General John Gordon MacArthur (or McKenzie) GMG DSO is a character from the 1939 novel And Then There Were None. In the novel, MacArthur was a retired British Army officer who was invited to Soldier Island by U. N. Owen to reunion with on some old colleagues from the First World War.
Profile[]
In the novel, General MacArthur is described as a "tall, soldierly old man" with shrewd blue eyes, a white trimmed moustache, and grey hair. He is also partially deaf.
Out of all of the ten victims of the story, MacArthur could be considered not only the kindest, but most tragic of Owen's victims, due to him being a generally nice man whose actions were on
Role in the story[]
Background[]
During the First World War, while stationed at the Western Front, MacArthur discovered that his young wife Leslie was having an affair with a officer under his command, Arthur Richmond, due to her accidently sending the wrong letter to him. Although devastated and justifiably furious by his discovery, MacArthur chose not to confront either of them but quietly blamed Richmond for seducing his wife.
In January 1917, MacArthur received instructions about a reconnaissance mission into enemy territory, which was basically a suicide mission. MacArthur knew about this but saw an opportunity to get rid of Richmond. He assigned Richmond to the task and on the 14th of January, 1917, he was killed in action, just as the General had hoped for. Once the War ended in 1918, MacArthur returned home to England as an acclaimed war hero.
However, his once vibrant wife became more subdued and withdrawn woman with the death of her lover. It is implied that Leslie's grief is the cause of John's regret of killing Richmond. Years later, between 1921 and 1922, Leslie passed away after contracting double pneumonia (although in some adaptations she died from the Spanish Flu). With the death of his beloved wife, MacArthur moved to a small village in East Devon.
Initially, despite the loss of his wife, the General enjoyed a happy retirement, hanging out with his his military colleagues and enjoying sociable activities. But as the years passed, some of the General's fellow officers - in particularly Richmond's friends - began to suspect that his death was not just a simple casualty.
And Then There Were None[]
In 1939, General MacArthur was sent an invitation to a small gathering at Soldier Island by a Mr. U. N. Owen for an opportunity to catch up with some old war acquaintances. Although he never heard nor met a Mr. Owen beforehand, MacArthur gladly welcomed the change of scenery, and accepted the invite.
Death[]
| “ | Eight little soldier boys travelling in Devon; One said he’d stay there and then there were seven. | ” |
–The third verse of the Little Soldier Boy's poem, symbolising MacArthur's fate. | ||
In his confession letter, Mr Justice Wargrave (who was Owen) came to know about General MacArthur from two military gossips at his club. As with all his potential victims, Wargrave ranked them from less guiltiest to most; MacArthur was one of the more innocent ones.
In the letter, Wargrave reveals he pretended to fall asleep on one of the deck chairs whilst "waiting for Naricot". Once there were no witnesses, Wargrave snuck down to the beach with a bronze oxygen cylinder and struck him on the back of the head, which according to Dr Armstrong, killed him instantly.
Portrayals[]
- In the 1945 film adaptation film adaptation of And Then There Were None, John MacArthur was renamed General Sir John Mandrake and portrayed by English actor Sir Charles Aubrey Smith.
- In the 1965 1965 adaptation, Ten Little Indians, the name Sir John Mandrake is used again (unlike the book he is stabbed with a knife instead of being struck by a blow on the head). The character is portrayed by Leo Genn.
- In 1974's And Then There Were None, he was renamed André Salvé and portrayed by actor Adolfo Celi.
- 1989 - In the 1989 film Ten Little Indians, the character was given the name General Romensky. He was portrayed by actor Herbert Lom.
- 2015 - In the 2015 television adaptation of the novel, General Macarthur is played by Sam Neill. Here, his role remains mostly faithful to the original one, except that, instead of sending Richmond directly to his death in the Western Front, he shoots him.
Trivia[]
- In the stage adaptation of the novel, General MacArthur was renamed to General McKenzie, possibly due to American military leader General Douglas MacArthur being a prominent figure at the time.