Both Lamb to the slaughter and the Speckled Band share some characteristics of murder mysteries, what are the similarities between the two stories?

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Both Lamb to the slaughter and the Speckled Band share some characteristics of murder mysteries, what are the similarities between the two stories?

Comparing Roald Dahl's 'Lamb to the Slaughter' 1954 and

'The Speckled Band' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1892.

Both 'Lamb to the Slaughter' and 'The Speckled Band' are detective murder mysteries. They share some similarities but have many differences. In my essay I will discuss these and the effects they have on the story.

'Lamb to the Slaughter' was written in 1954 by Roald Dahl. It is much more modern than Conan Doyle's 'The Speckled Band' of 1892.

In 'Lamb to the Slaughter' the main point to the story is to find out whether Mrs Maloney will get away with committing a murder. Dahl also tries to illustrate that appearances can be deceptive. However, in 'The Speckled Band' the reader continues to read the story to find out who the murderer was and whether Holmes will discover how the crime was committed. The stories are both murder mysteries yet their shapes are almost opposite.

The setting of 'The Speckled Band' is a typical old mansion. 'The manor house is very old'. This lends an atmosphere of foreboding and suspense to the story. This is because it is natural to find dark and sinister places scary. Conan Doyle uses descriptions such as 'A picture of ruin', 'Ill trimmed lawn', 'The building was of grey lichen-blotched stone', to show this age. The setting is important in that the atmosphere and the suspense which keeps the reader interested are dependant upon this.

In Victorian times, this type of setting would be more suited to the audience than that of a warm and cosy house. Conan Doyle was not challenging stereotypes, instead using them to his own advantage.

However, in 'Lamb to the Slaughter' the scene of the crime is the complete opposite. 'The room was warm and clean'. This causes the reader to feel relaxed without any suspicion that events such as a murder would occur. Roald Dahl uses this homely image 'the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight' to contrast sharply with the murder - shocking the reader - and to support the impression given by Mary Maloney's character, so forcing the reader to challenge their preconceptions.

Whereas great attention to the setting is given in 'The Speckled Band' it is no longer needed after the initial description in 'Lamb to the Slaughter' as suspense is built in different ways. This is a large difference between the two.

The main character in 'Lamb to the Slaughter' is Mary Maloney. Dahl spends a long time at the beginning of the story creating an impression of her as a loving wife and house-proud women. 'Mary Maloney was waiting for her husband to come home', 'She took his coat and hung it in the closet', 'Fresh ice-cubes in the Thermos bucket'. There is also a personal description of the woman that paints a portrait of her as placid and innocent.

This includes statements such as 'a slow, smiling air', 'drop of her head . . . Was curiously tranquil', and 'this was her sixth month with child'.

Mrs Maloney is also desperate for her husband to return home. 'Please herself . . . That each minute gone by made it nearer the time when he would come.' I think that Dahl causes the reader to hold this impression so that Mary Maloney appears the complete antithesis of a murderess. By doing this Dahl ensures that there is more shock involved when she actually kills her husband. Another effect of making the reader like the woman is that the audience wants her to get away with the crime and so continues to read the story to find out whether she does or not.

Mrs Maloney does not appear to be a murderess, more likely a victim. The fact that she was pregnant makes her seem incapable of such an atrocity, an example of Dahl showing that appearances can be deceptive.

However, in 'The Speckled Band' Doyle creates the character of a terrifying murderer.

Dr Roylott does have a few seconds when the reader is impressed by him: 'Professional skill and force of character '. This is the only positive statement about the character as after this, Conan Doyle details Dr Roylott's past:

'Fit of anger . . . Beat his native butler to death.' Dr Roylott is also very unpleasant and a violent man who indulges in 'ferocious quarrels' with a 'violence of temper approaching mania'. The reader then feels that Dr Roylott is a horrible man. He is 'immense in strength' and 'the terror of the village'.

By creating this impression in the reader's mind Conan Doyle has ensured a hatred of the character. This also means that the reader thinks Dr Roylott will be the murderer as he is the stereotype of a Victorian villain, but the reader may also doubt this opinion because to modern readers it seems so obvious that is has to be a red-herring.

The physical description of the Doctor comes when he is introduced to Sherlock Holmes. It is a very dramatic entrance making the reader both alarmed and scared of the man. Tension is built up through the use of phrases and descriptions such as 'a huge man framed himself in the aperture', 'hunting crop swinging from his arm', 'his face is seared with a thousand wrinkles, burned yellow with the sun' and 'marked with every evil passion'. This image of an evil man is supported with 'deep-set, bile-shot eyes, and the high thin fleshless nose'. This description forces the reader to hate the man and hope he is the murderer.
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The description is completely different from Mary Maloney - introduced as a caring, loving wife who is carrying her husband's child - yet is also a murderer. I think these differences are due to both the time in which the stories were written and the reason why. The different cultural values meant different ideas appealed to the separate audiences, plus Roald Dahl's aim of challenging stereotypes is only possible in this way. Because the story is quite modern this is acceptable, but would not have had the desired effect had Conan Doyle written it for a Victorian audience.
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