A comparison of two short stories from the murder mystery genre
A comparison of two short stories from the murder mystery genre "The Speckled Band" was written in 1892 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle "Lamb To The Slaughter" was written in 1954 by Roald Dahl A murder mystery is a narrative about a murder and how the murderer is discovered. The following things usually happen or are present in a murder mystery: murder, mystery, investigation, red herrings, tension, detective (seeks a solution and unravels the mystery), resolution and justice. Both 'Lamb to the Slaughter' and 'The Speckled Band' are detective murder mysteries. They share some resemblance to the genre but have many differences. In my essay, I will talk about these and say how they affect the story. By reading both stories it is easy to say that the language styles have changed over the eras. 'The Speckled Band' was written in the Victorian period. It uses complex words such as 'defray' and 'dog-cart', which you would not use in the twenty-first century. Some of the sentences are very verbose and stretch from three to four lines long, which is unusual in modern stories. There are phrases like 'said he' which nowadays would be 'he said'. Another example is 'But have you told me all?' A modern way to express this is 'But have you told me everything?' He also uses archaic language as the setting develops. In contrast the language Roald Dahl uses is more modern. He does not use
Both "The Speckled Band" and "Lamb to the Slaughter" have ingredients for a detective story, i.e. they both have a murderer who is cold and calculating, and just that little bit mad.
Key Stage 4 Wide Reading Coursework Mary Maloney and Dr. Grimesby Roylott are both murderers. Examine their similarities and differences as portrayed by the authors I have been reading 'The Speckled Band' by Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle and 'Lamb to the Slaughter' by Roald Dahl. Written in 1892 and 1954 respectively. Both "The Speckled Band" and "Lamb to the Slaughter" have ingredients for a detective story, i.e. they both have a murderer who is cold and calculating, and just that little bit mad. On the other hand, they are presented to us very differently, making one story very typical of its genre, and making the other very untypical of the murder mystery genre. The Speckled Band tells the story of Sherlock Holmes investigating into a case, where a girl has died under suspicious circumstances and the witness is suspected to follow the same fate. The story, though centred on Holmes, is told as seen through the eyes of his companion, Dr Watson. Unlike Dahl's story this is a classic 'whodunit', with plenty of suspense. Lamb to the Slaughter follows a woman who learns her husband is leaving her and proceeds to kill him. A police investigation follows but she is found innocent. What separates this murder mystery from others is the character it focuses on, whereas many stories concentrate on the detective or sometimes the victim, this story concentrates on the character of
What are the similarities and differences between 'A Speckled Band' and 'Lamb to the Slaughter'? What effects did the writer use to make you want to read more?
A Speckled Band and Lamb to the Slaughter (Wider reading) What are the similarities and differences between 'A Speckled Band' and 'Lamb to the Slaughter'? What effects did the writer use to make you want to read more? In this essay, I will compare the similarities and differences between two short stories, 'A Speckled Band' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and 'Lamb to the Slaughter' by Roald Dahl. Both stories are about murder and mystery. There are many comparisons that can be made between the stories, these include; the detective figures, the murderers, the victims, the settings, the language and the suspense. 'The Speckled Band' which is set in the 19th century is about a young woman, Helen Stoner, who comes to Sherlock Holmes because of her older sister, of whom was soon to be married, died under mysterious circumstances. Shortly before her sister died, several years before, she mentioned to Helen the smell of cigar smoke, a whistle and a metallic sound. At the time when Helen has come to see Sherlock Holmes, she is about to marry and has heard the same sounds herself. Both sisters lived in the large, run-down mansion of their stepfather, Dr Grimesby Roylott, a man with a violent temper and who is emotionally unstable. He lives in the mansion with a baboon and cheetah. 'Lamb to the Slaughter' which is set in the 20th century is about Mrs Mary Maloney, who kills her husband
The Detective Genre. A comparison of characters, setting and atmosphere, and the endings in the two short stories, "The Speckled Band" by A Conan Doyal (Pre 1900) and "Lamb To The Slaughter" by R Dhal (Post 1900).
