Helen believes the death of Julia was suspicious and now she herself is to be married, she fears for her life. She begs for help and Holmes agrees to assist her.
Sherlock Holmes spends the rest of the story deducing who the murderer is. He does this by piecing together the clues, in true detective fashion. When we discover that it is Roylott we realise that several clues have indicated his violent behaviour. For example we are told about his days in India as a wealthy man who had an Indian butler but we also discover that he murdered the said Butler out of cold-blooded rage. We are also notified of his brawl with a local man, which ended in him being thrown from a bridge. We are also told of Holmes’ finding of bruises on Helen’s arm. We are led to believe that this may be from Roylott.
When you look back, it was obvious that Dr. Roylott had the motive because he stood to gain financially from his stepdaughters’ deaths, as he would then receive the substantial amount of money bequeathed to them at the time of their marriage.
It turns out that the snake originated from India and must have been brought back by Roylott. He had also returned with a cheetah and a baboon, which “were allowed to roam freely round the grounds”. Conan Doyle introduced these creatures in order to throw the reader off the scent and to make them believe that these animals could have been responsible for Julia’s murder.
Throughout the story the author introduces many clues that help to keep the readers attention. On the night of the murder, Helen heard a whistling, which turns out to be Roylott’s signal to the snake and a clanging, which we find out, was the noise from the closing of a safe. These noises help to add mystery and suspense, which keeps the reader guessing. Other clues include a “dummy bell pull” which leads nowhere; a bed “clamped to the floor” and a chair covered in footprints.
However, in the midst of these clues Conan Doyle continues to mislead the reader by reference to “gypsies living in the grounds” and makes us wonder if ”the speckled band” could be the headscarf or bandana worn by these gypsies. The reader discovers just what Julia meant by her dying words when, at the end, Holmes causes the snake to turn on its master and kill him.
Sherlock Holmes is the witty detective who deduces mysteries from minute details and is always correct. He is intelligent but doesn’t explain his ideas until they are proven, as even Watson may not understand his way of thinking.
Holmes is a very observant man, as parts of the story tell us, for example, at the beginning, when Helen Stoner first visits and is asked “pray draw near [to the fire] as I observe you shivering”, he notices a “return ticket” and “mud splatters” on her sleeve and was immediately able to tell her modes of transport. He prides himself on his powers of observation and does not hesitate to let Watson know that, when surveying a scene, he is able to pick up quickly on clues.
Apart from being observant, Holmes is also a tough character. In one section he taunts the doctor by replying to a threat from a raging Roylott “the crocuses promise well” and by straightening the steel poker the doctor had twisted.
Holmes also has a very cool and calm nature, which helps him to remain composed under pressure. He is a ‘dark horse’ as just after this scene he told Watson “ An Eley’s number two is an excellent argument with a gentleman who can twist steel pokers into knots”. This quote also shows an underlying sense of humour, which is very rarely shown in his character.
A negative point in his personality is his irritating sense of over-confidence, which makes him condescending towards Dr. Watson. For example, Watson points out a clue to Holmes and he replies with “I too have seen it but I fancy I may have deduced a little more”. This implies that he considers Watson inferior to himself as Watson looks up to Holmes and may not be as clever in some respects.
Watson, however, is a very ‘happy-go-lucky’ kind of person. Instead of turning everything into a drama, he just seems to take it as it comes. He looked up to Holmes and thought very highly of him. He mentions Holmes as “working as he did rather for the love of his work than the acquirement of wealth” which, to me, sounds like Watson was amazed at the dedication of his friend to his job. It also reminds us that Holmes is a gentleman of upper class society so therefore does not need to work.
One of my favourite scenes in the story is when Holmes and Watson keep watch over Stoke Moran. It illustrates in detail how much danger they thought their lives were actually in. An example from the text could be when Holmes tells Watson not to go to sleep as his “very life may depend on it.” Another example is Holmes telling Watson to get his pistol ready in case they need it quickly. This makes us think they are unsafe and there are many ways they are in grave danger. Watson also refers to the whole experience as a “dreadful vigil”.
I enjoyed this short story because of Conan Doyle’s writing methods. I was kept enthralled by his technique of using suspense and ‘red herrings’. I think this is a good way of keeping your audience interested in the story as “The Speckled Band” is a complicated tale and needs explaining as well as enjoying. The author kept me interested as well as clarifying the parts I was unsure of by subtly describing events in depth and referring to things previously read in the story. All in all I enjoyed “The Speckled band” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
