion of charges and asks just what Poirot intends to do with her. In her mind, it is clear, that unless he chooses to execute a punishment right then and there, she is in little fear of serious consequences. For twelve different individuals of such dramatically different backgrounds to come together to commit the murder of one individual is unheard of. However, it is also the perfect murder. The body of Ratchett, when discovered is riddled with twelve stab wounds. So that not one person could be considered the true murderer, all 12 suspects aided in the death of this murderer of children. Twelve people bridging class systems and continents were able to see the extreme injustice of Ratchett’s escape from the American judicial