Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short story, The Speckled Band compared to Roald Dahls Lamb to the Slaughter
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short story, "The Speckled Band" written in the early nineteenth century tells the tale of Sherlock Holmes and one of his cases and it compares very differently to Roald Dahl's twentieth century short story, "Lamb to the Slaughter" about a wife murdering her husband. The murder mystery genre has developed an identity for itself whereby many elements of different stories within the genre are the same, such as the characterisation, writing style, suspense and resolution. Both short stories fit differently into the typical murder mystery tale, for example in "Lamb to the Slaughter" the detectives are portrayed as foolish whereas in "The Speckled Band" the detective is intelligent and meets the expectations of the reader. Both stories present elements such as suspense and perspective in different fashions. Furthermore differences between the two stories are shown through the settings. In "The Speckled Band" the setting is a "very old" "manor house" and only one of the " wings is inhabited". We learn that there are wild animals roaming free in the house and that there are "wretched gypsies in the plantation". This is very typical of the genre; the readers of "The Speckled Band" identify the settings as peculiar and immediately perceive it as the scene of the crime. They quickly start making predictions about what or who linked to setting could be behind
What are the similarities and differences between Roald Dahl’s ‘Lambs to the slaughter’ and ‘The speckled band’ by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?
What are the similarities and differences between Roald Dahl's 'Lambs to the slaughter' and 'The speckled band' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? The two murder mystery's I am going to look at are 'Lambs to the slaughter' by Roald Dahl and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The speckled band'. All good Murder stories have the basic ingredients a victim, a detective and a murderer and the role they play is essence of the story. One immediate difference is the narrative style in which they are written in that the speckled band is written with an omniscient narrator so no thoughts are revealed while Lambs to the slaughter is written from Mrs Maloney's prospective and therefore you are given her thoughts and feelings. In Lambs to the slaughter the author uses modern day values and begins by describing a comfy, homely and well looked after house and describes Mrs Maloney as a devoted wife who is content with life and very happy and so at first appears to be the victim, the writer also shows that the wife cares deeply for her husband when she takes his coat and gets him a drink, all this helps build the suspense. The writer doesn't say what Mr Maloney said to his wife, I think this is because he was trying to emphasize the fact that she was trying not to hear it and pretending it was all just a dream and he was trying to build suspense, but what he did tell her in that moment destroyed her and
Compare and contrast 'Lamb to the Slaughter' and 'The Speckled Band.' To what extent are they typical of murder mystery stories?
Compare and contrast 'Lamb to the Slaughter' and 'The Speckled Band.' To what extent are they typical of murder mystery stories? In my opinion a typical murder mystery is one where it keeps you reading in anticipation wanting to know who has committed the well planed out murder, the whole way through. Until the end where the clever detective (who is usually quite an old man, dressed in a smart tweed suit) goes through one by one all of the suspects telling them exactly why they could have committed the murder, but then why they didn't. He then confronts the real murderer who is normally the one everyone least suspects. This all takes place in a large country manor where lots of people would have been busying round but for the murderer, conveniently there are never any witnesses to the crime. The murder is most often well planed out, with a devious reason behind it. The two stories are both very different and mainly the only similarities are that they are both about murders that are done by people that are close family to the victims they murder in there own homes.7 The settings in both of them are very different; in lamb to the slaughter the setting is in a normal home in a small village, where normal family life goes on. To begin with everything is going fine and things are going on the same, as they would do every other day. The husband has just got home from work
'Lamb to the Slaughter' and 'The Speckled Band' are both murder mysteries. They have some similarities but more differences.