Name: Taranvir Rehal 28th January 2002 W.J.E.C English Literature Assignment: The Detective Genre. A comparison of characters, setting and atmosphere, and the endings in the two short stories, "The Speckled Band" by A Conan Doyal (Pre 1900) and "Lamb To The Slaughter" by R Dhal (Post 1900) "The Speckled Band" was written by A Conan Doyal in the 19th Century and "Lamb To The Slaughter" was written by R Dhal in the 20th century. They are both detective stories but are quite different in their style. "The Speckled Band" is very traditional in its approach and as one would expect, "Lamb To The Slaughter" being a modern story explores the genre in a different way. I shall be studying the differences between the two stories in relation to the portrayal of characters, the setting and atmosphere and the difference in the way the two stories end. The villains in the two stories are quite different. In "The Speckled Band" the villain is Doctor Grimesby Roylott. The things that make Dr Grimesby Roylott a typical villain in the Detective genre is his physical appearance that is described to us in the story. He is described as being tall, broad and he has a lot of wrinkles on his face. "A large face, scared with a thousand wrinkles" This shows he ha a lot of wrinkles which cut into his face. He also has evil looking eyes. He has "Bile shot eyes" This means that his eyes are a
Lamb to the Slaughter" By Roald Dahl
"Lamb to the Slaughter" By Roald Dahl In Roald Dahl's short story "Lamb to the slaughter," the behaviour of the characters makes us shiver. The story starts off with Mary Maloney's husband walking in from work and sitting down in the armchair. She then made him a drink and asked him he was tired. She then asked him if he wanted supper but he said no. later he said he had something important to say and for a few moments she stood shocked. She went to get the supper out any way but when she came back up he was standing next to the window, she then smacked him round the back of the head smashing his scull. She acted normally as not arouse suspicion. She went to the shop and then went home and called the police. They came round and investigated the crime scene, and looked for the murder weapon. Mary offered the lamb to the police officers to eat and they did and by doing so eating the only bit of evidence proving it was her. At first we see Mary Maloney as a gentle, loving person but we later find out she is capable of murder. We don't like thinking that we are a bad judge of character but this is the way Roald Dahl wanted. Roald Dahl writes nearly all his stories with a twist in them. He has a particular style of writing that lulls the reader to think one thing but to later twist that belief. My first impression of Mary Maloney was a happy woman with a lovely husband. "Mary
Explore How The Women Are Portrayed In The Texts The Withered Arm and Lamb To The Slaughter.
Explore How The Women Are Portrayed In The Texts The Withered Arm and Lamb To The Slaughter The main characters in the two texts, The Withered Arm and Lamb to the Slaughter are female: Rhoda Brook and Gertrude Lodge in The Withered Arm by Thomas Hardy and Mary Maloney in Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl. Both are stories primarily about women but written by men. Despite the gulf between the centuries - the Withered Arm was written in 1880 and Lamb to the Slaughter in the mid to late 20th century - there are many similarities in both the way the women are portrayed and the problems they face. Rhoda Brook is lower, or working class - she is a milkmaid. Her physical appearance is not described in great depth but we are told that she is a 'thin, fading woman of thirty'. Hardy also describes her as being 'once handsome'. She is a single mother and after having had an affair with the owner of the farm, Farmer Lodge, who is the father of her child, she was rejected from being his wife, which at the time she would have welcomed, as she is of a much lower social class than Lodge. 'Fading' and 'once handsome' are used by Hardy to help highlight the status of Rhoda's relationship with Farmer Lodge, ie it is past tense. In that era a woman's status would be defined by her husband's status, and so by implication, we learn that Rhoda had no social status - she is in fact an
The Study And Comparison of Two Short Stories Of The Murder Mystery Genre - The two stories are, "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Road Dahl, and, "The Speckled Band" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
English Coursework 14/3/02 The Study And Comparison of Two Short Stories Of The Murder Mystery Genre Recently I have been reading and analysing two short stories. The two stories are, "Lamb to the Slaughter" by Road Dahl, and, "The Speckled Band" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Both these short stories share the fact that they are both based on a murder mystery genre. Besides the obvious similarities involved in both stories, the two are very different. In this essay I will be comparing and contrasting the two stories. Both stories comprise of victims, detectives, a murderer and of course the murder itself but these ingredients used to make the murder mystery story have been arranged in different ways in both of the stories and it is interesting to see how different they are. Dahl's story is based on a very consistent pregnant housewife, who learns that her husband is going to leave her, for some reason unknown to us, and kills him, quite ironically, with a frozen leg of lamb. Conan Doyle's short story is much more detailed than that of Dahl's, and consists of much more mystery and suspense. The story is written from the point of view of Watson, the sidekick to probably the most famous fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, telling of one of the cases they solved. The story unfolds
Compare and contrast the way the writer's depict relationships between men and women in at least two of the short stories you have studied.
