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The two stories I will be comparing in this essay are Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl and The Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Lamb to the Slaughter was written in 154 while The Speckled Band was written in 18. Already we see a difference, they were both written in different centuries. Lamb to the Slaughter is a far more modern story in contrast to The Speckled Band, therefore, we can relate to it more easily. The Speckled Band is a Victorian crime story with Sherlock Holmes, a detective who solves murders. Lamb to the Slaughter is a modern short story with a twist.The two stories are similar because of their genre. They are both murder / crime stories. However, The Speckled Band is a traditional murder mystery while Lamb to the Slaughter doesn't fit that description. In Lamb to the Slaughter we find out who the killer is immediately, unlike in The Speckled Band, where we find out at the end.
In these stories, both murders take place in a house. But due to the time they were written, they obviously have different settings. Stoke Moran, the murder house in The Speckled Band, is described as being "very old" and that
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"The building was of grey, lichen-blotched stone, with
a high central portion, and two curving wings, like the
claws of a crab, thrown out on each side. In one of these
wings the windows were broken, and blocked with
wooden boards, while the roof was partly caved in, a
picture of ruin."
This gives us the idea of 'Gothic Horror' such as Dracula or Frankenstein. The setting also changes in this story. We are taken from the streets of London to the exotic wildlife of India
"he has at this moment a cheetah
and a baboon, which wonder freely over his grounds."
This gives us a variety. Lamb to the Slaughter is different from this. The murder house in Lamb to the Slaughter is described as follows;
"The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn,
the two table lamps alight"
Not only is this a far more modern house in the suburbs, it is also totally different from a traditional murder story. It is unusual and doesn't contain the stereotypical 'creaky door' or 'eerie lighting'. It is just a normal home belonging to a family. It is also the only setting in the story; the attention never leaves the house. Except for when Mary Maloney goes to the shop for a short period of time.
In The Speckled Band, Sherlock Holmes is the central character. He is a fictional detective who always solves the crimes. He uses a technique called 'deduction' which is cleverly used to gain information from witnesses. He wears a 'deer stalker' hat and smokes a pipe. He also plays the violin. As you can see, Sherlock Holmes is a very sophisticated man. Surprisingly, he is a drug addict, who is addicted to morphine. This could have been a device to make him seem more real. His accomplice, Dr Watson is also a fictional detective. The entire story is seen through his eyes, therefore, we, the audience, could be lacking in knowledge. However, in Lamb to the Slaughter we see the story through the all knowing third person view, looking in on the household. Sherlock Holmes is obviously the detective of the story. In comparison with the detectives from Lamb to the Slaughter he is professional, he thinks before he acts
"his hat pulled down over his eyes, and his chin sunk upon his breast, buried in the deepest thought."
He is always careful, serious and remains suspicious unlike the detectives in Lamb to the Slaughter. They are not as serious and they eat the murder weapon
"their voices
thick and sloppy because their mouths were full of
meat."
This is an example of 'Black comedy' or 'macabre'. It is when a serious situation has comical values. For example, the consumption of the murder weapon in this story.
Mary Maloney, the central character in Lamb to the Slaughter, the murderer, is a simple housewife. She has no accomplice or interesting secrets. At the beginning of the story she appears to be an innocent pregnant woman. You could even say that she could quite easily be a victim in another murder story, but not this one.
"Her skin for this was her sixth month with
child had acquired a wonderful translucent quality."
She is a complete contradiction to the murderer in The Speckled Band, Dr Grimesby Roylott. He is described as being an "apparition". Also he is described much clearer as apposed to Mary Maloney
"His costume was a peculiar mixture of the
professional and of the agricultural, having a black
top-hat, a long frock-coat, and a pair of high gaiters,
with a hunting-crop swinging in his hand. So tall was
he that his hat actually brushed the cross bar of the
doorway, and his breadth seemed to span it across
from side to side. A large face, seared with a thousand
wrinkles, burned yellow with the sun, and marked
with every evil passion"
He is a traditional, stereotypical character created for the sole purpose of evil. He is the obvious prime suspect in The Speckled Band. In Lamb to the Slaughter, Mary Maloney is a very plain wife who loved her husband more than anything else. We are told that
"She loved to luxuriate in
the presence of this man"
She also speaks to her husband with an immense amount of excitement and admiration
"I'll get it!' she cried, jumping up"
However, it is when her husband replies to her, that the reader begins to feel sorry for her. He answers her in one or two word sentences, with no affection at all.
