Dr Roylott was a doctor in India. We know that he is a very sadistic man. In his past he has escaped a death sentence in India because he beat his butler to death. Dr Roylott also argued with his neighbours. He had no friends except the gypsies he allowed to stay on his land. He has a bad temper, which he can’t control.
The motive for the murder is that his stepdaughters Julia and Helen have a large sum of money, which can be passed to them in the case of marriage. If she dies the money goes to Dr Roylott. Dr Roylott will do anything to get what he wants even murder.
He does meet my expectations for a villain.
Lamb To The Slaughter Villain
The villain in lamb to the slaughter is Mary Maloney the wife of the victim Patrick Maloney. Mary is not a violent person. She acts so innocent and she is a polite person.
Mary is six months pregnant. When Patrick arrives home, Mary receives some bad news. Patrick says that he is leaving Mary and he also says that he will look after Mary and there child.
Mary acted as though she didn’t take notice of anything and they hadn’t talked about it. In the end Mary ended up hitting Patrick with a leg of lamb, which she brought up from the cellar freezer.
When the policemen and the detectives arrived they ended up eating the murder weapon. Mary giggled while the two detectives and the two policemen where talking about the case. One of the detectives said:
“The murder weapon is probably right under our noses, we just can’t see it yet”. The detective said this whilst eating the murder weapon.
Speckled Band Victim
The main victim in the speckled band is Julia Stoner. Julia Stoner was killed in a locked room. Julia Stoner was suspected of dying from fear and was killed two years ago before getting married. The main suspect on the list was Dr Grimsby Roylott. The motive that Dr Roylott had was, he would get the income money of Julia’s. Julia would have received £250. Julia and Helen would get the money left by their mother in the case of marriage.
The other victim is Helen Stoner, Julia’s sister. Helen went to Sherlock Holmes because she was scared. All the things Julia had heard on the night of her death Helen began to hear. Helen was not a victim physically but was a victim mentally. When Helen went to see Sherlock Holmes, she looked restless, agitated and terrified. This shows that she is scared and she thinks that she is going to die. Helen shivers and says:
“It is not cold that makes me shiver, it is fear Mr Holmes. It is terror.
Lamb to the slaughter Victim
The victim in the lamb to the slaughter is Patrick Maloney the husband of the villain.
Patrick is a senior policeman who always arrives home at 4:50 pm every day. Patrick would always arrive home and have a drink while sitting on his chair. His favourite drink is whisky. At this time Mary would be sowing. Patrick was a kind o bully. His wife would do everything he told her to do. Mary would act like a slave towards Patrick.
Patrick’s two best mates at the station are O’Malley and Noonan. A frozen leg of lamb, which was struck at him on the head by Mary, killed Patrick.
Plot And Setting
In the Speckled band the murder took place in the house of stoke Moran. A snake, which had been trained by Dr Roylott, had killed Julia in a couple of minutes. Dr Roylott plan was to kill Julia and Helen Stoner and take their inheritance money without getting caught.
It was a 50-50% chance that the snake would bite Julia but if it was sent every night it would eventually kill. The snake would go down the ventilator between Julia’s and Dr Roylott room. The snake would climb down a fake bell rope.
In the lamb to the slaughter the murder took place in Mary Maloney’s house. The murder was not premeditated, it just happened. To cover up the murder Mary Maloney went out to the grocers to get her an alibi.
Mary had killed Patrick using a frozen leg of Lamb, which she brought up, from the cellar. Mary hit Patrick on the head causing his skull to crack.
Comparison Detectives
In the Speckled Band, Sherlock Holmes is a very knowledgeable man, however in the Lamb To The Slaughter the detectives are not that smart. All detectives are supposed to make everyone a possible suspect; Sherlock Holmes does this where as the policemen and the detectives rule the killer, Mary Maloney out as a possible suspect in the murder of her husband.
The detectives and policemen get paid a salary whereas Sherlock Holmes says you can pay me when it suits you. Sherlock Holmes is very well acknowledged whereas the policemen and detectives are not that well acknowledged.
