Hickory Dickory Dock by Agatha Christie Essay

Hickory Dickory Dock is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on October 31, 1955[1] and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in November of the same year under the title of Hickory Dickory Death[2][3]. The UK edition retailed at ten shillings and sixpence (10/6)[1] and the US edition at $3.00[3]. It features her Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. The novel is notable for featuring Poirot’s efficient secretary, Miss Felicity Lemon, who had previously only appeared in the Poirot short stories. Plot introduction An outbreak of apparent kleptomania at a student hostel is not normally the sort of crime that arouses Hercule Poirot’s interest. But when he sees the bizarre list of stolen and vandalized items – including a stethoscope, some lightbulbs, some old flannel trousers, a box of chocolates, a slashed rucksack, some boracic powder and a diamond ring later found in a bowl of a soup – he congratulates the warden, Mrs Hubbard, on a ‘unique and beautiful problem’. It is nevertheless not long before the crime of theft is the least of Poirot’s concerns. Explanation of the novel’s title The title is taken, as are other of Christie’s titles, from a nursery rhyme: Hickory Dickory Dock. This is nevertheless one of her most tenuous links to the original nursery rhyme, consisting of little more than the name of a road. Plot summary Poirot’s solution of the petty thefts is unsubtle but effective: once he has threatened to call in the police, Celia Austin quickly confesses to the pettier amongst the incidents. She denies specifically: stealing Nigel Chapman’s green ink and using it to deface Elizabeth Johnston’s work; taking the stethoscope, the light bulbs and boracic powder; and cutting up and concealing a rucksack. Celia appears to have committed the lesser thefts in order to attract the attention of Colin McNabb, a psychology student who at first regards her as an interesting case study, and then – almost immediately – becomes engaged to her. Celia makes restitution for the crimes and is seemingly reconciled with her victims, but when she is discovered the following morning dead from an overdose of morphine it does not take the investigators long to see through attempts to make her death seem like suicide. Several of the original incidents have not been solved by Celiaâ€⠄¢s confession. Inspector Sharpe quickly solves the mystery of the stolen stethoscope during his interviews with the inhabitants of the hostel. Nigel Chapman admits to having stolen the stethoscope in order to pose as a doctor and steal the morphine tartrate from the hospital dispensary as part of a bet to acquire three deadly poisons. He claims that these poisons were then carefully disposed of, but cannot be sure that the morphine was not stolen from him while it was in his possession. Poirot turns his attention to the reappearance of the diamond ring, and confronts Valerie Hobhouse, in whose soup the ring was found. It seems that the diamond had been replaced with a zircon and, given the fact that it was difficult for anyone but Valerie to have put the ring into the soup, Poirot accuses her of having stolen the diamond. She admits to having done so, saying that she needed the money to pay off gambling debts. She also admits to having planted in Celia’s mind the entire idea of the thefts. Mrs. Nicoletis has been behaving very nervously, as if she were losing her nerve. One night someone gets her drunk and kills her. Poirot focuses his attention now on the cutting up of the rucksack. By comparing an example of the rucksack type destroyed with others, he identifies an unusual corrugated base, and suggests to the police that the rucksack may have been part of a clever international smuggling operation. The rucksacks were sold to innocent students, and then exchanged as a means of transporting drugs and gems. Mrs. Nicoletis had been bankrolling the organisation, but was not the brain behind it. When the police visited Hickory Road on an unconnected issue, the murderer had cut up the rucksack to avoid its being found and removed light bulbs to avoid being recognised. Patricia Lane comes to Nigel an d admits that, in an effort to keep a dangerous poison safe, she has taken the morphine from the bottle in his drawer and substituted for it bicarbonate of soda. Now, however, the bottle of bicarbonate of soda has been taken from her own drawer. While they are searching for this bottle Patricia mentions that she is intending to write to his father in order to reconcile the two. Nigel tells her that the reason for his estrangement from his father is that he discovered that his father had poisoned his mother. This is why he changed his name and carries two passports. Nigel comes to Inspector Sharpe and tells him about the missing morphine, but while he is there, Patricia telephones to say that she has discovered something further. By the time that Nigel and Sharpe get to the house, Patricia has been killed by a blow to the head. Mr. Akibombo comes to Sharpe and says that he had taken Patricia’s bicarbonate to ease a stomach complaint; when he took a teaspoonful of the bicarbonate, however, he had stomach pains and later discovered that the white powder was in fact the boracic powder. By the time Patricia had substituted the bicarbonate, the morphine had already been substituted by the stolen boracic powder. Poirot, whose suspicions about Valerie Hobhouse’s role in the smuggling operation have been proved correct by a police raid on her beauty shop, now closes the case. The murderer has been the most obvious person, Nigel Chapman, who was known to have the morphine in his possession. He killed Celia because she knew about his dual identity and also knew that Valerie travelled abroad on a false passport. He killed Mrs. Nicoletis because she was sure to give the smuggling operation away under pressure, and killed Patricia because she was likely to draw to his father’s attention the recent events. When Poirot outlines to Nigel’s father’s solicitor the case against Nigel, the solicitor is able to provide final proof. Nigel’s mother had been poisoned, not by his father, but by Nigel himself. When the father discovered this he forced him to write a confession and left it with his solicitor together with a letter explaining that it should be produced were there any evidence of further wrongdoing by his son. Valerie confirms Poirot’s solution further. She has placed the call to the police station, apparently from Patricia, after Nigel had already killed her. The green ink was a double-bluff intended to divert suspicion away from him. Valerie is willing to incriminate Nigel fully because Mrs. Nicoletis was actually her mother. Characters in â€Å"Hickory Dickory Dock† †¢ Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective †¢ Inspector Sharpe, the investigating officer †¢ Miss Felicity Lemon, Poirot’s secretary †¢ Mrs. Christina Nicoletis, the owner of the student hostel at Hickory Road †¢ Mrs Hubbard, Miss Lemon’s sister and the warden of Hickory Road †¢ George, Poirot’s valet †¢ Celia Austin, chemist in the dispensary at St. Catherine’s Hospital †¢ Colin McNabb, a psychology student †¢ Nigel Chapman, a History student, a resident at Hickory Road †¢ Valerie Hobhouse, a resident at Hickory Road and partner in a beauty shop †¢ Sally Finch, a student resident at Hickory Road †¢ Elizabeth Johnston, a student resident at Hickory Road †¢ Patricia Lane, a student resident at Hickory Road †¢ Genevieve, a student resident at Hickory Road †¢ Leonard Bateson, a student resident at Hickory Road †¢ Mr. Chandra Lal, a student resident at Hickory Road †¢ Mr. Akibombo, a student resident at Hickory Road †¢ Maria, the cook at Hickory Road †¢ Geronimo, Maria’s husband