Compare and contrast the way the writer's depict relationships between men and women in at least two of the short stories you have studied The short stories Lamb to the slaughter- Roald Dahl (1954), Catbird Seat- James Thurber (1945) and Tony Kytes, the Arch-Deceiver- Thomas Hardy (1894) show how the relationship between men and women can be complicated. In Lamb to the Slaughter the writer has intended to convey a tensional feeling between Mrs Maloney and Mr Maloney because Mr Maloney has something different to do from his occasional routine, he is scared, tired and probably feels sympathy for Mrs Maloney according to his harsh decision. The story focuses on murder, rather than a lustful relationship. It specifically empathises Mrs Maloney because the twist in the story centres around the character Mary Maloney. The story is not finished deliberately and it is left for the audience to discover everything even the characters and their future and what would happen next. Although in Tony Kytes, the Arch-Deceiver there isn't too much of tension created in fact there is a particular relationship between the men and women, it is very emotional and sexual but it summarises the case of recognition, when the women find out the deceit that Kytes caused and his betrayal. Hardy did not like industrialisation and thought men were experts but Kytes was out of control. The author
A comparison of two murder stories "The Speckled Band" A. Conan. Doyle "Lamb To The Slaughter" Roald Dahl
Wider Reading Coursework A comparison of two murder stories "The Speckled Band" A. Conan. Doyle "Lamb To The Slaughter" Roald Dahl We've read two murder stories, and they are both quite different from each other because of the different times, that the stories were written in. But they do have a few similarities. The most obvious similarity is that they both involve murders. Then there are a few other little similarities, for example they both involve vulnerable females, Helen Stoner in 'The Speckled Band' and Mary Maloney in 'Lamb to the Slaughter'. Each story also has a detective/s, Sherlock Holmes in 'The Speckled Band' and the police officers in 'Lamb to the Slaughter'. They also both have unusual murder weapons used in them. Then there are the differences. A main one is that 'Lamb To The Slaughter' shows you things from Mary Maloney's point of view, so you know whom the murder is, and how they did it, as soon as the crime is committed. But in 'The Speckled Band' you know who the murder is, but the reader doesn't find out how the murder was done, until the end of the story. The other main difference is the language used in the stories. The language is different, because of the type of reader the story is written for. 'The Speckled Band' was written for a high-class group of people, who where used to a more formal use of words, and a more complicated vocabulary. 'Lamb
Both Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band share some of the characteristics of murder mysteries: Explain the similarities and differences between the 2 stories and say which story is more compelling to read.
Both Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band share some of the characteristics of murder mysteries: Explain the similarities and differences between the 2 stories and say which story is more compelling to read. There are many similarities and differences in these two short stories. The differences being mainly concerned with the way the story is told and the author's use of language. Lamb to the Slaughter was a short story written by Roald Dahl in 1954. Roald Dahl is mainly known for his writing of children stories such as 'James and the Giant Peach'. However, he did write shorter stories, about strange happenings to normal, every day people that were aimed at an older audience. Lamb to the Slaughter is a classic example of one of these. The Speckled Band was one of Arthur Conan Doyle's famous short stories about Sherlock Holmes and his companion Doctor Watson. Both stories contain particular ingredients that a murder mystery is expected to contain, such as a scheming murderer with a slightly sadistic side. However, they are presented very differently. The Speckled Band is very typical for a story of it's type containing all the elements you would expect to happen in a murder mystery. Lamb to the Slaughter is perhaps not so typical of it's genre and tells us about a murder but it happens under everyday circumstances. The way Lamb to the Slaughter is told is also very