The first part of the story is Ms Stoner revealing the events leading up to her visit to Mr Holmes. This is cleverly done to build a picture for the reader. Conan- Doyle has mastered the techniques of drawing his audience in. After only a few pages their interest is raised and they will start to make their own conclusions about who, why and what. His aim, and I believe he has been successful is to stimulate the readers curiosity, a basic human instinct.
In Helen Stoners initial consultation we discover that she comes from a once wealthy and well renowned family, whose demise was brought about by a gambler. Upon her mothers death she was bequeathed a large amount of money, paid to her on her marriage. She currently lived with her cruel if somewhat reclusive stepfather in a large neglected manor house. Her stepfather studied to be a Doctor in India and had a collection of exotic animals in his care. She was one of twins, but her sister had died two years previously in very suspicious circumstances. The events leading up to her sister death had started up again, and she feared history was repeating itself.
Helen Stoner’s sister had been due to marry and one evening the two ladies had been discussing the forthcoming wedding plans. Later that same evening Helen Stoner had heard the “Wild screams of a terrified woman”.On immediate inspection it was found to be Ms Stoners sister, convulsing in agony. The last words she had spoken were “Oh my God! Helen! It was the band! The speckled band !” This immediately prompts the reader to ask the question, “What is the speckled band? “
Conan-Doyle then goes on to introduce Doctor Roylott, Helen Stoners stepfather. He describes him in one long sentence. ”A large face, seared with a thousand wrinkles, burned yellow with the sun, and marked with every evil passion, was turned from one to the other of us, while his deep-set, bile shot eyes, and the high thin fleshless nose, gave him somewhat the resemblance to a fierce old bird of prey.” This is a wonderful description, almost a photographic image for the reader, a description leaving a sense of, is this a man or a monster? This again adds to the already building tension for the reader, who continues to make his or her own deductions.
We see almost immediately how brilliantly perceptive Sherlock Holmes is when he spots the mud on the Ms Stoners coat and the train ticket in her hand. From this he deduces that she must have set off early, travelling in a Dogcart for some time before she got to the station. He picks up on “clues” throughout the story, things that the everyday person would possibly miss. This again draws the reader in, they feel enlightened and start to study the story more carefully wanting to be more like the ingenious Holmes.
The story continues and Holmes and Watson visit the home of Ms Stoner and her stepfather. They inspect the bedroom of the dead sister and Sherlock Holmes picks up on several “odd” effects that he relays to Watson. Firstly a fake bell pull, then a ventilator which does not ventilate. A saucer of milk in the stepfather’s room, becomes suspicious when they are advised Doctor Roylott keeps no cats. Several other little clues are spotted and you can almost feel Holmes mind working overtime. The reader will also pick up on the clues and again start to make their own deductions to “Whodunnit?”
The tension starts to peak when Holmes decides to stay the night with Watson in Ms Stoner sister’s bedroom. They wait patiently in a near by inn till Holmes spots a tell tale light, a sign for him to make his move. Crossing the lawn the tension is building and the author cleverly startles the reader by his introduction of the Baboon, a detail that Holmes has overlooked until then. “ When out from a clump of laurel bushes there darted what seemed to be a hideous and distorted child, who threw itself on the grass with writhing limbs, and then ran swiftly across the lawn into the darkness.” The fact that Doctor Roylott keeps these exotic animals is ultimately a very important clue.
Once in the bedroom the tension is paramount as the two men sit and wait in the eerie darkness. Again the author startles the reader by the sudden fury of excitement when Holmes lights a match, blinding Watson and therefore the reader is momentarily struck by the unknown. Once Watson gains his vision he relays again the image of Holmes lashing out savagely,“I could however, see that his face was filled with horror and loathing.” What could be happening?
The story ends with the conclusion, albeit a little abruptly, maybe even a little unbelievable and somewhat corny for the modern day reader. We discover that it is a snake owned by Doctor Roylott that has been trained by its master to crawl in to the adjacent bedroom and ultimately kills the sleeping victim. Unfortunately for Doctor Roylott, Holmes foiled his plan by scaring the creature, which in due course turned and killed its own master. This allows the reader to let out a great sigh of relief. The crime has been solved the tension has passed.
The story albeit a little obvious and very basic, is also very cleverly written. The author succeeds in initially drawing the reader in and keeping their attention throughout. The story would have been extremely exciting and ground breaking in its day. Exotic animal were unheard of. The account is written in very descriptive but extremely long sentences, which is another clue to its age. Time has taken it toll and we as modern readers have been spoiled by the cleverness of the modern day detective novels. Therefore the ending is a little disappointing, no twists or red herrings except for the gypsies
. But the story must be applauded, Conan–Doyle was one of the earliest authors of his kind to begin this clever technique of keeping his reader guessing throughout the book.
