when first introduced adds mystery and suspense to her character the story. Another example in the story of where the chronology is important is when Holmes and Watson go
to stoke Morran to investigate the cause of Helen’s sister Julia Stoner’s death. Holmes withholds information from the others while although they don’t realise he was conduction
a conclusion in his head. He notices things in the house but keeps them any ideas he has to himself. Like whilst they were looking around Stoke Morran. He asks ‘There was no slit through which a knife could have passed to raise the bar…No one could pass these shutters if they were bolted. Well we shall see if the inside throws any light upon the matter.’ Here we can see he inspected the outside of the house but doesn’t tell the others what he was thinking about his thoughts and ideas.
Another example of this in the story is when Holmes inspects the bedroom in which Helen is now sleeping. ‘They seem to have been of the most interesting character –dummy bellropes and ventilators, which do not ventilate… we shall now carry our researches into the inner apartment.’ This shows that Holmes has had several ideas but in order to build up suspense he has kept those ideas to himself and he revealed these ideas at the end. This helps to build up suspense and intrigues us as the reader to read on. And also Holmes had a couple of ideas of how Julia died. At first he thought it may have been the gypsies as before Julia died she cried out ‘Oh my God Helen! It was the band! The speckled band!’ I think this is what gave Holmes the idea that it may have been the gypsies. He says ‘No, it must have been those wretched gypsies in the plantation.’ This was Holmes 1st thought to how Julia died. But after a while he realised I wasn’t the gypsies. ‘ I do not know whether the spotted handkerchiefs which so many of them wore over their heads might have suggested the strange objective which she used.’ We can see that Holmes was suspicious of Dr. Grimsby Roylott when he exlplains ‘the fact that we have every reason to believe that the doctor has an interest in preventing his stepdaughters marriage…’ here we can see that Holemes thinks that Roylott has a motive for killing his stepdaughter, Julia but yet he doesn’t say for definite that this is what he thinks. And Evan if Holmes did think Roylott killed Julia. He hasn’t yet figured out how.
There are several characters in this story and they all help to create suspense in different ways. Watson introduces the story and this in itself adds mystery. He is Holmes sidekick. He begins by saying ‘on glancing over my notes of the seventy odd cases in which I have during the last eight years studied the methods of my friend Sherlock Holmes… but none commonplace.’ Just in this introductory (1st) sentence we get the impression that it is going to be an interesting case. The words and phrases that are used in Watson’s introduction such as ‘I cannot recall any which represented more singular features than that which was associated with the well-known Surrey family of the Roylotts of Stoke Morran.’ And ‘but a promise of secrecy was made at the time, from which I have only freed during the last month….’ From this we can see that this case was a secracy. This helps to build up mystery throughout the story.
Roylott was another important character in this story. Conan-Doyle describes him by saying ‘so tall his hat actually brushed the cross bar of the doorway…deep-set, bile-shot eyes, and his high thin, fleshless nose, gave him somewhat the resemblance of a fierce old bird of prey.’ This first description of him gives us an impression that he is tall and somewhat eagle like. He is essential to help create suspense. Roylott is Helen and Julia Stoner’s stepfather. He was a doctor and also had knowledge of exotic animals and owned a few too. ‘… The doctor kept a cheetah and a baboon. We had no feeling of security until our doors were locked.’ This shows he has a keen interest for animals. Roylott is violent and aggressive. He is very strong as is seen here when described by Helen Stoner,
his stepdaughter ‘For he is a man of immense strength, and absolutely uncontrollable in his anger.’ ‘ Last week he hurled local blacksmith over a parapet into a stream.’ This proves
how strong and aggressive Roylott is and that he has a short temper span. Another good example of this in the story is when Roylott is speaking to Holmes. H gets extremely angry at Holmes. ‘I will go when I have said my say. Don’t you dare to meddle with my affairs. I know that Miss Stoner has been here. I traced her…seized the poker and bent it into a curve with his huge brown hands.’ This again proves that he loses his temper very easily. And so he is very capable of murdering Julia and also he did have a motive. Because if Julia went ahead with her marriage then Roylott would have to pay her a yearly income. Evan Helen is scared of her stepfather and thinks he is capable of murder. This is shown here. ‘you are screening your stepfather…’ ‘Holmes pushed back the frill of black lace which fringed… the marks of four fingers and a thumb were printed upon the right wrist.
‘You have been cruelly used.’
This shows that Roylott would Evan beat his stepdaughter.
Sherlock Holmes was also an important character in order to build up suspense. He was a detective and helped Helen Stoner to investigate the cause of her sister, Julia’s death. He helped to create suspense in the story when he withholds information from the others
Helen was equally important to create suspense. She made a dramatic entrance into the story. She was described in the 1st page of the story as ‘A lady dresses in black and heavily veiled, who had been sitting by the window, rose as we entered.’ The fact the she is dressed in black gives us the impression that someone has died. And the phrase which Conan-Doyle uses ‘she raised her veil as she spoke’ is particularly good as it seems as though she is grieving and doesn’t want anybody to see her face. He also describes her by saying ‘Her features and figure were those of a women of thirty, but her hair was short with premature gray, and her expression was weary and haggard. She seems to be old and also she seems quite depressed. You can see this from the words and phrases which is used to describe her.
The era that the novel was set in helps to create suspense and also the location of the house adds mystery. ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’ was set in the Victorian
times and during this period young unmarried women were financially dependent on their families money. But if these women were to marry then they would be no longer able to rely on their families for money. If they married they’d become financially independent. In
this story Julia and Helen Stoner couldn’t leave home without marrying. However if they did happen to get married then their stepfather Dr. Grimsby Roylett would suffer financially because he would have to pay Julia money when she married this explained in
the story. ‘Each daughter can claim an income of £250, in case of marriage…it is evident therefore, that if both girls had married, this beauty would have a mere pittance…he had the very strongest motives for standing in the way of anything of the sort.’ Therefore Roylott didn’t want Julia to marry and it proves the fact that Roylott would have a motive for killing his daughter Julia Stoner.
The murder was in Stoke Morran. This was a very Old house where Helen lived with Julia and her stepfather, Roylott. This house was old and isolated. The location and condition of the house adds mystery to the story. Conan-Doyle describes the house as being old. ‘The building was of gray, litchen-blotched stone, with a high central portion and two curving wings, like those of a crab thrown out on each side.’ ‘The boards round and the panelling of the walls were of brown, worm-eaten oak, so old and discoloured…’ also you see that this house has some very unusual features ‘There are one two singular points about this room.’ This too, adds mystery. Because the building is old as described in the story,
this gives a perfect setting for a murder to take place. It is far anyway from anywhere so no one have heard about it.
I think that one of the weaknesses of this story is that they have dragged on the introduction. But I think the strengths in this story is the ways in which suspense in created. This is particularly good. Another strength in the story is some of the phrases which Conan-Doyle uses to describe. Such as ‘But her hair was short with
premature gray, and her expressions was weary and haggard. But although this phrase has used some good adjectives I think more could be added to other parts of the story.
I thought that ‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’ was a very well written story but I didn’t particularly enjoy it as I don’t really like detective stories. But the story overall was very good although it’s not really what I would normally read. My favourite part of the story was at the end. Although I don’t think it was a very good conclusion. But it was good to build up the suspense throughout the story and then finally find out how it was done. I suppose it was good to see how Holmes had been figuring it out in his head but hadn’t revealed this to the others. I particularly like the sentence where Holmes says ‘I had come to these conclusions before ever I had entered his room’