An essay to investigate the disturbing and reassuring aspects in the three stories
An essay to investigate the disturbing and reassuring aspects in the three stories The aim of this essay is to explore the three texts (‘The Stolen Bacillus’, ‘Hop Frog’, and ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’) and to consider which aspects of the three stories affect us, how they influence us, and why they cause concern or console, either disturbing or reassuring us. It is concluded that there are many disturbing and reassuring aspects in the stories dependant on the perspective one may adopt.The word ‘disturbing’ means ‘to agitate the mind, causing distress, worry, or anxiety’. The word ‘reassuring’ means ‘to restore confidence and relieve anxiety’. These two definitions will help me with my investigation by giving me a guideline to work with. To get an understanding as to why different writers may have written the way that they did, I will consider the background information of the period the author was writing in and any aspects which would affect his subject material and style of writing. H.G. Wells was writing at the end of the nineteenth century at a time where there was a rapid social and industrial change, and he had a personal interest in social justice, science and politics. This is reflected in his writing as there is the bacteriologist (relating to science) and the anarchist (pertaining to social justice and politics). These issues in his work would disturb a reader of Wells’ time because subjects such as the social and industrial changes would be on the readers’ minds, and therefore cause anxiety if he were to write about them in a negative way.Edgar Allan Poe was expelled from university for drunkenness and debt, and later court martialled from the army for drunkenness again. Poe’s association with alcohol in real life is reflected in his story which has many references to alcohol within it. These references would disturb readers because Poe would be able to write a distressing truth about the affects of alcohol, because he himself had experienced it, and he wrote at a time when the truth was censored from the public.Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote at a time when the British had an empire in India, this is referred to in his story as Dr. Roylott went out to do a medical degree in Calcutta, and also served a prison sentence there. This would provide a factor in the story with which readers may be able to associate with, and would either disturb or reassure them depending on the way they’d previously felt about the empire in India, and how it is depicted in Doyle’s writing.The settings and surroundings of a story can be used to great consequence when enhancing the effect of a disturbing or reassuring aspect of a tale. Arthur Conan Doyle uses his description of Stoke Moran intelligently in order to increase the disturbing nature of the whole plot of the story.
The author uses very ‘gothic’ features in the Speckled Band. For example, there is reference to the middle ages as Dr. Roylott comes from ‘one of the oldest Saxon families in England’ which is an illustration of one gothic feature. Another gothic trait is Stoke Moran’s gloomy setting, the writer depicts: ‘from amid the branches there jutted out the gray gables and high roof tree of a very old mansion’. A further gothic characteristic expressed in Doyle’s writing is the ventilator in Helen’s room. Secret passages and hidden doors are another common attribute of a gothic story, and the additional ...
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The author uses very ‘gothic’ features in the Speckled Band. For example, there is reference to the middle ages as Dr. Roylott comes from ‘one of the oldest Saxon families in England’ which is an illustration of one gothic feature. Another gothic trait is Stoke Moran’s gloomy setting, the writer depicts: ‘from amid the branches there jutted out the gray gables and high roof tree of a very old mansion’. A further gothic characteristic expressed in Doyle’s writing is the ventilator in Helen’s room. Secret passages and hidden doors are another common attribute of a gothic story, and the additional detail that the ventilator is mysteriously placed in an impractical position (‘what a fool a builder must be to open a ventilator into another room, when, for the same trouble, he might have communicated with the outside air!’) gives it another gothic edge as mysteries were a very frequent mark of a gothic tale. In addition to Stoke Moran’s gothic nature, the fact that the whole place is isolated and has a gloomy history further emphasizes any disturbing aspects introduced by the author. Arthur Conan Doyle’s descriptions of Stoke Moran are a great example of a dramatic structure used to augment the effectiveness of the disturbing aspects of the storyline when they emerge. This is because Doyle firstly communicates with us subliminally about the disturbing aspects of his tale via his setting descriptions, therefore giving himself some foundations