‘The Lamb to the Slaughter’ is written in third person told by an onlooker. The story begins in the home of Mr and Mrs Maloney, the room is the first thing described building an image of the surroundings and creating an atmosphere. Within the first paragraph it describes ‘two tall glasses, soda water, whiskey. Fresh ice cubes in the Thermos bucket.’ this gives the idea of a routine of some sort before the story has even started.
The most dramatic point in the story is when Mary Maloney killed her husband with a leg of lamb, it happens very unexpectedly. Even though the event took place early on in the story Roald Dahl is able to keep the reader interested because they would want to know her reaction and he outcome. The story ends with the detectives eating the murder weapon without realising they were eating the evidence. The last sentence of the story is ‘And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle’ this describes her ironic laughter and the fact that she was able to fool the detectives.
I do not think this is a typical detective story; it does not have the stereotypical suspense of the clue finding. It also does not have the oddball detective which is put on the case. Most importantly the case is not solved by the end of the story, normally by the end of a murder mystery/ detective story the case is solved.
The sentences in the speckled band are descriptive and highly formal it often made it difficult to read the sentences because of the length and complexity. For example the sentence which begins ‘when you combine the ideas of whistles at night…’ and ends ‘I think that there is good ground to think that the mystery may be cleared along those lines.’ It is only broken down by the use of commas. Words and details are used beyond their need. There is a use of diction whose meanings have changed since time the story was written such as ‘fantastic’ which meant unreal, ‘intimate’ meaning close friend in the plutonic sense and ejaculation meaning
. He also uses individual words which manifold wickedness of human hard, ‘horror’ to emphasis the atmosphere. The language is typical of the Victorian era as everyone spoke very formally.
The lamb to the slaughter has a lot shorter snappier sentences leaving room for imagination. In comparison to the speckled band it is a lot easier to follow and quicker to read. This allows the reader to imagine the story in their own way. The short sentences build up the tension bracing you for the sudden event. At the beginning of the story the sentences are slightly longer and more descriptive then the main section in the middle. ‘The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight – hers and the one by the empty chair opposite.’ The longer sentences at the beginning make the reader feel as thought they are there observing the description.
The main characters in the speckled band are all portrayed as stereotypical men and women of the Victorian era with typical values of that time. For example men were thought to be of more importance and had authority over women. Sherlock has a strong personality portrayed at points like when he says ‘you must not fear’ indicating he is strong and will save everyone. The men of Victorian time where made out to be very intelligent, Sherlock ponders the details of the case whilst staring into the fire. Sherlock has the answers to everything and notices the finest details. Whereas the women in this case Helen Stoner, are portrayed as helpless, pathetic and dependant on men. The female personality emphasises male characters ability to handle a situation. The fact that Helen Stoner lives in ‘fear’ and desperately needs Sherlock’s help to solve the case conveys her dependence on men.
The characters I have described are all very typical of the Victorian villains and heroes; the villain is cunning and sly whereas the hero is intelligent. The characters mainly appear in a home whether it be Sherlock’s or Dr Roylott’s. Dr Roylott lives in an old spooky house half of which is abandoned, a stereotypical setting for unusual happenings. This makes the reader suspicious of the character who owns it; he may be as dodgy as his house and its strange inhabitants. Sherlock’s home is portrayed as being warm welcoming and safe an idea which mainly comes from the fire which is constantly mentioned.
In the lamb to the slaughter Mary Maloney is described in the most detail. The other characters do not have their features described in detail. Mary is described at the beginning of the story and is portrayed as a normal housewife and mother to be waiting for her husband to come home. The fact that she is described at the beginning makes the murder seem very abrupt because it is unexpected from a woman so sweetly described. The reason Roald Dahl tells you what Mary is thinking is so that the reader sees from her point of view and it would also explain why she did what she did. There are a few stereotypes in this story but they are not as obvious as the speckled band. For example Mary at the beginning of the story carries out her housewifely duties waiting for her husband to come home as she does routinely. She hangs on his every word and wants to please him constantly. Mr Maloney is a typical husband works all day and comes home tired and in a bad mood. The police men at the end portray men in general in recent society, slobs and gullible when a woman uses her innocence and charm. In the story the tables are turned slightly although Mary’s husband wanted to leave her she would still be the villain as she murdered him, normally men are the murders.
The characters are similar if not the same as ‘real people’ a character is turned evil in a fit of rage which happens to many people today but it may not result in an extreme like murder.
There are more differences than similarities between these two stories this mainly lies on the fact that the stories where written 62 years apart. As the times changed so did literature, this was a result of people altering the way they spoke which in turn transferred into writing. What was typical of a detective story in the Victorian era is certainly not the same at present or when the lamb to the slaughter was written. If an author during the Victorian era wrote a story similar to Roald Dahl’s with a wife murdering her husband it would not have been accepted and many would have been outraged. In the Victorian era femininity was extremely important women where like china dolls fragile, helpless, dependant on their ‘owner’ (men) and just for show. Violence was not accepted and evil was always defeated by good. Although detective stories of today can be extremely different to Sherlock Holmes, Connan Doyle’s stories were important as they set the conventions for the detective story genre.
I personally preferred The Lamb to the Slaughter because it was much more understandable therefore more enjoyable. Although Sherlock Holmes is a classic detective story and is a literary work of art I preferred the ability, given by The Lamb to the Slaughter to allow my imagination to lead the story.