'Lamb to the Slaughter' and 'The Speckled Band' are both murder mysteries. They have some similarities but more differences. Roald Dahl wrote Lamb to the Slaughter in 1954 which makes it much more modern than Arthur Conan Doyle's The Speckled Band which was written in 1892. The title, 'Lamb to the Slaughter' is cleverly thought of by Dahl and is meant as a witty pun although it is also linked to the murder, murderer and the victim. The Lamb part is the piece of meat used as a murder weapon and a lamb is also an innocent victim. The joke will not be noticed until the reader has read the story. The title of 'The Speckled Band' has only one meaning, the murder weapon and also the mystery of the whole story, making another small difference between the two stories. From the language used and also the style of writing in these two stories it is obvious to me that the style of writing has greatly changed since Arthur Conan Doyle wrote. The language used in much more old-fashioned which is indicated with words like 'pittance'. It also uses old fashioned images like dog-carts which contrast with modern images used in Lamb to the Slaughter like thermos buckets and 'tyres on the gravel outside' and the language in Lamb to the Slaughter is comparatively simpler. One of the main contrasts between the two stories was the settings of the murders. Doyle uses a stereotypical view of a
Compare "Lamb to the Slaughter" and "The Speckled Band" commenting on any differences I have noticed in Setting, Content and Characterisation.
Compare "Lamb to the Slaughter" and "The Speckled Band" commenting on any differences I have noticed in Setting, Content and Characterisation. The Speckled Band and Lamb to the Slaughter are both short murder mysteries that were written in different centuries and for different audiences. This is reflected in the language and style of writing used throughout the stories. The Speckled Band is a pre 20th century story written by Sir Arthur Colon Doyle in 1842, who wrote stories for adult audiences. The Speckled Band is set in London, Victoria and in Stoke Moran, on the western border of Surrey. It is based upon a detective called Sherlock Holmes, who was visited upon by a woman called Helen Stoner "who insists upon seeing him" early one morning. She is in fear of her life and suspects something is going to happen to her after her sister was murdered prior to her marriage. As she is engaged and marriage is soon to come, she calls upon the help of Sherlock Holmes to stop the same incident occurring more than once. In Speckled Band, Doyle uses Watson, the humble assistant to narrate the story. The story is written in past tense as if Watson is telling the story face to face with the reader. Lamb to the Slaughter is a 20th century story written by Roald Dhal in 1954. Who wrote stories mainly for the younger audiences. Lamb to the Slaughter is set in America in a
Compare both 'The Speckled Band' and 'Lamb To The Slaughter'
Tasos Nicolaou 11C2 Wider Reading Essay Compare both 'The Speckled Band' and 'Lamb To The Slaughter'. Both 'The Speckled Band' and 'Lamb To The Slaughter' are based on a murder mystery and both are quite intriguing. They both encompass a murder mystery plot, however, they are of a divergent disposition. Moreover, they are two similar stories from dissimilar time periods. This is visible throughout the duration of both stories, in the language and also the difference between the lengths of the stories is distinct. ('The speckled Band' - 1892 / 'Lamb To The Slaughter' - 1954) The opening of 'The Speckled Band' is contrary to 'Lamb To The Slaughter'. 'The Speckled Band' opens with the narrator reminiscing in relation to a crime. The element of secrecy that is exuded generates a somewhat peculiar mood. 'Lamb To The Slaughter' opens with a strange calmness, this doesn't prepare the reader for what is pending. A scene of domesticity, "The room was warm and clean." This opening phrase helps to capture the nature of a homely place. The murderers in the stories are also very different. Mary Maloney manipulates the detectives with her feminine impression, curiously tranquil and placid. Unlike Mary Maloney, Dr. Roylott had a criminal history and he was depicted as a violent man from the beginning. He is a hermit and he is belligerent to his neighbours, people fear him. He has a
How far are The Speckled Band and Lamb to the Slaughter typical of murder mysteries? How are the stories the same and how are they different? Compare the ways in which the stories are told.
How far are The Speckled Band and Lamb to the Slaughter typical of murder mysteries? How are the stories the same and how are they different? Compare the ways in which the stories are told. Usually mad scientists and charming detectives come to mind when the phrase 'murder mysteries' is used. Although this is typical, many murder mysteries are different. 'Lamb to the Slaughter' and 'The Speckled Band' are good examples of murder mysteries and these are the stories I will be concentrating on in this essay. Both stories are old, 'Lamb to the Slaughter' being the more modern of the two. I know this because Sherlock Holmes lived in the Victoria Era and 'The Speckled Band' was published in 1892 whereas in 'Lamb to the Slaughter' there is a car mentioned, which would indicate that this story was written later than 'The Speckled Band'. In addition to this, Mr. Maloney is described as a housewife, which is a more appropriate description to the 1950's or 1960's opposed to the Victorian times. There are also a few similarities and differences between the two stories, such as in the 'Lamb to the Slaughter', we know who the murdered is whereas in 'The Speckled Band' we don't know. Other similarities and differences could be that 'Lamb to the Slaughter' is set in a regular house whereas 'The Speckled Band' is set in an old manor house. We studied another murder mystery aswell, a
Comparing Roald Dahl's 'Lamb to the Slaughter' 1954 and 'The Speckled Band' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1892.
