Comparing Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band
This essay is a comparison of two short stories 'Lamb to the
Slaughter' and 'The Speckled Band' by highlighting the techniques that
make it classic or not a classic crime novel. A typical murder mystery
consists of a very intellectual person who pieces together parts of a
jigsaw to unravel the murder mystery.
'The Speckled Band' is a typical crime novel because it has a very
intellectual Investigator Sherlock Holmes who is the only person who
is capable of solving the mystery of who killed Julia Stoner. The
house in which Sherlock is investigating is old and large which is
also a typical setting for a murder novel. In the end Sherlock Holmes
solves the cleverly devised mystery using all his wit.
'Lamb to the Slaughter' is not a typical crime novel because the
detectives are not very smart and cannot solve the crime. The setting
is an ordinary house that is seemingly cosy. The detectives are not
very professional as they are all persuaded to consume alcohol while
on duty. Unlike Holmes they do not click how the murder was devised
even when it is right under their noses. Sherlock uses clues such as
the milk saucer, the poison and the whistle to come up with the theory
of a snakebite killing Julia Stoner. The detectives in 'Lamb to the
Slaughter' had many clues such as when Mrs Maloney is speaking to Sam
the grocer:
'I got a nice leg of lamb from the freezer.'
It does not occur to the detectives that the leg of lamb is a club
shape suitable for causing the blow to the head and being frozen will
be as hard as steel.
Both Arthur Conan Doyle and Roald Dahl use methods t...
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...ies is that the endings,
Holmes solves the murder the inspectors in 'Lamb to the Slaughter' do
not. In 'The Speckled Band' the snake that Dr. Roylett used as a
murder weapon is enraged by Holmes hitting it with a stick that it
crawls back and bites Dr. Roylett. This gives the reader a feeling of
triumph as good overcame evil. In 'Lamb to the Slaughter' it ends with
the inspectors eating the murder weapon and only evidence allowing Mrs
Maloney to get away with the murder. One of the main constituents to
the classic crime novel is that the intelligent individual solves and
justice is served. Doyle delivers this while Roald Dahl does not.
Therefore the main difference is that Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The
Speckled Band' is typical of a classical crime story and Roald Dahl's
'Lamb to the Slaughter' is purposely the opposite.
When Roald Dahl used repetition to add to the scare factor in his short story, “Lamb to Slaughter”. Throughout the story he used repetition to emphasize things. Like when he repeats “They always treated her kindly.” and “The two detectives were exceptionally nice to her.” It was to emphasize that they treated her as the victim rather than a suspect. The repetition used made me curious when reading the story. Whenever I saw something repeated, I asked myself ‘Why would they do that?’ I became intrigued and wanted to read more and find out. By repeating, Roald created suspense and anticipation for the reader to get to the climax, prompting the reader to keep reading. In conclusion, repetition definitely made the story scarier.
Desperation is a state of despair,where someone will act in an extreme way. These extreme behaviours can lead to actions that cannot be taken back. In Roald Dahl’s “Lamb to the Slaughter” Mary is a kind and loving person before she is in a state of desperation. Mary’s actions are an example of how desperation can transform people forever. Mary is kind and loves her husband very deeply. Mary’s love for her husband is displayed when “ Mary Maloney was waiting for her husband to come home from work. Now and again she would glance up at the clock, but without anxiety, merely to please herself with the thought that each minute gone by making it nearer the time that he would come.”(Dahl 10) Mary loves Patrick very much and
The speckled band and the lamb to the slaughter are both a comparison of two short stories from the murder mystery genre. The speckled band was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (in 1892 and was published in the following year). The lamb to the slaughter was written by the famous Roald Dahl (in 1953). Arthur was a Scottish physician and writer, he wrote a series of books featuring Sherlock Holmes and his side-Kick Dr. Watson. The stories were a big hit, the speckled band was also one of his adventurous chronicles. The lamb to the slaughter was a story written for older children and was also, satisfactory. Roald Dahl was an author and an intelligence officer –he was most famous for his great storytelling-His short stories are known for their unexpected endings and his children’s books for their unsentimental, often dark humour.
