The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Post N° 6

             Hercule Poirot and Arthur Hastings have changed throughout the book. Poirot showed he is a great detective who pays much attention to detail while Hastings went from having the "hobby" of being a detective to actually becoming one. The two formed a strong friendship and even though there were some difficulties throughout the process of discovering who was the murderer of Mrs. Inglethorp they knew how to overcome them. The book also portrayed how not all people are what they seem. Therefore, the other characters of the book also changed revealing the positive and negative aspects of themselves.

                From the time Hastings came to live at the family's house to when the murder of Mrs. Inglethorp was solved, Poirot, Hastings, John, Mary, Cynthia, along with the other members of the family and the town had to go through many experiences that were not very pleasing because of Mrs. Inglethorp's death. However, the murder of Mrs. Inglethorp was found, so the investigation was successful in the end. The book left many different messages such as that there are times were using one's instinct is necessary and that not everything is what it seems.  All the experiences Hastings had at Styles changed him. He became more confident and more like a professional investigator. They also gave him a new friend. Poirot and Hastings are now a detective and his assistant who can solve mysteries in an efficient way. Hastings became a good companion for Poirot since he learned many lessons from him.  Also, detective Poirot helped Hastings to start thinking like a detective.

                 In summary, there were many characters in the story as well as various suspects of Mrs. Inglethorp's death. Each of the characters were different and developed through the story showing who they truly were or also how they were honest about themselves since the beginning. Focusing on Hastings, he came to the house at Styles Court without knowing what would happen. Nevertheless, helping Poirot to solve the case guided Hastings to enhance his skills as a detective because he had a crime that needed to be solved. He also gained a new companion for future cases or adventures.  

Images:

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The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Post N° 5

          Mrs. Inglethorp's murder has not been solved yet, so Hastings and Poirot continue investigating who could have put strychnine in Mrs. coco the day she was murdered. However, Hasting is still mad about Poirot not telling him his thoughts about who is the possible murderer. At this point of the story, Hastings is becoming more like Poirot and tries to do his own investigation. Now the story is more focused on him since Poirot suddenly decided to go to London.

            Hastings is starting to stop depending too much on Poirot while he interacts with John Cavendish and Cynthia. He also came up with a new suspect, which shows Hastings can continue with the investigation and make his own conclusions. Nonetheless, Hastings is still fearful of discovering Mary Cavendish's participation in the murder. He admits it is a possibility, but his thoughts and actions demonstrate he is in love and does not want Mary to be blamed for participating in Mrs. Inglethorp's murder. Hastings's feelings are true, but he will have to put them aside in order to find Mrs. Inglethorp's murder. Although Poirot is not with Hastings at the moment, Hastings still manages to follow the clues he finds and do a good job as a detective. He is smart and he knows he needs to start doing some research on his own in order to be able to investigate the case as a professional. 

            Additionally, even though Hastings is mad at Poirot, he still appreciates him. They now have a strong friendship and although solving the case is hard, they work well together. The two friends who met each other in Belgium went from being friends to working together in a detective case. They have gone through many experiences while trying to find out who murdered Mrs. Inglethorp and Hastings learned many things from Poirot and the Inglethorp family. Hastings's character developed and became more like a detective. He now knows that he needs to follow his instincts to be able to solve the case with Poirot. 

Images: https://alchetron.com/Arthur-Hastings

https://www.cloverhr.co.uk/investigations-the-role-of-the-investigation-officer/

The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Post N° 4

     Hercule Poirot is a very interesting character. He is very intelligent even though in many occasions it may not seem that way to Hastings. He was the one who saved Mr. Inglethorp  from being sentenced for a crime he supposedly did not commit.  As the story advances, Poirot's true abilities are more and more noticeable for the reader. Compared to the beginning of the book, the latter parts of the story demonstrate how all the clues obtained throughout the investigation are connected, and Poirot is the one to put everything together. Also, Hastings started appreciating him more since his deductions were right and his investigation is leading to good results.

    However, Hastings is very different to Poirot. That does not mean he is not smart, it means that he is slowly learning from Poirot. Hastings decided to be the one who asserts himself after being told intelligence and instincts go together and that he has no instincts. Sometimes, the principle that states that the simpler explanation is often the right one is not always true, especially in the murder of Mrs. Inglethorp. Hastings is worried about Mary Cavendish since she acted suspiciously during her speech at the inquest, but at the same time it is shown that he does not let his emotions intervene in his thoughts anymore, so he observes everything analytically. 

    In closing, both characters changed since their first appearance in the story. Poirot's intellect and ability are more remarkable that in the beginning and Hastings' character is continue developing to be more helpful in the case. Both characters have their strengths and weaknesses, yet they are clearly developing in different ways. Poirot and Hastings are investigating the case and making significant progress, but at the same time they are knowing each other better and becoming good friends.

