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The speckled band analysis
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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.
A story from the murder mystery genre is a narrative about a murder and how the murder is discovered. The following things usually happen, or are present in a murder mystery: investigation, red herrings, tension, detection, solutions, resolution and justice. They have a very gradual introduction in the context of storyline and the characters, it then slowly builds up to the piercing plot, with a conspiratorial twist, when finished, everything is more likely to fall in place or you could even let it go as cliff-hanger.
Other differences are in the way the characters are depicted. In 'Lamb to the Slaughter the main character, Mary Maloney, is described as a quiet peaceful person. The writer also indicates that she is pregnant, ' with a sixth month child.' With this description, you would not think of Mary as being a 'typical killer'. What people consider a typical killer is someone like Grimsby Roylott who i...
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... unintended victim himself, therefore the story makes you feel as if it attained a certain irony in its ending, which proves to be something atypical.
Alternatively, in the lamb to the slaughter Mary turned out to be more devious and deceptive. She had known a little about criminal activity as she was a police officer’s wife, she had planned and plotted everything from creating an alibi to how she was going to act after the crime. Considering Mary’s unintentional act, I think she did not deserve to be punished for her actions
In conclusion, I prefer The Lamb To The Slaughter more so than The Speckled Band, the reason being, that the speckled band was more serious and had more connected as well as rounded characters, whereas The Lamb to the slaughter was full of suspense, thrills and dark hidden humour proving to be a fun read with a limited degree of reality.
First, “Lamb to the Slaughter”, Mary Malony. She killed her husband when he said he was going to leave her and her baby all alone. I guess she couldn’t bare the thought of him leaving her all alone like that so she just killed him with their dinner. “At that point, Mary Maloney simply walked up
Dahl, Robert. "Lamb to the Slaughter." 1961. Elements of Literature. Vol. 4. N.p.: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 2007. 379-86. Print.
Having to take your anger out on someone isn’t fair or good, especially if you’re being killed with frozen lamb. Based on everyone’s understanding, when you kill someone you’ll have to pay the price and consequences. Apparently this lady didn’t. But are we sure she’s going to marry another man and kill him too? In “Lamb to the slaughter”, I’m going to be talking about Mary Maloney and how madly crazy she is.
The analysis showed that Shirley’s and Thomas’s work matched in a way that both the stories reflect identity crises and the psyche of a killer. The notable use of typical fictional horror elements such as tragic backstories, harbingers, unseen forces causing chaos and dreadfulness, terror and above all unrealistically portrayed personality disorders makes the stories a baroque blend of supernatural fantasy and moral reality.
All of Roald Dahl’s stories seem to be brimfull of irony and wry humor, and “Lamb to the Slaughter” is no different. Mary Maloney, a pregnant, but cheerful woman is very much in love with her husband and we certainly don’t expect her to be of any trouble. It’s shocking enough to learn that her husband, who seems such a nice guy, is cheating on her and plans to move out. This changes the expectation of the story right off the bat, and we feel a compassion for the poor woman. We’re not sure how she’s going to cope with this news, especially since she’s six months pregnant with his child. So when she acts rather compulsively and strikes him over the head with the leg of lamb that was going to be his supper, we really are shocked. She’s acted
One of Dahl's more popular short fiction stories for adults is "Lamb to the Slaughter." I am going to be using this story in my comparison against another Murder Mystery called "Speckled Band" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
Dahl, Roald. "Lamb to the Slaughter." Lamb to the Slaughter and Other Stories. London: Penguin, 1995. N. pag. Print.
“Slaughterhouse-Five.” Novels for Students. Ed. Diane Telgen and Kevin Hile. Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale, 1998. 258-77. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
Jones, Peter G. "The End of the Road: Slaughterhouse-Five, or The Children's Crusade" Modern Critical Interpretations Slaughterhouse-Five Ed. Harold Bloom.
“Slaughterhouse-Five.” Novels for Students, edited by Diane Telgen and Kevin Hile, vol.3, Gale, 1998, pp.270-272. Gale Virtual Reference Library, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=mag_k_magn0772&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CCX3124800023&asid=672cdfle9fdc3ebfec23d9ab3670f871. Accessed 4 Nov.17.
In conclusion Slaughterhouse-Five and The Things They Carried are two successful anti-war novels. Slaughterhouse-Five is over the top with its science fiction and illusion, while The Things They Carried is serious and reflective. These books are different in tone and the two authors take similar routes to the same goal. Both books are based on the experiences of the authors themselves. The two books run parallel and tell the terrors of war. These books are both paintings of human nature in the perspective of war and by showing the behavior of humans at war. These books effectively send their anti-war messages to readers.
Considered to be one of America's imaginative, original, and talented contemporary writers, Kurt Vonnegut has treated readers to such wonderful works of literature as Slaughterhouse-five and Breakfast of Champions. Most of his many novels, short stories, and plays criticize various wrongs of society. Vonnegut's work is often humorous and light-hearted, mixing settings of fantasy with everyday situations of life. Deeper themes concerning the welfare of society are clearly evident in his satire. Throughout this long career Vonnegut has used his unique style to effectively portray his outlook of the world.
Throughout his career, Kurt Vonnegut has used writing as a tool to convey penetrating messages and ominous warnings about our society. He skillfully combines vivid imagery with a distinctly satirical and anecdotal style to explore complex issues such as religion and war. Two of his most well known, and most gripping, novels that embody this subtle talent are Cat's Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five. Both books represent Vonnegut’s genius for manipulating fiction to reveal glaring, disturbing and occasionally redemptive truths about human nature. On the surface, Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five are dramatically different novels, each with its own characters, symbols, and plot. However, a close examination reveals that both contain common themes and ideas. Examining and comparing the two novels and their presentation of different themes provides a unique insight into both the novels and the author – allowing the reader to gain a fuller understanding of Vonnegut’s true meaning.
...e oven?” (Dahl 4) Mary was very manipulative and sinister because she knew exactly what she was doing; she wanted the officers to eat up all of the lamb so that there would be no evidence of the murder weapon that she used to kill. As the officers were eating up all of the lamb, Mary was very happy and giggling while she was listening to the officers eat up the lamb, she was never grieving about the loss of Patrick and just wanted to kill him and cover up the evidence so she will not be caught.
" Silence of the Lambs " is a classic of the genre which is a thriller. A cult film which signed up in history of cinema. A masterpiece performed by Anthony Hopkins. The film is based on the book by Thomas Harris of the same name (Harris, 1988) . Although it was filmed in 1991, it remains one of the best psychological thrillers ever made. Jonathan Demme's film goes beyond the classical framework of the genre, playing with intellect viewer with associations . The movie surprises, though, even the predictability becomes a attractive - predictable places, characters, and events. Demme's film is in my opinion a great movie of crime, derived many, many of the thriller which has many unusual psychological content . Rarely do you find in contemporary cinema so well drawn characters, so scary and fascinating look of evil .