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    Why General Macarthur Should Have Died Later: and Then There Were None

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    General Macarthur intentionally sent his wife's lover, Arthur Richmond, on a reconnaissance mission he knew Richmond would not survive, directly causing his death. While Justice Wargrave believed Macarthur's crime was less severe than others, the document argues Macarthur deserved a later, more prolonged death than he received. Macarthur did not show true guilt or concern for Richmond, but rather focused on how Richmond's death impacted himself through loneliness. Emily Brent's crime of disowning her maid, indirectly leading to the maid's death, was less culpable than Macarthur's direct and intentional actions, so Macarthur should have suffered longer before his death.

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    Why General Macarthur Should Have Died Later: and Then There Were None

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    General Macarthur intentionally sent his wife's lover, Arthur Richmond, on a reconnaissance mission he knew Richmond would not survive, directly causing his death. While Justice Wargrave believed Macarthur's crime was less severe than others, the document argues Macarthur deserved a later, more prolonged death than he received. Macarthur did not show true guilt or concern for Richmond, but rather focused on how Richmond's death impacted himself through loneliness. Emily Brent's crime of disowning her maid, indirectly leading to the maid's death, was less culpable than Macarthur's direct and intentional actions, so Macarthur should have suffered longer before his death.

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    General Macarthur intentionally sent his wife's lover, Arthur Richmond, on a reconnaissance mission he knew Richmond would not survive, directly causing his death. While Justice Wargrave believed Macarthur's crime was less severe than others, the document argues Macarthur deserved a later, more prolonged death than he received. Macarthur did not show true guilt or concern for Richmond, but rather focused on how Richmond's death impacted himself through loneliness. Emily Brent's crime of disowning her maid, indirectly leading to the maid's death, was less culpable than Macarthur's direct and intentional actions, so Macarthur should have suffered longer before his death.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    120 views3 pages

    Why General Macarthur Should Have Died Later: and Then There Were None

    Uploaded by

    api-513623812
    General Macarthur intentionally sent his wife's lover, Arthur Richmond, on a reconnaissance mission he knew Richmond would not survive, directly causing his death. While Justice Wargrave believed Macarthur's crime was less severe than others, the document argues Macarthur deserved a later, more prolonged death than he received. Macarthur did not show true guilt or concern for Richmond, but rather focused on how Richmond's death impacted himself through loneliness. Emily Brent's crime of disowning her maid, indirectly leading to the maid's death, was less culpable than Macarthur's direct and intentional actions, so Macarthur should have suffered longer before his death.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Why General Macarthur Should Have Died Later 

    And Then There Were None​, written by Agatha Christie, is a


    mystery novel following 10 guests who were mysteriously invited to
    Soldier Island. As they get murdered one after another, it is
    discovered that the killer is one of them, and is punishing them for
    the crimes they commited. However, by the end, the murderer is
    revealed to be Justice Wargrave, a retired judge with a desire to kill,
    who gathered the killers of cases untouchable by the law. Wargrave
    confesses that the order in which he decides to kill the guests is
    based on the level of their guilt. He believed, “[t]hose whose guilt
    was the lightest should… pass out first, and not suffer the prolonged
    mental strain and fear that the more cold-blooded offenders were to
    suffer” (292). Of the guests, General Macarthur, a retired World
    War I war general, experienced a more painless death. General
    Macarthur had been invited to the island for intentionally sending
    his wife’s lover, Arthur Richmond, to his death. Macarthur was
    killed by a strong blow in the back of his head, but Wargrave made
    sure that Macarthur “met his death quite painlessly” (293). Although
    all were found guilty, it was believed by Justice Wargrave that
    Marston, Mrs. Rogers, and General Macarthur were the least
    criminal of the nine guests.
    Based on this reasoning, this implies Macarthur is one of the
    more innocent guests. However, I believe General Macarthur is not
    and consequently deserves to have died later on. As General
    Macarthur struggles to sleep at night, he admits, “he’d sent
    Richmond to his death, and he wasn’t sorry” (83). Even after
    deliberately killing the soldier he acknowledges having been fond
    of, Macarthur does not feel any grief or pity towards Richmond.
    This shows Macarthur does not care about the consequences of his
    crime. Meanwhile, Emily Brent is killed after Macarthur for kicking
    her maid, Beatrice Taylor, out of her home. In this case, neither feel
    guilty about causing Beatrice or Arthur’s death. However, the
    difference is Emily Brent does not directly cause Beatrice Taylor’s
    death. Instead, Emily Brent disowned Beatrice, whom she cared
    deeply for prior, because Beatrice had become pregnant, which
    Emily Brent believed was disgusting and immoral. As a result,
    Beatrice Taylor drowned by throwing herself into the river due to
    her despair and loneliness. On the other hand, Macarthur directly
    causes Arthur Richmond’s death by sending him on a
    reconnaissance mission, in which he was aware there was no
    possibility of surviving. For this, General Macarthur’s death should
    have occurred after Emily Brent due to the idea that death is decided
    on levels of guilt.
    However, some may argue that General Macarthur does feel
    guilty for killing Arthur Richmond. At some points, Macarthur
    professes, “he didn’t want much to get away from the island… To
    go back to the mainland, back to his little house, back to all the
    troubles and worries” (86). In this case, General Macarthur does
    accept his fate of dying on the island. He gives in to the realization
    that he will die soon. Even so, Macarthur’s reason for wanting to die
    is because he struggles to live with the consequences of the crime he
    committed. Macarthur’s concerns do not root from sympathy for
    Richmond. Instead, his wishes are due to loneliness after the death
    of his wife, Leslie. This can be seen as Macarthur claims, “Leslie
    had faded into the distance and Arthur Richmond too. Nothing of
    what had happened seemed to matter anymore. It made life lonely,
    though. He’d taken to shunning his old Army friends” (85). Rather
    than concern for the crime he committed, General Macarthur
    focuses on the isolation the incident brought him. He chooses to
    emphasize the results on himself, although the main concern should
    be Richmond’s death. Macarthur continues to worry about his
    loneliness away from friends and Leslie because of the murder.
    General Macarthur often struggles to sleep at night due to the
    sudden thoughts of Richmond and Leslie. Nonetheless, Macarthur
    only confers that, “Leslie hadn’t known. Leslie had wept for her
    lover but her weeping was over by the time he’d come back to
    England. He’d never told her that he’d found her out” (84). Here,
    General Macarthur constantly thinks of Leslie’s feelings towards
    Macarthur and how he’d hid the murder from Leslie. Macarthur
    does not think of Richmond, or how he’d felt guilty for killing him.
    Instead, he constantly only worries about whether others found out
    that he deliberately killed Arthur Richmond. Macarthur’s worries
    stem from whether Leslie or Armitage would have known. If
    Macarthur was truly guilty, his primary concern would be what he
    had done to Arthur Richmond, rather than what others thought of
    what he did.
    Ultimately, General Macarthur intentionally sent Arthur
    Richmond to his death. This shows he had performed a greater
    crime and deserves more “prolonged mental strain and fear” than he
    is given. Macarthur is quickly killed off and does not receive the
    level of demise that he had caused for Richmond. On the contrary,
    Emily Brent does not purposefully kill Beatrice Taylor. Instead, she
    simply kicks her out of the home, resulting in Taylor throwing
    herself in the river. However, Emily Brent is left to suffer longer
    suspense of death while Macarthur dies painlessly. In conclusion,
    General Macarthur should have died after Emily Brent, who had no
    clear intention of killing Beatrice Taylor.

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