on which to build up a more effective impact on his reader when he wants to disturb them.Each of the three stories has a noticeable villain. These are Dr. Roylott, the King, and the Anarchist. They are evidently disturbing via their physical descriptions. Dr. Roylott’s description disturbs us because he is so large and seemingly dominant: ‘a huge man…with a hunting-crop swinging in his hand’, as well as having evil features: ‘a large face with a thousand wrinkles, burned yellow…and marked with every evil passion…deep-set, bile-shot eyes, and his high, thin fleshless nose gave him somewhat the resemblance to a bird of prey’. The word ‘evil’ in his description connotes to us the obvious that Dr. Roylott is an evil man, as well as his ‘resemblance to a bird of prey’ which suggests that he is an aggressive predator. This is a very disturbing description indeed because we naturally do not like such people. The King in ‘Hop-Frog is similarly depicted as a dislikeable character. He is ‘large, corpulent, [and] oily’. The way that Poe uses three similar descriptions referring to his repulsively abnormal size emphasizes the point that he is trying to communicate, that the King is vile and therefore far from a fine character. This is disturbing, not just because the description is so unattractive, but because it shows that Poe’s society was most likely to be one which valued beauty over persona, as Poe’s writing would be reflecting the nature of his society.The anarchist is described as being ‘pale-faced’, having a ‘limp white hand’ with ‘lank black hair…deep green eyes… [a] haggard expression and nervous manner’. This depicts a very ugly, sickly-looking man which we are not easily engrossed by as a character because of his irregular looks, and therefore we are disturbed as readers by him. This is fascinating, as a similar illustration is used when describing Helen Stoner in the ‘Speckled Band’ (‘face all drawn and gray, with restless frightened eyes, like those of some hunted animal…and her expression was weary and haggard), but we don’t see her as an threatening woman who disturbs us. This is because despite their physical attributes being un-aesthetic, we feel more comfortable with Helen’s character because there is evidence for her character being good-natured. Helen is described as having ‘restless frightened eyes’, but because the word ‘frightened’ is used with the simile ‘like those of some hunted animal’, we assume she is a recessive character who is being threatened, rather than doing the threatening and therefore her character is more reassuring. This description is also very disturbing for us, because as humans we find it hard to think of another human being as being the ‘hunted’ and not the hunter. This is because we see humans as being ‘natural’ hunters, and therefore anything against our natural instincts will disturb us.Two other characters which are unexpectedly alike are Holmes and the bacteriologist. They are both linked to science; Holmes uses scientific methods for coming to a conclusion, and the bacteriologist has a career in scientific materials. The bacteriologist’s miserable and disturbing depiction, contrasts with that of Holmes’ much more reassuring and content character. For example, the bacteriologist is absent minded (he couldn’t remember where he left the bottled cholera), whereas Holmes is sharp and observant: ‘you have come by train this morning…I observe the second half of a return ticket in the palm of your left glove’. The bacteriologist reveals too much (he tells the anarchist everything about cholera’s nature); while Holmes holds his own council ‘I should prefer to have clearer proofs before I speak’. This is an interesting comparison between a disturbing and a reassuring character.Each story has its own disturbing and reassuring incidents and features within them. For example, it is very distressing indeed that one man (the Anarchist) would want to kill the inhabitants of one whole city just so that he would be noticed. This is disturbing because he was able to get hold of the cholera germ relatively easily, as well as spread it without any trouble at all. It was also very disturbing because he was willing to part with his life in the process, jus for his name to be recognized. A reassuring aspect to this account is the fact that the bacteriologist made a grave effort to prevent the anarchist from succeeding in his plight. Another disturbing, yet not so obvious point of disturbance in the piece was the reality that Minnie was so embarrassed by her husband’s state of dress when he left the house, that she made such an attempt to catch up with him in order to give him the correct clothes to show his class. This is disturbing because it shows that back then, someone would make almost as big an effort to make sure their partner was dressed correctly, as one would make to stop an anarchist from killing the whole city.The King’s dark humor is very disturbing indeed in ‘Hop-Frog’. To think that one would get such pleasure from forcing another to