In The Adventure of the Speckled Band Arthur Conan-Doyle focuses the story around Sherlock Holmes and his companion , Dr.Watson . Holmes and Watson are set about to solving the murder in The Adventure of the Speckled Band. Unlike Lamb to the Slaughter , The Adventure of the Speckled Band is written through the eyes of Dr.Watson (in the 1st person) as a report and in doing so lacks the humor shown in Lamb to the Slaughter, throughout. The Adventure of the Speckled Band is a mystery that needs solving and this creates suspense throughout the story.
In The Adventure of the Speckled Band Arthur Conan- Doyle chose a more traditional approach, making him very typical. The murderer is Dr Roylott, a very violent man. You can assume that he is the murderer in this story just by the description Dr Watson gives him. He describes Dr Roylott as ‘a huge man’, who possessed ‘A large face seared with a thousand wrinkles and marked with every evil passion’. He has ‘deep-set, bile shot eyes’ and a ‘high thin fleshless nose, (which) gave him the resemblance of a fierce bird of pray’
In contrast ,in “Lamb to the Slaughter”, the murderer is not so typical. In fact, Mrs Maloney is more of a typical victim than a murderer. This is shown in the story throughout the opening
‘ now and again… would glance up at the clock… merely to please herself with the thought that each minute gone by made it nearer the time when he would come.’
She already seems like a loving, caring housewife waiting for her husband to come home on a Thursday night, hardly capable of murder. The only aspect of mystery in Lamb to the Slaughter is when Mr. Maloney tells Mrs.Maloney something, to frustrate her and create it into the motive for murder.
Throughout the police investigation, Mrs.Maloney acts very innocent and she is fortunate in this case as we know Mr.Maloney was in the police force . She manipulates the detectives into having a drink of whiskey and that slows down their train of thought , making them unable to realise that when they are sat at the table, they are eating the murder weapon. She almost seems as if she has done this before. The character of Mrs.Maloney is the last person you would think of as a murderer. She is a pregnant loving housewife who ‘loved to luxuriate in the presence’ of her husband- the man she killed.
The detectives in The Adventure of the Speckled Band are the main characters in the story , collecting evidence and eventually solving the mystery of “who killed Helen Stoner ?”. In comparison , Lamb to the slaughter , the detectives play a very minor role in the story.
The differences in culture in the two stories are so evidently shown. In The Adventure of the Speckled Band , we are presented with a dog cart at the beginning of the story , veils a worn and so are frock coats. This is evidence of a C19th setting. In contrast, in Lamb to the Slaughter we know that Mrs.Maloney fetched the murder weapon from the freezer and she went to the greengrocers after she had killed Mr.Maloney to create a perfect alibi.
In the time The Adventure of the Speckled Band was written , Miss.Stoner was dependent on someone helping her. Men owned everything , it was a male decision making era.
Miss.Stoner wasn’t independent. In contrast ,the news Mr.Maloney gave Mrs.Maloney upset her and she thought about her and her child first. Her decision was her own independent one and her courage outwits he police.
Suspense in Lamb to the Slaughter begins almost immediately from the start, the moment Mr.Maloney breaks his routine
“ And as he spoke , he did an unusual thing…”
Suspense is also shown after Mrs.Maloney has killed her husband as the reader wonders whether she will remain innocent.
In contrast , The Adventure of the Speckled Band , opens in a reflective manner. The suspense is only created when Sherlock Holmes and Dr.Watson are hiding in Helen Stoners bedroom; waiting for Dr.Roylatt to come and kill his step daughter. This shows a great build up of suspense.
The concluding paragraphs in The Adventure of the Speckled Band have a serious , chilling edge in contrast to Lamb to the Slaughter’s humorous twist, the detectives eating the only piece of evidence available.
In The Adventure of the Speckled Band the mystery is solved on the final page. Sherlock Holmes tells the reader of the exact happenings and in doing so leaves nothing to the readers imagination. This is an example of an anti- climax . However , in Lamb to the Slaughter , the reader already knows who the murderer is , but what the reader doesn’t know is if Mrs.Maloney will remain innocent. The story is left to the reader’s imagination.
The irony in The Adventure of the Speckled Band is some what different as it is not humorous; as he was killing others , he was killed by the same methods. In The Adventure of the Speckled Band I can see some kind of moral “ You get what you give” this is true in Dr.Roylatt's case as he did get exactly what he gave.
Whereas the humorous irony in Lamb to the slaughter dominates the end of the story as the readers know the policemen are eating the murder weapon, the only piece of evidence available. I am glad Mrs.Maloney remained innocent at the end of the story as I think that she used her intelligence and courage as an advantage and her quick thinking created her a perfect alibi.
