Note the intellectual language used by Holmes. This is not a show. It is how he truly speaks, this aswell as the reference to unimaginable leads from the beginning of the story, which aided Holmes in solving the case, shows what a sharp and educated man he really is, along with his ability to deal with the venomous snake who appeared in the story, showing courage and strength. This gives Holmes the rightfully acquired ‘typical detective’ stereotype adopted by him in ‘The Speckled Band’.
The settings in both ‘Lamb to the slaughter’ and ‘The Speckled Band’ play a major role of significance to both stories respectively.
‘Lamb to the slaughter’s setting gives a sense of warmth and security, a homely background with Mary Maloney and husband at the forefront. This setting adds to the emotions felt when the unexpected murder occurs, from one extreme to the next. At first the radiant mother-to-be is awaiting the arrival of her loving husband then shifts to the desperate cover up of his death and deceit of the investigating police. It really does make the story that much better, in that it plays with your emotions and puts that unpredictable spin on Mary Maloney’s character.
Sherlock Holmes’ character in ‘The Speckled Band’ on the other hand adds to the setting of the crime and investigation, that being the old house. Holmes is led to by Miss Stoner, which is inevitably considering its Sherlock Holmes, shrouded in mystery. Holmes thrives off these surroundings, at first glimpse to the untrained eye, it’s concluded that there is nothing extraordinary. Sherlock Holmes, however at this point has pretty much summed up the case with an accurate theory to the situation at hand. It’s these hidden details that when pieced together make up the intellectually and sometimes physically intimidating detective extraordinaire, Sherlock Holmes.
Upon further inspection the setting in ‘The Speckled Band’ in fact does play a part of significance to the story. The old house at this point relates to the story. Holmes has now in his mind a picture of the house and is re-enacting the scene explained by Miss Stoner, as is the reader, but when the young lady leaves the hotel, our detective seems to have a rough indication of what actually happened in the house. His language backs this up;
“When you combine the ideas of whistles at night, the presence of a band of gipsies who are on intimate terms with this old doctor, the fact that we have every reason to believe that the doctor has an interest in preventing his stepdaughter’s marriage, the dying allusion to a band, and finally, the fact that Miss Helen Stoner heard a metallic clang, which might have been caused by one of those metal bars which secured the shutters falling back into their place, I think there is good ground to think that the mystery may be cleared along those lines.”
Although Sherlock is satisfied with the information provided by Helen Stoner and has roughly generated this into a logical explanation to the mystery, we, the readers are still in much doubt as to the cause and motive of the murder. The old house mysterious and dark as it is reflects the mood of the story at this point perfectly and leads us into desperation as to what actually did go down on that fateful night.
Another similarity or link between the two stories is the way each author makes the reader want to ultimately read on. Both Roald Dahl and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle do this superbly. Dahl does this differently to Doyle, but both generate the same effect, although the methods they use are easily distinguished as diverse.
Roald Dahl focuses mainly on language and a unique style of writing used only by Dahl himself, which not only sets him apart from other authors as an undisputed legend, but is actually comfortable to read. Descriptive writing is one medium Dahl takes pleasure in using in ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ amongst other Roald Dahl stories. It’s these descriptions that builds a stable structure, which interests the reader and inevitably makes us want to read on. Dahl’s method is cunning aswell as enjoyable. It’s not just this method that Dahl manipulates to arrive at his destination of pure reader satisfaction, but he cleverly uses pace to emphasize emotions to the fullest effect.
For example; The beginning of the story starts off with a slow pace style, as Dahl describes Mrs Maloney’s appearance and daily routine. However, following her husband’s death, her cover up of the murder adopts a fast pace as she prepares her story and herself for interrogation over the affair.
This aspect contributes also to ‘The Roald Dahl Experience’.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s style of making the reader want to read on is a world apart from Dahl’s efforts, although the actual plot hooks you immediately in any Sherlock Holmes story. Doyle focuses on the man himself to ensure the reader’s full attention to the story. He uses Holmes’ superb character, a man sharper than a knife, more cunning than a fox and an untouchable track record to reel in the readers. The way he talks, he acts and follows out investigations and eventually solving them gives the reader an air of unpredictability around Holmes. Questions roll through your mind as you advance through a story featuring the famous detective, of how he ever unveiled something so sealed from view, its beyond belief, how he cheated death in the most frightening circumstances. Sherlock Holmes’ intelligence as a detective is matched by none and it’s this that Doyle uses to keep the reader entertained and on the edge of his/her seat throughout all of his Sherlock Holmes novels. Which proves that characters in a book, not always its plot make a story memorable.
The endings of the two stories were an underlining big factor in what set them apart. ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ saw Mary Maloney murdering her husband spontaneously with a bizarre object, which proved much to her advantage as the story ended with the local police, who were investigating the murder, eating the only evidence to actually put Mary Maloney away for the ultimate crime.
“And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle.”
As I read this, my feelings towards Mrs Maloney suddenly doubled back and began moving in the opposite direction. From the point when Mr Maloney sternly gave his loving wife the cold shoulder early on in the story, I had been resentful to him and a supporter of Mrs Maloney. Even when she had murdered her cold husband and proceeded to pull the wool over everyone’s eyes with her guilty conscience, I remained faithful, but as I read that last sentence, Mary’s crime came into perspective and it repulsed me to see her get away with such a terrible crime and be smug about it. This however, in my opinion was intended by Dahl. In a clever twist he had been playing with our emotions throughout and had left it until the last moment to cease his spell over the reader. This ending was certainly unexpected and made the story twice as enjoyable and successful as it already was.
‘The Speckled Band’s ending, as mentioned earlier is immensely diverse from that of ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’s. From the outset, the result of Holmes’ investigation was clearly obvious. No case goes unsolved when Sherlock Holmes takes it by the horns. The point of reading Holmes’ stories is in order to experience Sherlock himself, as explained earlier this is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s way of making the reader want to read on.
Once again, Holmes didn’t disappoint us by solving the case. He picked up on the detail much forgotten by myself, the fact that Dr Roylott, Miss Stoner’s father had a collection of animals inspired by his work in India. Once Sherlock had studied the room in which the death of Helen Stoner’s sister had taken place, he had it in mind that a venomous snake was the culprit. This was in fact the reality of the matter and Sherlock had saved the day again. The way in which Holmes solved the case, as always provided the superb story we have come to expect from Doyle.
“Some of the blows of my cane came home, and roused its snakish temper, so that it flew upon the first person it saw. In this way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr Grimesby Roylott’s death, and I cannot say that it is likely to weigh very heavily upon my conscience.”
These final sentences of the story, not only demonstrate Holmes’ renowned intelligence, but wit as he printed a smile on my face with the final quip about the doctor’s death weighing on his conscience. The ending had me imagining a film adaptation of the story, Sherlock stepping from view, leaving a bemused Watson to follow, trusty notepad in hand, as credits rolled across the screen.
To say what my favourite ending was would be unfair as I am evidently a Sherlock Holmes fanatic, but both stories were fantastic and worth the hour or so I spent on each.
