“…… with every evil passion ……”
Most of the time he associates him with animals, this shows his wild and violent side of him. He always describes him to an animal of prey.
“……the resemblance to a fierce old bird of prey.”
While Dhal describes Mary as the perfect, innocent, pregnant housewife.
“The drop of the head as she bent over her sewing was curiously tranquil.”
The use of this simile and ambiguity gives us two meanings. At first we think of her as a house wife and use of the word “tranquil” illustrates to the reader that she is calm, peaceful person, but when the crime has taken place our thoughts of her have changed.
The two characters both carry out murder but in different ways: one is planned and the other is unexpected. It is ironic as Doyle’s character plans out what he is going to do, but then he is caught while Dhal’s character commits manslauhgter and is not caught.
Each of the characters had their own way of handling their surroundings, Dr Roylott with strength and power:
“…… seized the poker, and bent it into a curve with his huge brown hands.”
and Mary Maloney with innocence and venerability:
“……she looked at him with her large, dark tearful eyes.”
The highlighted words convey how they are trying to create an image of either strong or mournful.
When looking at characters in the story, two very different people in the story are the women. Helen Stoner and Mary Maloney, both have a different way of showing fear. Mary Maloney has a very placid looking face. Other words that indicate how she perceives fear are the expressions that are described in the story.
“……bewildered eyes……”
“……a kind of dazed horror……”
On the contrary, Helen Stoner is tense and scared. She goes to Holmes for help but fears at what her step dad would do if he found out about her business.
“It is fear, Mr Holmes. It is terror.”
“……frightened eyes……”
Another difference is their appearance. Mary Maloney is described as:
“ – had acquired a wonderful translucent quality, the mouth was soft, and the eyes, with their new placid look, seemed larger darker then before.”
This gives us the impression that she is a calm person who is pregnant, it falsely informs us that she cannot be a murderer if she looks like that, but maybe the murderers kill.
In contrast to that, Helen Stoner’s description is somewhat different:
“……she was indeed in a pitiable state of agitation, her face all drawn and grey, with restless, frightened eyes, like those of a woman of thirty, but her hair was shot with premature grey, and her expression was weary and haggard.”
From the words highlighted we can picture what she looks like and have a feel of what she has gone through to achieve this look. The words help outline the key looks she is expressing.
The two characters have two different looks and roles. These are gained by the description that are given for the reader to believe what they are doing.
Speckled Band and Lamb to the Slaughter investigate the crimes in different ways. Speckled Band deals with the investigation whereas Lamb to the Slaughter deals with the crime itself.
It illustrates that the times have changed. During the Victorian times, many criminal offences took place, which meant a lot of the crime was not solved. As Speckled Band was written in the Victorian times it was a change for the readers to read about a crime that was to be solved.
Whereas Lamb to the Slaughter takes us on a journey of Mary Maloney hiding the truth. How naïve the police officers are and the way they handle the investigation. Lamb to the Slaughter deals with crime in people’s homes. In contrast, it shows how attitudes to crime have changed.
Holmes and Jack Noonan are two contrasting detectives. Holmes is a thorough detective and pays a lot of attention to the crime and its surroundings. He has also never met the family before so it does not affect the way he investigates the case. Holmes is a more determined and a realistic officer and enjoys his job.
“My dear fellow, I would not miss it for anything.”
Whereas Jack Noonan is, the total opposite to Holmes. He knew Mary and Patrick Maloney from the beginning. This may have affected the case as he knew both of the characters. Noonan could not see through Mary as he could not see any reason for murder. Jack doesn’t have passion for his job and doesn’t give it as much thought as Sherlock.
“It’s the old story,”
The styles of writing are often fixed by when they are written, attitudes in society at the time and cultural influences. This is obvious in the two stories. The Speckled Band is set in London, Stoke Moran, and Surrey in Victoria England and Lamb to the Slaughter is set in America.
Speckled Band is a serious piece of writing and uses complicated language throughout the story, this makes it harder for the reader to understand and longer for the reader to figure out the plot. It uses language from the time to give the reader a better feeling of the story.
“pray go on with your narrative,”
“very sorry to knock you up, Watson,” said he
The quotes illustrate when the story was set and gives you a better understanding. It jumps from one thought to another, and uses a lot of detective language like “murder” and “fingerprints”. It uses a lot of polysemantic language.
The way Holmes speaks come across as very clever and comes across very effectively. He thinks of how to solve the crime from the clues he is given and extends them further.
“You must not fear,” said he soothingly, bending forward and patting her forearm. “We shall soon set matters right, I have no doubt.”
