The language used is first person and it seems like the story is aimed at a type of upper class because it uses more sophisticated words for intelligent people. Where as Lambs to the Slaughter is third person and it is aimed at average people with average intellectual. Dahl has made it that way because this is his style. This makes the story easier to read. The Speckled Band begins with a very long opening paragraph and this is just to explain the scene and setting. The story starts with Watson explaining how many cases him and Holmes have got to deal with and this lasts for 9 lines which is unusual for an opening sentence. This doesn’t give the story any atmosphere, suspense or tension and it’s really up to you if that little bit can make you want to read on. They usually are short to give you an instant view of what is going on. Dr Watson is telling the story and he is one of Holmes’s assistants and probably best friend, who help him with cases. He looks up to Holmes and admires him, he is devoted to him. In Lambs to the Slaughter it starts by giving you the setting and the mood of the story straight away by saying “The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight – hers and the one by the empty chair opposite”. This gives you an image in your head of exactly what the room looks like and how it feels and you can tell this all from the first sentence! This adds to the atmosphere.
Another character in this is Dr Grimesby Roylott who is the other main character in the story and he is the villain. Dr Roylott comes across as a very strong, aggressive and nasty man. Not one to mess with. This is a title people have given him because of past criminal offences, selfish, evil, uncivilised, rude behaviour, greed for financial gain, his brutality towards women and his frightening expressions of his savage, primitive nature (i.e. his mania, violent temper and physical cruelty). Even before Dr Roylott enters the story you get a picture of what type of man he is when Helen Stoner comes to Holmes for help and protection. This is where we hear most of the things about him. That he has uncontrollable anger, terrifying power to intimidate and threaten, etc. Holmes and Watson have the job of consoling Miss Stoner. With his appearance he is a huge man with brown hair down to the shoulder and blood shoot eyes. He also has very large hands. Three words I would use to describe him are intelligent, cunning and aggressive. He also isolates him self from the outside world and I think that’s another reason why people are suspicious of him. This is every different from the villain in Lambs to the Slaughter. Mrs Mary Maloney is the very nice and pleasant wife for her husband. She does everything he ask of him, has the dinner on the table each night when he comes in at five o’clock. She cooks, cleans and washes for him! Mary is extremely happy in her relationship until one day her husband tells her that he has been having an affair. She decides to take it as a dream at first and believes if she carries on as normal she might have imagined it. So she goes down to the cellar to get the meat for supper. As she comes back up he says, “For God’s sake, don’t make me supper I’m going out!” and at that moment without any pause she simply walked up behind him, swung the leg of lamb high in the air and brought it down as hard as she could on his head. The mysterious thing about these two villains is that when Dr Roylott gets caught for the murder of Miss Stoner’s sister you feel happy and glad that he has been rightly accused and he deserves what he gets! The twist is that when Mrs Maloney gets completely away with the murder of her husband you get a sense of feeling that pleases you because even though she has done wrong and should be punished. She has been calm and cunning about the situation and handled it well. Its as if you want her to get away with it!
Out of the two Stories I prefer Lambs to the Slaughter because it is easier to read and understand but I like both because a lot of thought has gone into the plot and that makes it more interesting.