Modernism in Music and Politics and Culture in Postwar France Essay

Modernism in Music and Politics and Culture in Postwar France - Essay Example London: MacMillan, 1999, pp. 84-85) 1. General Contents: This article discusses the existentialism school of thought that was prevalent in post-World War II France. Sartre introduces a school of thought that is called commitment, but in the end he has to adjust his notions to include the textual reality into his ideas2. 2. Qualifications: Jean-Paul Sartre was a playwright, novelist, and philosopher who lived between 1905 and 1980. 3. Evaluation of Credibility: Sartre was an influential figure in Post World War II France. He held on to his revolutionary beliefs concerning politics, and human existence. His stance on these matters drew controversy; yet he at the same time had an attachment to the traditional modes of cultural expression. His ideas were of relevance to, and appealed to the contemporary world. He developed a secular form of existentialism. His ideas insisted that existence comes before essence, and rejected the supernatural. He was of the opinion that modern culture was saturated with existentialism, as an intellectual movement. 4. Intended Audience: This essay is very helpful to everyone who is concerned about the way pertinent issues in the society can be addressed. By following the arguments that Sartreans, and the opposing writers and intellectuals advanced; one is able to understand how literature can be used to influence society3. The article is an interesting read, very insightful. In my opinion though, one should read it with an open mind. When one has a preformed ideology, then personal biases may prevent them from appreciating the factors that were inherent of the opposing sides. ESSAY MODERNISM To... This "Modernism in Music and Politics and Culture in Postwar France" outlines the existentialism school of thought that was prevalent in post-World War II France. Sartre introduces a school of thought that is called commitment, but in the end, he has to adjust his notions to include the textual reality into his ideas. To some writers, musical modernism extends from around 1890 to the 1930s. The period after that is often referred to as the post-modernism era. Industrialization, technological advances, and scientific discoveries that were taking place at the time of early musical modernism, meant radical reforms in musical expression. Individuals were trying to come to grips with a society which was becoming increasingly complex. Leon Botstein was of the opinion that alienation and isolation of individuals had resulted in heightened sensitivity. The intensity of personal emotions was concomitant, and it accompanied the sense of discontinuity, and newness that pervaded the first years of the century . Rhythmic strands were layered, and they started being based on two, or more metric frameworks that run concurrently. He asserted that the domination of industry, science, and technology was a characteristic feature of the modernism era. In addition to this, mechanization, nationalization, urbanization, positivism, and mass culture all had a role to play in influencing musical styles of this time. Several aspects of music changed during this time. The language of music and tonal organization were revolutionized.