The policemen and the detectives drink whiskey at Mary’s house, which is totally unprofessional whereas Sherlock Holmes takes his job very seriously. Equally Sherlock Holmes the detectives and the policemen try and find a logical explanation for what has happened.
Overall Sherlock Holmes is better at his job than the detectives and the policemen.
Comparison Villain
The villain in the Speckled Band is Dr Grimsby Roylott. The villain in the lamb to the slaughter is Mary Maloney. Dr Roylott premeditated the death of Julia Stoner and attempted to kill Helen Stoner whereas Mary Maloney did not plan anything she just acted on impulse.
Equally both villains’ have murdered someone. Dr Roylott did not get away with it but Mary Maloney got away with it. Dr Roylott is very aggressive and strong whereas Mary Maloney is weak and polite.
Mary Maloney got ruled out as a possible suspect to the murder. Dr Roylott was a suspect from the beginning because he had a motive. Mary was happily married and had friends and had good neighbours whereas Dr Roylott quarrelled with his neighbours and shut himself out from the world within his house. Dr Roylott only had gypsies as his friends.
Comparison Victim
The two victims in the speckled band are Julia and Helen Stoner. The victim in the lamb to the slaughter is Patrick Maloney. Julia Stoner and Patrick Maloney where physically a victim as both of them where murdered. Helen Stoner is a victim mentally. Julia was killed by a speckled band, which turned out to be the deadliest snake in India whereas Patrick Maloney was killed by a frozen leg of lamb.
Helen could have been murdered the same way that Julia got murdered. Everything that Julia heard the night of her death Helen began to here. This made Helen agitated and it terrified her. This made her a victim mentally.
Patrick was a senior policeman whereas Julia is a citizen. Both victims where vulnerable and could not have prevented there murders from taking place. Julia was murdered at night whereas Patrick was murdered in broad daylight.
It is clear that there can be different kinds of victims Helen was a victim mentally. Patrick was a victim (physically) so was Julia.
Comparison Murderer
The murder was planned out in the speckled band whereas nothing was planned out in the Lamb to the slaughter. Both murders took place inside a house. Julia was killed at night whereas Patrick was killed in Broad daylight. Dr Roylott plan was to let the snake through ventilator, allow it to climb down the bell rope and kill the victim. Whistling brought the snake back. The snake was kept in the safe.
Mary Maloney did not have a plan she just acted on impulse and killed Patrick.
Dr Roylott got caught in the end, his own snake bit him whereas Mary Maloney did not get caught, and she was ruled out as a possible suspect in the crime. Mary is free to walk whilst Dr Roylott is dead.
Over all I think the crime story, which meets my expectations of a detective story, is THE SPECKLED BAND. The speckled band is much more realistic whereas the Lamb to the slaughter isn’t that professional. The mood in the speckled band is always serious whereas in the lamb to the slaughter turns to comedy from murder.
Introduction
For this essay I have been studying two detective stories called the Speckled Band and Lamb To The Slaughter. I will compare these two detective stories to see how far they fulfil my expectations of a detective genre. I will look into these stories and study the different subjects and characters such as:
Characters including- Victims
Criminals
Detectives
Plot- Crime
Investigation
Resolution
Setting
Language
Social and Cultural Significance
I will also write a summary for both stories describing what happens in both stories.
The Speckled Band Summary
Julia Stoner has been killed. Two years later her sister Helen Stoner heard the same things that her sister heard on the night of her death. This is the reason why Helen goes to Sherlock Holmes for help. The things Helen heard made her agitated and shiver with fear and terror. Julia was thought to have died from shock and fear.
Lamb to the slaughter summery
Patrick Maloney, the husband of Mary Maloney is a policeman. Mr Maloney comes home everyday at 4:50. He came home one day at the same time he always comes home and told his wife that he was leaving her. Mary Maloney kills her husband with a leg of lamb, which she brought up from the cellar freezer. She then acts normal and goes out to get the groceries to finish making dinner. Mary Maloney is six months pregnant.