Murder on the Orient Express

“Only some damned foreigner.”

Poirot believes this is how Colonel Arbuthnot views him when they first meet. This animosity toward “foreigners” speaks to the book’s historical context. It was written after WWI, when different European nationalities were unlikely to mingle. It also illuminates the book’s theme of Xenophobic Discrimination.

“Not now. Not now. When it’s all over. When it’s behind us—then—”

Mary Debenham says these words to Colonel Arbuthnot. They foreshadow the murder to come and speak to the intimate link between the two characters. Poirot overhears and will come back to this conversation repeatedly—an early clue that the characters aren’t all who they claim to be (and that their relationships with one another aren’t what they may seem).

“When he passed me in the restaurant, I had a curious impression. It was as though a wild animal—an animal savage, but savage! You understand—had passed me by.”

This is how Poirot describes Mr. Ratchett (Cassetti) when first meeting him. Poirot’s assessment of Cassetti’s character testifies to the detective’s ability to “read” people.