'Lamb to the Slaughter' and 'The Speckled Band' Comparative Essay

‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ and ‘The Speckled Band’ Essay

By Iain Bennett

Murderers

In Lamb to the Slaughter when Mrs Maloney is first introduced to us, we do not believe that she could ever commit a callous murder. In fact, Roald Dahl does not portray Mary as a typical murderer at all; we are led to believe that she herself may be the victim. This is probably because Roald Dahl wants to lull the readers in to a false sense of security, making us believe that she is harmless so that we are shocked later on in the story when she murders her husband, Patrick whom she apparently loved greatly.

The first reason that makes us believe that Mrs Maloney is an unlikely murderer is the way Roald Dahl describes her appearance, “…slow smiling air…skin…acquired a wonderful translucent quality…mouth was soft…placid look…” All of these features lead us to believe that Mary Maloney is a quiet, homely person but later on in the story, it is revealed that she is not.

Another reason that we consider Mrs Maloney to be an unlikely murderer is that she is “…six months with child…” We would not believe that a pregnant female would be able to commit such a heartless murder. She is bringing new life into the world – it is hard to believe that she would want to destroy the lives of others.

We are also told that she is a ‘good housewife’ “…kiss him as he came in…” and a very quiet lady with uninteresting hobbies, “…laid aside her sewing…” This is another reason why we believe her to be an unlikely killer.

In addition, she becomes frightened of her husbands aggressive behaviour when he becomes slightly ‘inebriated’. “…she [Mrs Maloney] began to get frightened…” This makes us believe that Mr Maloney will assault Mrs Maloney but this is not the case. It is really the opposite way around.

Furthermore, it is unusual to have a female homemaker as a murderer. Our stereotypical view of a murderer is a male with a stubbly beard, a cap and a stripy shirt. However, the murderer in this story is not stereotypical and does not follow a ‘normal’ sequence of events.

All of these aspects of the story lead us to believe that Mrs Maloney is a more likely victim than a murderer.

The murderer in The Speckled band, Dr Roylott is portrayed as a more stereotypical villain. Unlike Mrs Maloney, we are encouraged to dislike him right from the start of the story and we are not surprised to find out that he is the killer of Julia Stoner.

Firstly, we are informed that he is an uninviting man, “…hurled a local blacksmith…into a stream…” In addition, we are told that he is a threatening man, “…Don’t you dare…dangerous man…keep yourself out of my grip…” Just from these remarks, we know that he is a violent person and believes that he has the right to do what he likes. Whereas Mrs Maloney is a quiet, gentle and subtle female who cares a great deal about her husband, “…shall I get?…do you want?…”

In addition, we are told that when he was in India he beat his ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

In addition, we are told that when he was in India he beat his servant to death and only narrowly escaped the death penalty. This, if nothing else, makes us believe that he truly is a dangerous, callous, cold-hearted man. Whereas is Lamb to the Slaughter we are led to believe that Mrs Maloney is a caring individual who would not dream of hurting anyone.

Furthermore, we are informed about the violent way he treats his daughter, Helen Stoner. We know this because one of the first things that Dr Holmes notices is “…five vivid little spots, the marks of 4 fingers and a thumb, were printed upon the white wrist…” This again implies that Dr Roylott is a very brutal man. Whilst, in Lamb to the Slaughter Mrs Maloney is shown to be calm and mild.

In addition, we know that Dr Roylott has a strong motive for the murder. At the time of Julia’s death, she was planning to marry and should the marriage take place Dr Roylott would lose approximately 4/5 of his wealth. However, Mrs Maloney appears to have no reason to killing her husband other than spontaneous anger towards him.

Both of these characters are very contrasting to each other. Dr Roylott is what we would consider a stereotypical villain and we are not surprised when Arthur Conan-Doyle reveals that he is the murderer but when Roald Dahl reveals that Mrs Maloney is the Murderer, we are bewildered. Firstly, we are lead to believe that Patrick Maloney was going to kill his wife but it is in fact the contrary.

Victims

Usually, we are encouraged to feel sympathy toward the victim or victims in a story so that we like the detective, want to see who killed him or her. In addition, we want to see that the murderer is punished for what they have done.

However, in Lamb to the Slaughter, we are not encouraged to like Mr Maloney, in fact, we are encouraged not to like him. Firstly, we are informed that Mr Maloney is uncaring toward his wife, ”…didn’t answer…” After these remarks, Mr Maloney tells Mary that he is going to leave her. When he tells her, he does not seem to care about her feelings and only cares about himself and his job security, “…wouldn’t be very good for my job…” This shows that he does not care.

Unlike Mr Maloney, we are encouraged to feel sympathetic toward Helen Stoner, the victim in, The Speckled Band. She is in many ways a more traditional and stereotypical victim than Mr Maloney is. Helen is portrayed as weak, powerless, and vulnerable and is in lots of ways a more conventional victim.