He says the right things at the right time with the meanings; this helps reassure Helen that he knows what he is doing.
Compared to Speckled Band, Lamb to the Slaughter is a humorous piece of writing. It uses monosyllabic language throughout the story.
Mary uses conversation as her essential tool after the murder. She manipulates the detectives and establishes her alibi.
“……and how she’d slipped out to the grocer for vegetables, and come back to find him lying on the floor.”
The way she speaks to them in a sympathetic tone to give a false impression is achieved in the story.
“Yes, please. But just a small one. It might make me feel better.”
Another difference is the setting. Speckled Band is set in London, Stoke Moran-Surrey, in Victorian England. We can see this in the language used.
“Liberty at defray”
This quote is only used in present day courts.
The story begins in Sherlock Holmes quarters. There is not great description of his homes but there are little hints to gives us an impression of what the setting looks like.
“……as the clock on the mantelpiece showed me……”
“Mrs Hudson has had the good sense to light the fire.”
“Homes turned to his desk….”
From these quotes we can create our own impression of what his home looks like. It also points out to us Sherlock’s stand in the society. We can see this from “Mrs Hudson” the housekeeper, this tells us that he is quite rich and lives an upper class life.
As the story moves on the description of Stoke Moran gives a cold feel that the place is dangerous and forbidding.
“The wind was howling outside, and the rain was beating and splashing against the windows.”
This metaphor and onomatopoeia gives the perception that Stoke Moran is a forbidding place. It is saying that the wind was making howling noises and by using the words beating and splashing saying the words, we create the sound at the same time.
Doyle uses the simile
“Two curving wings, like the claw of a crab.”
This helps the reader visualise Stoke Moran. This simile is effective, as it sounds aggressive and menacing. The reader instantly sees the house as a forbidding, dangerous place, also the wild animals, which roam the ground, also add to this imagery. The descriptions of Stoke Moran are classic murder story description.
However, the setting of Dhal’s story is much more homely and cosy. From the beginning of the story, we are given a description of what the house looks like.
“The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lights alight – hers and the one by the empty chair opposite. On the sideboard being her two tall glasses, soda water, whisky. Fresh ice cubes in theThermos bucket.”
This helps the reader to gain an impression of what the house looks like and how they live in life. Dhal also gives little hints of what the outside looks like:
“……tyres on the gravel outside, and the car door slamming,……”
This also shows how modern the story is as it points out modern objects.
“……the light switch……”
“……the deep freeze……”
It also gives us a better understanding of how wealthy they are.
From the description given of the house, it draws a home to homely for murder story to take place, unlike The Speckled Band which has a more colder atmosphere to it.
Both of the stories are set over different time periods, Lamb to the Slaughter one night and The Speckled Band over two days. The note of time makes the stories seem more realistic.
Even though the stories have the same genre, the stories have two completely different endings. One has a more intellectual ending and another a more comical closing. The endings point out how times have moved on, one solving the mystery and the other leaving a cliffhanger.
In the Speckled Band, the title gives us a little clue to what the story is about but not how it used. It is used as an advantage to the writer because it intrigues the reader to find out what the Speckled Band is. Some people might figure what it is in the beginning or some at the end. The ending however is somewhat more sophisticated, as it comes to a conclusion of what happened in the story.
“come to an entirely erroneous conclusion,”
It helps the reader figure out the plot behind Dr Roylott’s doings if they did not already know. As the story ends the reader is left to think about what will happen to Helen Stoner but Sherlock Holmes thought are left clear to the reader.
However in Lamb to the Slaughter the ending is somewhat different.
“And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle.”
This ending leaves the reader to ponder about what happens next. It leaves an open ending, where the reader can make his or her own mind up. It is a surprise ending, as you would not think that was to happen. Was this intentional or does it show how people can get away with murder?
Even though both stories were murder mysteries, I preferred Lamb to the Slaughter. This was because it was different to read about a murderer’s attempt to outwit the police rather then to be caught by them.
The style of writing and language also had an effect on my choice. This was because I found it easier to understand what was going on in Lamb to the Slaughter than it was in The Speckled Band. I suppose that if I were in the 19th century I would have preferred to read Doyle’s story because it solved the mystery, which was unusual in those days.
Many differences where noted when both stories where compared. It shows how writers create stories that will appeal to the audience. The stories structure, content and language show how attitudes toward murder and crime have changed over time. Doyle solves the mystery while Dhal leaves it hanging in he air. For pre 20th century readers this was common for the story’s crime to be solved but how would they react if they were to read Dhals’ modern approach an unsolved mystery?
