Collective Guilt in Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express: An Analysis through the Lens of Paul Ricoeur, Hannah Arendt, Branscombe, and Doosje

Abstract

Murder on the Orient Express, one of Agatha Christie’s famous novels, contains a plot that is uncommon if compared to your typical detective fiction. The novel gives an unusual portrait of collective guilt and the formation of it. This study examines that with the theories of Alexander, Gilbert, Ricoeur, Arendt, and Branscombe and Doosje. Using qualitative approach by analyzing the texts in the book, whether its dialogue, monologue, or storyline that gives a material for analyzing how collective guilt is formed. The formation itself consists of group trauma, collective memory, collective planning, and collective action, and last but not least, collective guilt. The result of it shows that the passengers’ actions reflect a shared responsibility to pursue justice when the law failed to do so. Ricoeur’s ideas of memory demonstrates how collective trauma unites the group, while Branscombe and Doosje’s psychological analysis of guilt reveals the process by which moral burden is distributed. Arendt’s distinction between individual and collective responsibility emphasizes the moral dynamics in the group. This study enhances the exploration of morality and collective ethics in literature and establishes a framework for understanding group decision-making in severe situations.