    Image:

    https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/623631/Poirot-star-Hugh-Fraser-David-Suchet-book-crime-author-Harm

The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Post N° 3

             Being a detective is quite difficult. Particularly in Mrs. Inglethorp's case, there are many clues and many interpretations of what could have happened to her the night of her murder. Mr. Poirot continues investigating the case with Mr. Hastings' help. I believe Mr. Hastings has a much better understanding of the situation than in the past while he is also learning how Hercule Poriot thinks. Now they start to look more like two detectives doing an investigation than only Poirot doing it and Hastings studying his actions. However, Mr. Hastings is also starting to show his emotions towards Mary Cavendish even though that does not stop him from noticing her odd behavior.

                Overall, Hastings is becoming more like a detective thanks to Poirot's influence, he is improving his analytic skills and acting according to his feelings although he regretted doing so. I also noticed he is beginning to think more like Poirot because he understands him better along with realizing that his own suspicions were wrong. In Mrs. Inglethorp's inquest, Hastings was able to hear the speeches of different people and realized there are different versions of what happened the night of the murder. Him and Poirot will need to continue investigating, but now Poirot has an apprentice who is getting better at the job every day.

Pictures:

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The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Post N°2

        Mr. Poirot and Mr. Hastings continue their investigation, discovering different clues of what could have happened the day of Emily Inglethorp's death. Hastings analyzes Poirot's behavior even though he does not understand in which direction the investigation is going. He also noticed that there was no one in the house who expressed true grief for Mrs. Inglethorp besides Dorcas, Mrs. Inglethorp's maid. Mr. Hastings is more aware of the other people's emotions than in the past and is more patient with Mr. Poirot although he does not agree with him about the situation they are dealing with. Poirot is the real detective, so probably Hastings will start trusting him more in the future since Poirot is more experienced and knows what he is doing despite the fact that Hastings believes he is too old to do the investigation.

          Mr. Hastings is slowly learning  to use his instinct. Not understanding what Poirot is doing is partly helpful for Hastings since it teaches him that not everything is always solved with reasoning. Moreover, I believe Hastings could become a detective like Poirot if he continuous working with him. At the beginning he only trusted in what he thought, but with time Hastings is becoming more open to things that may not look logical.

          In conclusion, working with Poirot is helping Hastings to stop being a detective as a hobby and start investigating serious cases. He is in fact slowly getting better and  will become more useful to Poirot as the investigation progresses.  Besides, his ability to analyze situations is quite good and it will be convenient in his journey.

Image:

https://www.campustraining.es/noticias/que-estudiar-para-ser-detective/

The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Post N° 1

 

When Captain Arthur Hastings arrives to Styles during an ongoing war and after staying in a convalescent home, he meets with his old friend John Cavendish. John invites Arthur to stay at his house which is owned by his stepmother Emily Inglethorp, who shares the house with her second husband Alfred Inglethorp, her two stepsons from her first marriage John and Lawrence Cavendish, John Cavendish’s wife Mary Cavendish, Emily´s companion Evelyn Howard, an orphan named Cynthia Murdoch and Emily’s maids Dorcas and Annie.  Not everyone got along in the house since most of them, specially John Cavendish and Evelyn Howard, were suspicious about Alfred Inglethorp’s real intention when marrying Mrs. Inglethorp. He was twenty years younger than her, so the other members of the family thought that his only reason to marry Mrs. Inglethorp was her money. Everything seemed to be fine despite the conflict and Arthur Hastings was also getting along quite well with everyone in the family. However, that changed when Mrs. Inglethorp suddenly died of strychnine poisoning.

Arthur Hastings is a polite and serious man. He had been invalided from the Front during the war. After arriving at Styles Court, Arthur Hastings praises his deductive skills and reveals his secret hobby is being a detective. Probably his perception about himself changed after asking his old friend Belgian Detective Hercule Poirot for help to solve the murder of Emily Inglethorp. Mr. Hastings occasionally disagrees with Mr. Poirot during the process of their investigation, but Mr. Poirot is more experienced and teaches Hastings in which aspects he needs to pay more attention to, although Poirot later clarifies that every detail is important. Mr. Hastings becomes confused yet still accompanies Mr. Poirot while analyzing the steps he follows in order to solve the murder.

Mr. Hastings is not as good as a detective as is Hercule Poirot, but he still is helpful to report the events that happened the night of Mrs. Inglethorp's death and also solve the case. Hastings narrates the story, hence it is easier to know what he thinks about what is happening around him. Even though he does not mention it, his experience assisting Poirot was different from what he expected. Poirot does things differently from what Hasting would have imagined and focuses on details Hastings would not focus on. Thanks to Poirot's participation essential clues about the case were found and that made Hastings understand that Poirot knew what he was doing. Besides Poirot's complex thoughts and instructions, Hastings is determined to help him solve the case to find out who is the murderer of Emily Inglethorp. 

Pictures: 

https://depositphotos.com/126376882/stock-illustration-glass-bottles-of-poison-vector.html

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/515240013591262638/