How we cite our quotes:
Quote #4
"No," said Mr. Bouc thoughtfully. "This is the act of a man driven almost crazy with a frenzied hate – it suggests more that Latin temperament. Or else it suggests, as our friend the chef de train insisted, a woman." (1.6.128)
Mr. Bouc suggests that only someone of the "Latin temperament" could have committed the crime – or a woman. What is the significance of this connection?
Quote #5
"I thought there were no detectives on the train when it passed through Yugo-Slavia – not until one got to Italy."
"I am not a Yugo-Slavian detective, Madame. I am an international detective."
"You belong to the League of Nations?"
"I belong to the world, Madame," said Poirot dramatically. (2.7.78-81)
Poirot sees himself as belonging not to one nation, but to all nations. That makes him the perfect detective for the crime. Still, does he hold some prejudices against people from certain countries?
Quote #6
Poirot leaned forward. He became persuasive and a little more foreign than he need have been.
"Monsieur, I am about to appeal to you. You and Miss Debenham are the only two English people on the train. It is necessary that I should ask you each your opinion of each other." (2.8.28-29)
How does Poirot use his difference to play into the psychology of Colonel Arbuthnot and other passengers? Why does be become "a little more foreign" in this scene?