112 pages • 3 hours read
Agatha ChristieA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
A motif of trains and railways recurs throughout the novel. For instance, each murder is marked by the presence of an ABC guide to train schedules, and Poirot comes to recognize the killer as a “railway-minded man” (Chapter 34). What is the significance of this railroad motif? Consider these points as you reflect on the text to answer the question.
Teaching Suggestion: This activity connects to the theme of Genius, Madness, and Reason. If students struggle to understand the link between trains and Franklin’s outlook, you might ask them to consider the equivalent of Franklin’s railway obsession today: What kinds of symbols or motifs might Christie have adopted in place of the railway motif to convey the same concept if she were writing the novel today?
Differentiation Suggestion: To engage visual or kinetic learners more fully, it may be helpful to provide images associated with trains or show off (and perhaps run) a toy train.
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A Murder Is Announced
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And Then There Were None
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A Pocket Full of Rye
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Crooked House
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Death On The Nile
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Murder at the Vicarage
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Murder on the Orient Express
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Poirot Investigates
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The Mousetrap
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The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
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The Mysterious Affair at Styles
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The Pale Horse
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Witness for the Prosecution
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