Witness for the Prosecution

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What do you know about author Agatha Christie? Brainstorm a list of 5-6 informational points if you can, including the genres for which she is best known, any titles of her works, any of her works made into film or TV productions, and/or details about her background.

Teaching Suggestion: A working knowledge of Agatha Christie’s work will help students to apply patterns of the mystery genre to their reading. Furthermore, because Christie’s name is iconic in film, television, and literature, imprinting her reputation will be beneficial to students in future literature learning.

• Agatha Christie Documentary – a biopic by Artsmagic about Christie’s life and literary works
• "What Agatha Christie's Novels—and Life—Have to Teach Today's Crime Writers" – a LitHub article analyzing Christie’s impact on the literary crime genre

2. What qualities or characteristics typically signify the literary genres of crime and mystery? Think about genre characteristics such as setting, mood, tone, pace, plot structure, and character archetypes.

Teaching Suggestion: The crime and mystery genres have elements that uniquely characterize their themes, structures, and influences. Crime and mystery are highly lucrative literary forms, as they are extremely popular among readers. You might connect discussion about the genres to the story’s theme of The Elusiveness of Truth as a common element.

• "The Differences Between a Crime, Mystery, and Thriller Novel" – Writer’s Digest breaks down the differences between these genres.
• "It’s No Mystery That Crime Is the Biggest-Selling Genre in Books" – An article from The Guardian analyzes the trends and popularity of the crime genre.

Short Activity

Find and read 2-3 brief articles that interest you using an online resource that reviews and analyzes crime fiction. What do these articles reveal about the trends, elements, themes, and structures that characterize the crime, thriller, noir, and mystery genres?

Teaching Suggestion: Teachers can have students briefly share their research, formally present their findings, or display what they learned in a creative collage. Money, Greed, and Social Relationships might surface as a common theme in articles about crime stories.

• CrimeReads by Lit Hub – a comprehensive website run by Lit Hub offering short articles that review, analyze, and portray the crime genre