United States-Centric Views Comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

United States-Centric Views Comparison - Essay Example At the same time, we consider women among Christian Americans usually go to work. Besides, we share the same opinion that one can identify secular content in education of Christian Americans. They are with moderate political values but governed by Biblical law. But political environment among the same is open to both sexes. They are socially inclusive, socially compliant and feminists (applicable to male and female members). There are a number of aspects which my friend and I share the same opinion on Muslim and Arab Americans (see appendix 1 and 2). For instance, both of us consider that Muslim and Arab Americans are oppressive to women, women folk are homemakers, and their society is patriarchal society. Besides, both of us consider that there is high religious content in their educational system. So, they share conservative political values, governed by the Qur’an, and are fanatically religious. The texture of male-domination can be seen in their political environment, socially exclusionary behavior. But Louise Cainkar states that the Arab Americans face oppression and marginalization in American society (Cainkar, 2009, p.96). So, both of us consider that Muslim and Arab Americans are socially oppressed and sexists. The appendices (see appendix 1 and 2) prove that there exists a number of dissimilar opinions about Christian Americans, Muslim and Arab Americans. For instance, I consider Christian Americans as good neighbors, immodestly dressed, well educated, law abiding, who considers religion as the part of government, peaceable, and with strict moral values. But my friend does not share the same opinion on foretold view points. On the other side, I consider Muslim and Arab Americans as modestly dressed, undereducated, religious values perpetuated in politics, violent, and with flexible moral values. But my friend does not share same opinion on foretold view points. But both of

Political Corruption in Israel Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Political Corruption in Israel - Research Paper Example Only recently very reliable sources identified that Israel bagged 30th position out of 178 countries when evaluated in context of corruption rate and even worse results were witnessed when the country was compared to other member countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (Dattel and Reuters). Highly irresponsible, unprofessional, and inconsiderate behavior of the politicians has led to prodigious public commotion within the country but unfortunately, the terror game played by atrocious political instigators which is fraught with big risks continues to remain in vogue. This research paper is basically an attempt to discuss what contemporary research evidence has to offer on the reality of political turmoil in Israel and how corruption and debaucheries of the political leaders is negatively interfering with the basis of moral government. Research material presented in the paper will principally focus on the corruption of politicians and influential public officials and how their conduct serves to foster lawlessness in every field of life will also be debated in the paper. Israel is placed in the category of â€Å"Elite Cartel Corruption† by Johnston who analyzed political corruption in association with nature of political agencies and economic liberalization (Shannon). He argues that this specific category involves well-connected networks of social elites who share corrupt advantages in an environment of fierce political competition and enhanced economic liberalization. Such politically powerful figures regularly â€Å"work together to protect and maintain their advantages and stave off the opposition† (Johnston cited in Shannon). This is exactly the style of top Israeli politicians and official moguls who exploit their own people in order to foment their personal wealth and form a channel of corruption by notoriously collaborating among themselves. Lost in their wicked conspiracies, they do not maintain a sincere assoc iation with Israeli public, rather use their political influence to transform state agencies into promising means of personal welfare. Consistent bad ranking exposed by a huge collection of analytical studies has not managed as yet to inculcate a sense of responsibility and awareness in the minds of Israeli politicians. Rather Israel continues to be the poorest, disreputable, and most unreliable member of the OECD and the Western world. Research cites that corruption and fraudulence affairs currently occupy the center of the Israeli political stage (Avnery) with many former powerful political figures including prime ministers and governors awaiting judgments in rape and bribery trials. It is thought to be a matter of great concern by all critics that while many other countries suffering from similar troublesome conditions have shown significant improvements over the past years, corruption in Israel remains unaffected by any reconstructive agendas and continues to successfully genera te political upheaval. There is such explicit austerity in political corruption in Israel that millions of lives have been and continue to be sacrificed to resulting exigencies. The series of outrageous events

