In this piece of coursework I will be comparing two stories. The first story was written in the 20th century called the Landlady by Roald Dahl. The second story is a pre 20th century story called the Speckled Band and is by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. These two stories fall into the same genre, murder and mystery. The Speckled band is about the famous Sherlock Holmes trying to solve another murder mystery. A girl called Miss Helen Stoner comes to see Holmes about what had happened to her sister. Her sister Julia died mysteriously just two weeks before her wedding. Helen and Julia lived with their stepfather Dr Grimesby Roylott. Dr Roylott was a morose and disappointed man with a hereditary temper. The Landlady is about a boy called Billy Weaver who is on a train to Bath. By the time he reaches his destination it is late and he has to find accommodation a passer by told him to try the Bell and Dragon but when he was going there another place of lodgings caught his eye called bed and Breakfast. Some of the characters in these stories are similar in many ways. Dr Roylott and the Landlady are similar because they are both the murderers and are probably in the same age group. One way in, which they are different, are their killing intentions. Dr Roylott kills for his stepdaughter's inheritance and the Landlady kills for pleasure. Most of the characters in both these stories are different in all aspects except for. Sherlock Holmes was clever enough to know what had happened by the art of deducing what was around him such as the bed bolted to the ground, the dummy bell rope and ventilators which do not ventilate. The two characters that are different in appearance are On the other hand Billy Weaver was a young seventeen year old and was smartly dressed. He was wearing a new navy blue overcoat, a new trilby hat and a new brown suit. Miss Helen Stoner and Billy Weaver are in similar as well as different situations. The similar part is that they are both the murderers next victims but the different part is that Miss Helen Stoner knows that she is in danger but Billy Weaver is blissfully unaware that he is also in danger. In the Landlady the vocabulary used is very simple, clear, descriptive and the sentences are short. Green curtains (some sort of velvety material) were hanging down on either side of the window. The imagery used for describing the characters is very clear. Billy was seventeen years old. In the Speckled Band the vocabulary used is appropriate for what the author is trying to communicate makes you see a clear image in your mind The majority of the sentences are long so that the author can describe and express what he is trying to convey. As he spoke he drew the dog whip swiftly from the dead man's lap and, and throwing the noose round the reptiles neck, he drew it from its horrid perch, and, carrying it at arms length, threw it into the iron safe, which he closed upon it. The Landlady is not really a proper story because it only seems to have a beginning with no middle or end. The story starts of with Billy Weaver on a train to bath to start a new job and he was looking for accommodation. There is no chance of the story going backwards or forwards because to me it only has a beginning. The story finishes when Billy finds accommodation with an eerie Landlady.
