In ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ the author narrates the story, Roald Dahl. The story begins by the husband coming home from work and says that he wants a divorce. The wife, Mary Maloney, clubs down her husband with a frozen leg of lamb. This is different to a typical murder mystery because the murderer is revealed at the beginning, this is so the story is more interesting because it is unique and unlike other murder stories. The most dramatic point is how she gets away with it. Roald Dahl keeps you reading on by making you wonder how she doesn’t get caught. It ends by Mary Maloney not even a suspect and the murder weapon is fed to the police.
The structure of ‘Lamb to the Slaughter is very different from ‘The Speckled Band’ but still has a very good way of keeping the reader interested.
The syntax of the opening paragraph in ‘The Speckled Band’ is long because Conan Doyle wants to slow the reader down. This is because the information at the start can be important to understand the rest of the story. Conan Doyle varies the syntax particularly when Holmes is faced with a mysterious, but scary experience at Stoke Moran. The syntax at this point becomes very short which creates tension for the reader. This increases the pace and makes it more exciting. Conan Doyle uses a combination of monosyllabic words at this point which also has the effect of increasing the pace at which the story is read. The syntax at the start of ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ is similar to the start of ‘The Speckled Band’
‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ creates a calm, relaxing mood towards the reader, but ‘The Speckled Band’ creates a tense, serious mood. In ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ words like “Luxuriate…Wonderful…Loved” are used to create a kind and loveable atmosphere. In ‘The Speckled Band’ words like “Tragic…Strange…Death” are used to make a serious and unsettled atmosphere.
The way in which the author describes the characters is very important so that the reader interprets them effectively. Conan Doyle describes Holmes and Watson to be very polite and formal. This shows how they take their work very seriously. As Holmes talks to Watson he says “I presume that it is something very pressing, which they have to communicate.” This not just shows that they take their work seriously but also shows how they respect each other. From the way Holmes is described it is clear that he is a very good detective. He shows him as being very observant, “The left arm of your jacket is splattered with mud in no less than seven places. The marks are perfectly fresh.” This is a complete contrast with the police men from ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ They are not very formal or observant like Holmes or Watson neither do they ask many questions, this makes the reader feel they do not take their work as seriously as they could. They are not very professional and just seem to be doing their job. “Whoever done it, they’re not going to be carrying a thing like that round with them longer than they need to. I think it’s right here on the premises, probably right under our very noses.”
The author needs to describe the murderers well too, the author does not want the reader to think differently of them because it could have a big impact on the story. The murderer from ‘The Speckled Band’ is very typical and stereotyped. He is short tempered, strong “A huge man framed himself” and does not have a formal or polite attitude. He also has a reputation by the villagers to have angry outbursts. He is very cunning too but not cunning enough to pass Holmes and Watson. When he first meets with Holmes and Watson he is seen to be a nasty and evil “Marked with every evil passion” He also tries to scare and intimidate Holmes “What has she been saying to you? Screamed the old man furiously”
The murderer is also a complete contrast to Mary Maloney from ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ who is a typical 1950’s house wife. She is not the kind of person you would expect to murder some one, especially the way she felt towards her victim, Patrick Maloney. She is shown as a very loving and kind person “Went forward to kiss him as he came in, she loved to luxuriate in the presence of this man” Mary tries to make him happy, maybe too hard. “I’ll get it. She cried, jumping up. Sit down, he said” After she had murdered her husband she was still very shocked, this shows how much she felt towards this man. Also by murdering him she achieved independence. Where as before she relied on her husband for living but now needs to lead her own life.
The stories are very different and have a very different way of keeping the reader interested. Whilst ‘The Speckled Band’ is typical of a murder mystery with a good detective and strong, confident murderer, ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ on the other hand has a totally unexpected murder that is revealed at the begging. She does not get caught and the police are not very wise.
The characters, scene and means of murder are different in both stories. In ‘The Speckled Band’ the murderer is purposely short tempered, unpleasant and impolite. On the other hand in ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ the murderer is pleasant, polite and very kind.
This also applies for the scene, in ‘The Speckled Band’ it creates an image to be dark, misty and spooky. Whilst in ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ it is a bright, warm sunny day.
The most unusual things about the two stories are the murder weapons. Usually you would expect a gun, knife or rope. But in ‘The Speckled Band’ it is a snake and in ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ it is a frozen leg of lamb. This is what makes both stories interesting to read.
