Justice is an inevitable aspect of society, and although it is often used positively, the pursuit of extreme justice can have a negative affect on society. Agatha Christie’s, “Ten Little Indians” portrays the idea that justice can have a negative affect on society. Although this idea is quite uncommon in our society, she provides sufficient evidence through her character Justice Wargrave, to prove this idea to be true. His pursuit for justice ultimately led to the destruction of nine individuals, including himself. There were little to no positive outcomes of the justice that he prioritized so greatly, because he lost sight of what justice truly meant. In the pursuit of justice, he lost who he was. He caused the death of nine individuals and was psychologically very unstable.

Agatha Christie’s, “Ten Little Indians” speaks to the idea that an intense pursuit of justice can have a negative affect on society. Her character, Justice Wargrave, finds himself seeking justice since he was a young boy. This led him to his career as a judge. However, his never ending pursuit of justice led him to create an evil theatric scheme. He began his pursuit of justice by searching for nine individuals who had committed murderers, and yet were never convicted. He thought of this as a huge injustice that needed to be corrected, and he felt it was his duty to bring that justice himself. He schemed against them. Wargrave mocked the deaths in the poem entitled “Ten Little Indians” and killed those he felt deserved it the most. The irony is that in his pursuit of justice, Wargrave committed murder himself and is therefore in need of justice. Rather than following the law, he was led by the pursuit of justice and brought himself to his own destruction.

The prison system has a harsh, negative psychological effect on the inmates because of society’s pursuit of justice. The justice system should be working to improve the mindsets of inmates, rather than break it down. Adrian Griunds’ article, “Psychological Consequences of Wrongful Conviction and Imprisonment,” shows studies that prove that the psychological effects of prison are personality changes, PTSD, and mood and anxiety disorders (Grounds par 3). The studies shown, outline psychiatric stress from the time of arrest to the end of the sentence, and includes that act of being arrested as a traumatic event itself. Grounds found that “the assessments revealed a pattern of disabling symptoms and psychological problems that were severe” (Grounds par 8). These led to detrimental personality changes. Often, the result of these personality changes leads to various marital and family problems. Families have stated that inmate was a completely different person than who they originally knew. They even labeled them as a “stranger” (Grounds par 11-12). These results are due to the psychological deterioration that is ultimately breaking apart families. In our pursuit of justice, we have forgotten not only mental health, but families that are being affected by the inmate’s unhealthy mental state. This does not represent justice. (193)

Jason Schnittker’s article, “Enduring Stigma: The Long-Term Effects of Incarceration on Health,” details the social effects that prison has on the prisoners. “Enduring Stigma” encourages the idea that prison has more negative affects after prisoners are released from prison, rather than while they are in prison (Schnittker par 1). Often, prison creates a negative stigma that the prisoners are forced to deal once integrated back into society. This Stigma impacts areas such as disability, welfare use, and the parents of deviant children. Prison adds to diminished wages and marital instabilities. (Schnittker par 1). Because of this stigma, members of society who have been released from prison are much less likely to find work, and therefore are unable to provide for their families. Because of this, their children are in poorer schools in less wealthy areas. Therefore their children experiencing a less valuable education, and the cycle repeats itself. Because of these reasons, the prison system and the pursuit of judgement are causing an endless cycle of prisoners circulating into and out of the system. There are little to no programs in place to reintegrate prisoners into society, therefore bringing them to their destruction, rather than rehabilitating them. (198)

Justice can have a negative affect on society when the pursuit of justice is driven by an unhealthy amount of ambition. Christie’s, “Ten Little Indians,” portrays this idea through the character of Justice Wargrave. This individual was engulfed in his pursuit of ambition which ultimately led to the death and nine individuals, as well as his own destruction. Adrian Grounds’ article, “Psychological Consequences of Wrongful Conviction and Imprisonment,” proves the fact that isolation and imprisonment have strong negative psychological impacts on inmates. Often, even changing their personalities completely. This further proves the detrimental affects that justice can have on society. Jason Schnittker’s article, “Enduring Stigma: The Long-Term Effects of Incarceration on Health,” details the social effects that prison has on the prisoners. He explains that it is extremely difficult for inmates to integrate back into society because of the trauma they have suffered, showing yet another negative impact of justice. Although justice can be used in a healthy manner, when used incorrectly and excessively, Justice has a negative affect on society.