How Arthur Conan Doyle Creates an Atmosphere of Mystery and Builds Suspense in The Speckled Band
In many of Holmes' adventures, Conan Doyle used a successful personal
formula to create mystery and build suspense, and "The Speckled Band"
is no exception.
Watson begins the story by stating that he cannot recall any case that
represented more 'singular features' than that of the one he is about
to narrate. Despite this rather impressive beginning, analysis of the
other adventures reveals that this is the fairly 'standard' opening
for Conan Doyle.
The reader then learns that 'The Speckled Band' is about the
assistance that Holmes provided to a helpless young woman, by the name
of Miss Helen Stoner. Miss Stoner is a client who turns up at Baker
Street very early one morning in a 'pitiable state of agitation' to
seek Holmes' help. Her vulnerable state and appearance with 'her face
all drawn and grey, with restless, frightened eyes, like those of some
hunted animal' quickly engage the sympathy of the reader. Generally
speaking, she is portrayed by Arthur Conan Doyle as a naive, weak and
vulnerable woman whom we later discover has been taken advantage of by
her 'evil' stepfather. This is the kind of stereotype Holmes or the
writer had of women, (although the only person to have yet outwitted
Holmes in the adventures is a woman, namely Irene Adler in 'A Scandal
in Bohemia'; yet to the readers and Holmes this is presented more as a
curiosity than fact) as we encounter desperate female characters in
many of the adventures, for example, 'A Case Of Identity', etc.
Miss Helen Stoner's problem turns out to be quite similar to that of
Miss ...
... middle of paper ...
...d be tragic. Hence, the atmosphere of the story is by
this stage charged with tension and fear.
Holmes then proceeds to clarify upon the whole mystery and reveal the
''elementary'' reasoning which has brought it to a close. It is
customary for the detective to only reveal his methods at this point
to keep the reader in suspense till the very end. The precise nature
of the crime and criminal are then identified and with almost all
Sherlock Holmes' stories, the culprit is brought to justices and
Holmes emerges as the triumphant sleuth and saviour. The reader sees
how Holmes' enigmatic mind has used simple logic to solve the mystery
that neither the police, the client, the readers, or Watson could
solve and so the case of 'The Speckled Band', perhaps the most
interesting story in the collection of the 'Adventures' ends.
“People who are in earnest are always interesting, whether you agree with them or not” (The Chronicles). Doyle may be known as the author of Sherlock Holmes, but there are other facets to his life. On account of some strange events that occurred, Doyle was persuaded into thinking that spiritual beings existed. As Doyle’s career advanced he drew the attention of many to himself. He succeeded both by gaining supporters and detractors. He built on his fame by giving lectures. These aspects of his life are connected; his painful childhood led him to a successful medical career where his writing and life partner stepped into the picture. These aspects, when combined, led Doyle to a new world view of spiritualism.
Written in 1818, the latter stages of the Gothic literature movement, at face value this novel embodies all the key characteristics of the Gothic genre. It features the supernatural, ghosts and an atmosphere of horror and mystery. However a closer reading of the novel presents a multifaceted tale that explores
and shock of the death of her sister. She speaks in a low tone of
usual that she died the way she did, because it is obvious now that no
Woolrich reinforced the detective fictions of yesterday, introducing to the American audience new detectives, who not only wheels a gun but also uses their knowledge of psychoanalysis to catch the perpetrator and solve the crime. Though Woolrich extends his knowledge of the human mind, he, just like MacDonald, Chandler and Hammett gives reference to 18th-century authors which include Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allan Poe.
A comparison between Roald Dahl's Lamb to the slaughter and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Speckled Band
How W.W. Jacobs, H.G. Wells and Charles Dickens Create Suspense in their Gothic Horror Stories
Examining the roles of Sherlock Holmes in two short stories. ‘The Speckled Band’ and ‘The Cardboard Box.’ I am going to compare both ‘The Speckled Band’ and ‘ The Cardboard Box’ which are Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle. ‘A Study in Scarlet’ was Arthur Conan Doyle’s first novel, introducing both characters Holmes and Watson and including how they met. ‘A study in Scarlet’ was written in three weeks in 1886 and published in 1887.
Examine the role of Sherlock Holmes as a Detective in the Story Of The Speckled Band The creator of the very legendry stories of Sherlock Holmes was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Sir Arthur. As a child he was sent to a harsh, strict and then applied to study medicine. After qualifying, he travelled as a ships doctor, however he had very little success.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a British physician and writer, mostly well known for his stories “Sherlock Holmes”, which are generally in the field of crime fiction. He was a prolific writer whose other works include science fiction stories, historical novels, plays and romances, poetry, and non-fiction.
The birth of classic detective fiction was originated just in the mid nineteenth century, and was producing its own genre. Classical detective fiction follows a set of rules called the ‘Ten commandments of detective fiction’. The genre is so popular it can bee seen by the number of sales in any good book stores. Many of these books have been created a long time ago and there is still a demand for these types of books. The popularity is still ongoing because it provides constant entertainment, and also the reader can also have a role of detective trying to solve the crime/case committed. Classical detective fiction has a formula, the detective story starts with a seemingly irresolvable mystery, typically a murder, features the astute, often unconventional detective, a wrongly accused suspect to whom the circumstantial evidence points, and concludes with a startling or unexpected solution to the mystery, during which the detective explains how he or she solved the mystery. Formula that includes certain elements such as, a closed location to keep the number of suspects down, red hearings spread around the stories to keep the reader entertained yet interacted.
In The Hound of the Baskervilles, various factors of Arthur Conan Doyle’s early life, popularity, perspective, and status were all expressed in multiple ways. Spiritualism played an crucial role in his life, greatly impacting his work, specifically “The Hound.” Additionally, his birthplace and upbringing, along with the time period, inveigled his writing. Furthermore, Doyle characterized the people in the story in along with real life scenarios.
The main setting is Dr Roylot's house in the middle of a wild, stormy night. This immediately creates a sense of uneasiness in the readers mind. In his description of the storm, Conan Doyle uses sounds to very good effect. He talks about the howling wind and the rain beating on the windows. This language has a double impact because the words `howling' and `beating' are onomatopoeic.
Arthur Conan Doyle was one the most successful British authors in the 1800s. His most famous pieces are the Sherlock Holmes stories. One of these stories includes: “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”. This story is a mystery that has the one and only detective named Sherlock Holmes, the medical doctor Dr. Watson, the sorrowful Helen Stoner, and the intimidating Dr. Roylott. This short story takes place in April, 1883 at Stoke Moran, England.
The two texts ' Visitor ' and ' The adventure of the Speckled Band '