Week 6 disc Tchaikovsky Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 6 disc Tchaikovsky - Assignment Example Apart from the sound of the fire cannons, there are also sounds of what appears to be fireworks, usually used to exhibit a celebratory mood. Probably one of the reasons why Tchaikovsky’s compositions have continued in popularity in the contemporary society is that is it portrays the themes of war that were experienced in the early 1800’s: His compositions i.e. the 1812 Overture exhibits both sadness and joy that were associated with the war. Perhaps, his compositions have continued to gain popularity owing to the fact that they remind the contemporary populace the history of war. Currently, â€Å"Only in America†, a song that was composed by Brooks and Dunn in 2004, just before the 9/11 terrorist attack, has been considered one of the most nationalistic and patriotic songs in the contemporary world. Its popularity can also be attributed to the fact that it was used during the re-election of George W. Bush during this

Finance and Accounting Dissertation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Finance and Accounting Dissertation - Essay Example Activity Based Costing (ABC) is a managerial accounting system which determines the cost of activities without distortion and provides management with relevant and timely information. It does not represent just a new set of overhead allocation rules or techniques to value inventory. ABC represents a way to look at operating costs and provides methods to dissect the underlying activities, which cause costs to exist† (Dunn 1891). The problem here, which is to be solved, is â€Å"Does the activity based costing play a vital part in financial performance†. For this purpose we have to know about the relevance of activity based costing. Here an example is given to know the difference about the activity based costing and conventional costing. E.g. Assume that Product A and Product B are manufactured by the same company. Product A is a low volume item and new one, it requires particular activities such as additional testing, special engineering, and some machine setups because i t is ordered in less quantities. Product B is a big volume product produced constantly and needs little concentration and does not require the particular actions. â€Å"If this business makes use of conventional costing, they assign or assign every expense to goods on the basis of the amount of machine hours. This will effect in small expenses rate due to Product A, since it do not contain numerous machine hours. Though, it performs order loads of testing, engineering and setup actions. The Product B will be owed a huge quantity of expenses owing to every device hours, except it insist small expenses action and no special attention† (Emerging Issues in Cost and Management Accounting n.d). The result will create a serious miscalculation of both products’ real price of manufacturing expenses. This costing will raise above this situation by transferring expenses on above the one action that is., the machine hours will not only be the activity, all other activities are tak en into consideration while costing the product. Background of the Study: Activity based costing will recognize the cost of additional testing, machine setups, special engineering and other activities that cause the costs. These activities consumed the resources of the company. So in activity based costing, they will calculate the cost of resources used in these activities and the product cost will be fixed accordingly. The cost of activity is assigned only to the product which demands the activities, which means the cost of special engineering, additional testing will not assign to the product B. Aims and Objectives: Here, the objective of the study is to understand â€Å"does the activity base costing play a vital part in financial performance†. Obviously, there are reasons to say that activity based costing plays a vital part in financial performance of organizations. But before stating it, we need to critically analyze the financial performances reports and compare the fi nancial performance of activity based costing and conventional costing methods. From the above examples itself, we can understand how the activity based costing is an advantage for the organization. The real cause of costs is recognized and it is added to the product cost. This method eliminates the chances of miscalculations and hence gives additional profit to the organization. But activity based costing also have some problems like; some costs are complex to allocate during this

What were the reason for, waht are the clained advantages of, the Essay

What were the reason for, waht are the clained advantages of, the adoption in Australia of international financial reporting standards(IFRSs) - Essay Example This will be a more adaptive way of comparing financial information not just within Australian companies but the Australian corporate sector with the international corporations. along with comparison, it will also make the allocation of capital across borders more efficient. Furthermore, different arrays of national standards which are a lot different in their functionality, on its own places a high cost on capital markets. a constant portion of these costs is directly put on the companies who have to meet the multiple standards to raise capital in different markets. the IRFS bears the answer to provide relief for both corporate governance and the stakeholders (Antill & Lee, 2005). In today’s global world, economic relations with other countries are increasing at a much faster rate than before and especially for Australia where foreign trade is much more than the GDP. This has resulted in a substantial increase in the number of different multinational corporations out of Australia, and many of these companies have their focus on Asian markets among others for their revenues. Furthermore, as these economies themselves develop this makes it even more relevant for IFRS to be adopted in Australia (Nobes, 2006). In these global markets, the IFRS gives investors a more clear view of the companies as barriers to international financial investment have fallen in markets around the world. These investors can now trade securities of these Australian multinational companies without any constraints. Moreover, these investors may be pretty much responsible for trading of almost half of all the shares of the companies which are floated in the Australian market (Nobes, 2006). As cross-border financial investment increases, capital markets become more dependent on each other. This means that shocks felt in one market reverberate around