Firstly, we are told about her appearance, “Face all drawn and grey.” In addition, victims are normally portrayed as ‘meek’ people and in The Speckled Band; Helen Stoner certainly follows the ‘trend’.

In both stories, the two victims are completely different and contrast each other. Mr Maloney is portrayed as a spiteful husband and we do not particularly feel sorry for him when he gats killed. Whereas, when Helen Stoner tells her story and tries to be murdered we feel sorry for her.

Detectives

If we are introduced to a detective in a story, we expect that detective to be very observant and notice things other people would not. Primarily, we expect them to solve the case as quickly as possible. However, once again, Lamb to the Slaughter does not fit the conventional pattern of murder mysteries.

In Lamb to the Slaughter when the detectives arrive, we expect them to be successful. Firstly, we are told that a lot of detectives and specialist police have been sent to the house, “…Noonan…O’Malley…doctor…detectives…police photographer…” Just because of the vast number of police, we expect them to be professional. However, the detectives, led by Jack Noonan are unproductive. The way that they conduct themselves whilst working is well below standard. They even take some whisky of Mary Maloney whilst trying to solve the case, “…Yes please…just a small one…” Furthermore, when questioning Mrs Maloney, they do not inquire fully and they let their personal connection with her interfere with professional duties.

On the other hand, Sherlock Holmes, The Speckled Band Detective, posses better qualities that all of the Lamb to the Slaughter detectives put together and we learn about his excellent track record from Dr Watson’s quote “…logical basis with which he unravelled the problems which were submitted to him…” We are also made aware of his excellent observation skills when he notices things that Watson did not, “…bed was clamped to the floor…” and this is a key quote to solving the case.

The detectives in the two stories are completely contrasting. Sherlock Holmes is what we would class as a traditional detective, possessing the natural qualities of a detective, whereas Jack Noonan and his team are hopeless!

Settings

The two stories have completely different settings. The setting in Lamb to the Slaughter is an unconventional place for a callous murder to be committed, whereas in The Speckled Band the setting is much more conventional and follows the ‘normal’ pattern of Murder mystery stories.

Lamb to the Slaughter is set in a busy town, possibly in America. We can tell that it is set in a town because Mrs Maloney ‘pops round’ to the corner shop to get some shopping. This shows that others surround her house. In addition, he is murdered in a kitchen of a suburban house. When the readers find this out, they begin to think that they too could possibly be the victim of a heinous crime because they are sat in a similar house to the one in the story.

However, in The Speckled Band the murder setting is much more conventional and similar to what you would expect. Firstly, we are told that the house is isolated and that there are no people nearby (except gypsies). This makes us realise that if something were to happen there would be no one to help. In addition, we are made aware to repair work in progress that leaves the house open to intruders. In addition, dangerous animals roam the grounds ad this adds an air of uncertainty toward ‘Stoke Moran’.

The conventional, The Speckled Band, setting makes the story seem much more believable and genuine. Whereas, the Lamb to the Slaughter setting makes the whole story seem a little bit false. This shows that where a murder takes place can influence the whole interpretation of the story.

Plot and structure

The Speckled Band is a classic and traditional murder mystery story following a “whodunit” format. Arthur Conan-Doyle has used formal language throughout. For example, “Perfectly so” instead of just saying yes. Whereas in Lamb to the Slaughter, it does not follow a particular format and it uses slag language instead of formal language such as, “…a strongish one….” This immediately portrays that this story will not follow a conventional pattern.

In addition, the length of the story also tells us about the structure of the story. The speckled band is the longer of the two stories, which immediately shows us that it will be a rather structured story with a conventional format i.e. Beginning, Middle, End and in the story, we can see this. Whereas in Lamb to the Slaughter it is rather short and does not really, have a structured storyline.

The two stories are also very different in the order and timing of them. Lamb to the slaughter uses a chronological format and introduces everything in order, whereas, in The Speckled Band Arthur Conan-Doyle introduces flashbacks which makes it slightly unusual but still managing to keep a conventional storyline.

Endings

The two endings to these stories are completely different. At the end of the story, we expect the murderer to be caught and put to justice. This happens in The Speckled Band but does not in Lamb to the Slaughter. In Lamb to the Slaughter, the murderer gets away with the murder and will never be caught because the detectives eat the evidence! This is an extremely unusual way to end a story. I feel that reading The Speckled Band was more enjoyable and probably one of the main reasons for this is that the ending was more structured and conventional.

Conclusion

I feel that Arthur Conan-Doyle’s, The Speckled Band, was more appealing and I definitely enjoyed reading this one more than Roald Dahl’s, Lamb to the Slaughter. This is because The Speckled Band was more structured and had a more conventional format. In addition, Arthur Conan-Doyle leaves clues planted in the story that allows the reader to become involved. This definitely makes The Speckled Band the better story.