"'Sit down,' he said"
We feel as if Mary Maloney's love for her husband, Patrick Maloney is not mutual. The difference is you do not get this sympathy for Grimesby Roylott, the murderer in The Speckled Band. Instead, he is 'guilty before proven innocent.'In both stories, the roles of the women are played quite differently. Mary Maloney, the murderer, is the only woman in Lamb to the Slaughter. She keeps to herself, 'bottling up' emotions, not asking for help. On the other hand, we have Helen Stoner. She comes straight to Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes for help. In this story, she is the innocent, helpless character. She is described as having
"restless frightened eyes, like those of some
hunted animal."
Strangely, in this story, she is in fact the hunted animal. The hunter is Grimesby Roylott, who missed his opportunity to kill her. She is the hunted animal because Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is reflecting social attitudes at the time, portraying the woman as the helpless victim. Whereas Roald Dahl portrays the woman as the murderer.
While reading the stories, we notice that there is a difference in attitude towards the portrayal of women. In The Speckled Band we get the common woman in distress, Helen Stoner, seeking help from a man. Also we have a typical good vs. evil power struggle, Sherlock Holmes being good and Grimesby Roylott being evil. This is different from Lamb to the Slaughter, where good and evil are blurred, leaving the reader questioning their morals. As the reader sympathizes with the murderer, a pregnant housewife.
Men are also portrayed differently in these stories. In The Speckled Band, the man plays the role of a hero, who saves innocent people.
"The instant that we heard it, Holmes sprang from the
bed, struck a match, and lashed furiously with his cane
at the bell-pull"
However, in Lamb to the Slaughter the men come across as ignorant and naïve. Also, in The Speckled Band, the murderer is a man, when in Lamb to the Slaughter the man is the victim. This is another reflection of society in story writing; I believe that these stories have both been manipulated by the social attitudes of the time it was written. For example, when The Speckled band was written, in the Victorian era, men were seen as far superior to women. Women were considered weak and innocent. This differs from the social attitudes in Lamb to the Slaughter.
As we know, these stories were written 6 years apart. Obviously there will be a difference in language. In The Speckled Band long, descriptive sentences are used,
"in a pitiable state of agitation, her face all drawn and
grey, with restless frightened eyes, like those of some hunted animal."
Also, a complex sentence structure is used. It is called Parentheses. This is when a long explanation is used in between two commas. Here is one example
"for, working as he did rather for
the love of his art than for the acquirement of wealth,
he refused"
I have highlighted the text that is in Parenthesis. In Lamb to the Slaughter, these complex structures are not used at all. Instead, we find shortened, 'idiomatic' expressions and phrases
"'That's the hell of a big club the guy must've used to
Hit poor Patrick,"
The writing remains simple, with not much descriptive words.
In The Speckled Band, not only the language is complex, but also the plot. It consists of multiple twists and turns. The whole story is actually a report, given to us by Dr Watson. Throughout the story, clue after clue is given to us, but we don't get closure on who was the murderer until the end of the story. We are then told Sherlock Holms' conclusion in the form of a report
"I had come to these conclusions before ever I had
entered his room. An inspection of his chair showed
me that he had been in the habit of standing on it,
which of course would be necessary in order that he
should reach the ventilator. The sight of the safe, the
saucer of milk, and the loop of whipcord were enough
to finally dispel any doubts which may have remained."
Strangely after reading this conclusion, you could say that the audience start to become Dr Watson. These complexities are not present in Lamb to the Slaughter. Instead we are presented with a fairly simple plot. Unlike in The Speckled Band, we find out who the murderer is almost immediately. The only turn in this story is when Mary Maloney is told some disturbing news by her husband. This news triggers her to kill him. This news is actually so important that Roald Dahl has not told us.
"And he told her. It didn't take long, four or five
minutes at most, and she sat very still through it all,
watching him with a kind of dazed horror as he went
further and further away from her with each word."
This is a technique used to keep the audience in suspense. The Audience keep reading as they think that they will find out what it is later on in the story. But they do not.
To conclude, the main element of a detective story is that the villain is caught and justice is achieved. This happens in The Speckled Band, with Dr Roylott's death, but in Lamb to the Slaughter it doesn't, and the villain gets away with murder. Even if they had found her out, they wouldn't have any evidence. The main element is missing in Lamb to the Slaughter, but even so, that doesn't make the story any less exciting. We see both sides of the story. We empathize with Mary Maloney because we have seen her side of the story. But as for Dr Roylott, we remain with the impression of him being a criminal with no morals. Please note that this sample paper on Wider reading is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Wider reading, we are here to assist you. Your persuasive essay on Wider reading will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.
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