Comparing Roald Dahl's 'Lamb to the Slaughter' 1954 and 'The Speckled Band' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 1892. Both 'Lamb to the Slaughter' and 'The Speckled Band' are detective murder mysteries. They share some similarities but have many differences. In my essay I will discuss these and the effects they have on the story. 'Lamb to the Slaughter' was written in 1954 by Roald Dahl. It is much more modern than Conan Doyle's 'The Speckled Band' of 1892. In 'Lamb to the Slaughter' the main point to the story is to find out whether Mrs Maloney will get away with committing a murder. Dahl also tries to illustrate that appearances can be deceptive. However, in 'The Speckled Band' the reader continues to read the story to find out who the murderer was and whether Holmes will discover how the crime was committed. The stories are both murder mysteries yet their shapes are almost opposite. The setting of 'The Speckled Band' is a typical old mansion. 'The manor house is very old'. This lends an atmosphere of foreboding and suspense to the story. This is because it is natural to find dark and sinister places scary. Conan Doyle uses descriptions such as 'A picture of ruin', 'Ill trimmed lawn', 'The building was of grey lichen-blotched stone', to show this age. The setting is important in that the atmosphere and the suspense which keeps the reader interested are dependant upon this. In
Comparing Roald Dahl’s Lamb to the slaughter to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes & the speckled Band
Comparing Roald Dahl's Lamb to the slaughter to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes & the speckled Band The Essay That I will write is going to give attention to two murders One of them pre-meditated complex and Intricately Planned the other impulsive and unforeseen even by the perpetrator to an extent. The atmospheres in the stories differ very much right from the beginning as in Lamb to the Slaughter we have a pregnant happily married woman who is waiting for her husband who she loves very much to come back from work so that she can make him something to eat etc. Words like "wonderful", "Luxuriate," and "glow" signify the type of atmosphere in the story it creates a very homely atmosphere. In the speckled band the story has words like "tragic", "terror", "Weary" and frightened. As you can see this atmosphere is very unlike Lamb to the slaughter, the first few pages of Sherlock Holmes & the speckled band indicate that the atmosphere is very dark my point is justified by the appearance of Mrs. Stoner who it appears by the way she is clad is in mourning of her deceased sister. To compare the two main females of the stories one is a young woman 6 months pregnant quite happy and content been a housewife and happily married who has a "wonderful translucent quality about her". The other is also a young woman but due to the stresses of life she has aged very prematurely
“Lamb to the Slaughter” and “The Speckled Band”
Murder Mysteries "Lamb to the Slaughter" and "The Speckled Band" Both story titles are play on words, which are where the stories have nothing to do with the titles. Like in "Lamb to the Slaughter" you would think about a lamb getting slaughtered but it has nothing to do with a lamb getting killed. In "The Speckled Band" you would think of a band of people. The setting at the beginning of "Lamb to the Slaughter" is very cosy the lady is sat next to a warm fire waiting for her husband to come home. She is knitting and she has got a fresh glass of whisky with fresh ice cubes in it for her husband. The setting at the beginning of "The Speckled Band" is very gloomy and the house is a typical horror story house its shaped like a crab. You can tell the villain straight away because he is just evil and he has no good points in him what so ever. His evil shows when he pushes a person in to the lake. The detectives in "Lamb to the Slaughter" are not very clever because they rule the wife out for being the suspect because she is so nice. Then they eat the murder weapon and any good detective should know not to touch anything on the murder scene. The detective in "The Speckled Band" is very clever and he is strong he isn't scared of the villain. When the villain bends a bar Sherlock Holmes just bends it back and laughs. Sherlock Holmes is very clever in the end he finds out how