In ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’, Mary Maloney is the villain, who kills her husband with a frozen leg of lamb. She is also the main character in the story and the actual detectives in the story play a very small and insignificant part. Unlike ‘The Creeping Man’ they are portrayed as very predictable and easily duped, and they end up eating the leg of lamb with which Mary Maloney killed her husband.
Sherlock Holmes is the main in ‘The Creeping Man’. He is portrayed as very clever but mysterious at the same time, Doyle has achieved this by making his speech very abrupt and not too revealing. He uses phrases like ‘Come at once if convenient- if not convenient come all the same’, which does not let the reader know Holmes’ thoughts and also intrigues them into wanting to read on. However this could also make Holmes appear arrogant and would in turn make the reader dislike him. He is very methodical in his approach to the case and is totally involved and dedicated to it; he does not stop thinking about the case throughout the novel and never rests until the case is solve.
He always examines the crime scene and revisits it if necessary. He is described as always dressing smartly. It also appears that Watson finds him very demanding and too clever for Watson’s intelligence. This is portrayed by Watson describing Holmes as having ‘flame like intuitions’ and being too clever for the ‘methodical slowness in’ Watson’s ‘mentality’, this therefore suggests that Watson portrays Holmes as too intelligent for his simple mind.
In ‘The Creeping Man’ Professor Presbury is one of the main characters due to his connection with the case and role as a villain. The reader has very little sympathy for him and does not really get to understand him and his thoughts. In one section of the book he is portrayed as animal like, with phrases such as ‘a huge bat’ and ‘sprang up’. He is also portrayed as arrogant, fierce, strange and over reacts on several occasions, this can be seen by his language and style of speech. He says things like ‘Hardly enough’ to Holmes, which suggests that he is arrogant and he is also described as saying it with a ‘screaming voice’ and with ‘extraordinary malignancy on his face’ which portrays him as fierce. This also makes the reader dislike and even fear him and so they have little empathy and sympathy for him.
This is the opposite reaction on the reader’s part in ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ as the reader has a lot of sympathy for the main character and villain, Mary Maloney. This is because at the beginning of the story the reader already starts to like her. Dahl has achieved this by describing her as ‘tranquil’ and ‘placid’ which suggests that she is a calm and gentle person which the reader can relate to, this also helps surprise the reader when they find out what she will do. They also have empathy for her when they find out she is ‘six months with child’, and her husband is planning to leave her, this might make the reader feel less critical of her and some might even think that this justifies her actions. This therefore makes ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ unlike any traditional detective in this genre and Dahl has made it a very different structure to that of traditional stories, like ‘The Creeping Man’.
The victim in ‘The Creeping Man’ is the professor’s daughter Edith, it is she who feels in the most danger from the Professor when he takes the serum. Conan Doyle has written it so the reader fully believes her story but they are not too sympathetic towards her. She gives a straightforward clear description of her experiences but is portrayed as a little frightened and hysterical at times. Doyle has achieved this by giving her phrases such as ‘I lay paralysed’ and ‘ I nearly died of surprise’, which suggests she is disturbed by what has occurred. This also succeeds in creating an air of apprehension in for the reader, in reading her frightened descriptions. However she is also she is also very believable and rational and so the reader has no other choice but to believe her.
This is not the case in ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ as Dahl has written it in a way so that the reader dislikes Mr Maloney, the victim, and has no sympathy for him when he gets murdered. Dahl has portrayed him as very moody and abrupt, and the reader can sense his mood from his descriptions, ‘mouth in shadow’, this suggests he has a sinister or moody side. And when Mary asks if she can get him anything he just replies with ‘Sit down’, this also suggests his mood but portrays him as abrupt as well. This also so portrays him as rude, which in turn makes the reader dislike him. The reader also begins to dislike him when he ‘slams the car door’ and is described as ‘frowning’ and ‘motionless’ as these portray his sinister side.
The theme of ‘The Creeping Man’ is a search for eternal youth, which would have been appropriate for a time where science seemed to hold all the answers.
The theme of ‘Lamb to the slaughter’ is a theme of betrayal and justice, which is a very common theme in detective stories. However this theme is that of natural justice rather than Law and seems to suggest it is superior.
‘The Creeping Man’ does not contain humour because the intention is not to amuse the reader but to amaze them with Holmes’ intelligence.
It is also written in the classic detective style and is the standard detective genre.
It is written from Watson’s point of view, and he narrates to emphasis Holmes’ intelligence and so the reader can feel closer to Holmes and what he is thinking, by reading Watson’s admiring comments throughout.
‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ uses humour because as a modern story it can play with the traditional style. Roal Dahl is also known for his humour.
It also uses third person narrative, so that Roal Dahl can choose which characters thoughts to focus on.