Throughout The Butcher’s Tale: Murder and Anti-Semitism in a German Town, the murder of Ernst Winter in Konitz is very much a reflection of the overall attitudes of many Europeans during the early 20th century. It was clear that once the anti-Semitic attitudes started to become prominent in society, they spiraled out of control and started to take over entire communities. The Jewish people were blamed for crimes they did not commit, were excluded from society, and suffered from acts of violence and hate speech. Wild stories began to be spread all over town and people started to believe everything they heard, even if there was no substance behind it. This caused lots of problems in Germany, as well as Europe in general, since many people got
do not seem suitable to be human beings. He understands the things he does are
Comparing the Way in Which Helen Stoner and Mary Maloney are Treated in The Speckled Band and Lamb to Slaughter
A comparison between Roald Dahl's Lamb to the slaughter and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Speckled Band
Sacrificed yet worshipped, killed and praised, meek but great; Christians first associate this thought with Jesus Christ himself, as he himself died for our sins one week after being praised for being so great. However, that isn 't what I was referring to. I was talking about sheep and lambs. However, the only real difference between the two is a age gap. Lambs are truly sheep, but less than one year old. Sheep are lambs that grown up past a full year (Sheep 101: Sheep Terms). Lamb is also the name of the meat that is scavenged from killed lambs, while mutton is the name of meat of killed sheep (Sheep 101: Sheep Terms). In addition to their meat, their wool is also a remarkable feature of them, providing them warmth, can be harvested from them
Comparing Roald Dahl’s Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The topic of dehumanization has an interesting dynamic in Demme’s film The Silence of the Lambs. This consists of the fact that the Clarice Starling’s own humanity is consistently undermined and almost immediately rectified by Dr. Lecter. Lecter in himself is an ironic character since while he has no fear about killing someone through cannibalism. One of the highest symbolic forms of dehumanization possible, he still respects and guards Starling’s humanity. This character receives even more complexity as Lecter is revealed as more and more calculating and cold throughout the series, almost appearing desensitized to most human emotions, interactions and concerns. Lecter’s analytical, observant, and almost sociopathic outlook on his surroundings contrasts heavily with Starling’s earnest desire to discover the secrets behind Buffalo Bill’s identity and reasons, a desire to
In “Lamb to the Slaughter”, Roald Dahl uses diction, details, and syntax to emphasize the matter-of-fact tone that is consistent throughout the entire story. Diction is a key element of tone that conveys this matter-of-fact tone. For example, Mary Maloney says to herself after killing her husband, “All right… So I’ve killed him” (Dahl 320). This sentence is lacking emotion. It states a pure fact, without going into further detail and captures a turning point in Mary Maloney’s way of thinking. By telling herself “all right,” Mary distances herself from the murder. She is detached from her own story and does not reveal any qualms about murdering her own husband. Similarly, Dahl uses the next sentence to describe Mary’s thoughts by explaining,
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.
Blake is saying to the lamb, I'll tell you who made you, and it is
Lamb to the Slaughter, by Roald Dahl, instantly grabs a reader’s attention with its grotesque title, ensuing someone’s downfall or failure. The saying “lamb to the slaughter,” usually refers to an innocent person who is ignorantly led to his or her failure. This particular short story describes a betrayal in which how a woman brutally kills her husband after he tells her that he wants a divorce. She then persuades the policemen who rush to the scene to consume the evidence. This action and Patrick’s actions show the theme of betrayal throughout the story which Roald Dahl portrays through the use of point of view, symbolism and black humor.
The short story “Lamb to The Slaughter” by Roald Dahl is about the death of a detective who has been murdered by his wife. As officers arrive they can’t seem to find the murder and the murder weapon. The short story Lamb to The Slaughter is interesting to read because the author allows readers to put their own perspective into the book. Another reason is the storyline and finally the theme.