Compare and contrast ‘Brighton Rock’ by Graham Greene, and ‘The Speckled Band’ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

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Compare and contrast 'Brighton Rock' by Graham Greene, and 'The Speckled Band' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Graham Greene wrote 'Brighton Rock' in 1938, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote 'The Speckled Band' in the late 19th century. Both are detective stories, although 'The Speckled Band' is a short story originally printed as regular instalments in a newspaper. 'Brighton Rock' is a novel that was written and published in a time after that in which it is set. In these stories, as in all detective stories, someone tries to find out the truth about a crime or suspected crime that has been committed. The crime can be anything from a straightforward stolen item to a complicated murder. Investigating a crime is not the only option though, sometimes a lost item or something similar is all that is examined, and it may or may not lead to a crime.

The author of a detective story can use many different ways to keep the reader engaged. One of these is by using suspense as the crime is revealed. If the author shows the nature of the crime to the reader before the detective finds out, then the reader feels a sense of irony, as they know what the detective does not, and can follow the detective's actions and reasoning. This keeps the reader interested in the story, and encourages them to read on. This is what Graham Greene does in 'Brighton Rock'.

In 'The Speckled Band', Conan Doyle uses an alternative method to keep the reader interested. Instead of showing the crime at the start of the story, he gives the reader all the same clues as Sherlock Holmes has, so that the readers have a chance to solve the crime themselves. Holmes, and his assistant Dr Watson, solve the crime in this story. Holmes is a private detective who is very scientific and methodical, and Watson recalls the case as narrator of the tale. I feel this method of not revealing the crime is more successful, as the reader can try to work out who killed Julia Stoner, and how the crime was committed.
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In 'Brighton Rock', Graham Greene actually tells us that Pinkie and his mob killed Fred Hale. We know that Hale was in Brighton as the Daily Messenger's Kolley Kibber, who distributed cards for people to claim prizes. Graham Greene does not tell us how he was killed, although there are several gruesome references to the use of Brighton rock. The emphasis of the book is on the alibi Pinkie creates to prove the innocence of his mob. They distribute more of the cards after Fred's death so it would appear he was alive after the mob had been ...

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