harm themselves (when the King forces Hop-Frog to drink) is shocking. Also the wicked and twisted ending to the tale where Hop-Frog gets his revenge is certainly disturbing. It is so disturbing because the author uses the dramatic structure of contrast to heighten the effect of the ending. When we see that Hop-Frog is aiding the King to make a fool out of himself, we feel good for Hop-Frog because we realize that after all the torment he has faced; he is getting his own back. We are reassured by this, but only to be in utter shock when the author suddenly hits us with a vivid description of Hop-Frog burning the ‘eight ourang-outangs’, and this leaves us totally bewildered and disturbed because we weren’t able to see the ending coming, as it was disguised in a reassuring element just beforehand. Hop-Frog’s appearance clearly disturbs us. He is described as getting along with ‘something between a leap and a wriggle’, having ‘prodigious muscular power… [In] his arms… [Resembling] a monkey’ with ‘large, powerful, and very repulsive teeth’. As well as this description disturbing us because of Hop-Frog’s unattractiveness, it also disturbs us because Tripetta is treated with so much more dignity only ‘on account of her grace and exquisite beauty’ and is ‘universally admired and petted’. This is another example of the value placed upon beauty in a society of such, which is disturbing, as it means you have to be beautiful to get the most from life. However, this can also reassure us in the case of Tripetta, because she is superficially still a dwarf, yet that seems to be irrelevant to the quality of her beauty in the characters’ eyes. This is reassuring since society believes that physical deformities make one unattractive, yet this is not reflected in ‘Hop-Frog’. The relationship between Hop-Frog and Tripetta, however, is of a much more reassuring nature. It shows how those who have been mistreated and gone through bad times together have a stronger bonding. For example, due to Tripetta’s beauty ‘she possessed much influence; and never failed to use it, whenever she could, for the benefit of Hop-Frog’. This is reflected by her actions nearer the end of the tale, when she helps Hop-Frog with his ‘stunt’ and then runs away with him. This reassures us even more because we can see her actual actions, rather than just being told by the author.There are many disturbing and reassuring aspects within the ‘Speckled Band’. One outstanding point is the fact that Dr. Roylott was willing to kill his stepdaughters just for a small sum of money. This is disturbing because it is putting a price on life and saying that the money is worth more than the lives of the two sisters. What is more disturbing about the relationship between Dr. Roylott and his stepdaughters is the way he has such a command over them. He mistreats them: ’four fingers and a thumb were printed upon her wrist’, and he has so much control over them that he can manipulate any aspects of their lifestyles in order to get them in a position to be killed (when Dr. Roylott emended the room). Another aspect which is disturbing, is that Dr. Roylott would have gotten away with an unquestioned double murder had Helen not gone to Sherlock for help. This is disturbing because a society like that would not be a society at all, it would almost be anarchy (which relates to the ‘Stolen Bacillus’). On top of this, even though it isn’t that obvious, the way in which Sherlock Holmes kills Dr. Roylott without fair trial is something of debate. Is Sherlock Holmes being just as worrying as Dr. Roylott when he killed him? Despite these disturbing factors within the storyline, there are a number of reassuring aspects as well. For example, it is reassuring that Helen Stoner can actually find help in the form of Sherlock Holmes when a situation like this arises, and Sherlock Holmes has a genuine will to help which is proven by the fact that he does not receive payment. Also, it is very reassuring that Sherlock Holmes knew exactly how Dr. Roylott had killed his stepdaughter before he had even entered the room. It is apparent that Sherlock Holmes primarily considered the background information regarding Miss Stoner’s murder and the possible motives. He then deduced the prime suspects and analyzed the evidence in hand in terms of how those suspects may have carried out the murder. In most instances, Sherlock Holmes predictions and hypotheses proved to be correct. This is reassuring because it shows that the human mind is capable of thinking something through using evidence and logic, and coming to a considerably accurate conclusion at the end.In conclusion, my analysis shows that there are many disturbing and reassuring aspects within the three texts. It also illustrates the way that some of it is not as simple or obvious as one might think. On top of this it has revealed that some aspects may also have two sides to it, making it both disturbing and reassuring at the same time, depending at which point of view you look at it from - rather like in real life.
