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Comparison between Arthur Doyle's 'The Adventures of the Speckled Band' and Roald Dahl's 'The Lamb to the Slaughter
Comparison between Arthur Doyle's 'The Adventures of the Speckled Band' and Roald Dahl's 'The Lamb to the Slaughter
Comparison between Arthur Doyle's 'The Adventures of the Speckled Band' and Roald Dahl's 'The Lamb to the Slaughter
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Comparing the two stories The Adventures of the Speckled Band and
The Lamb to the Slaughter
Within this essay I will be comparing and contrasting the two
detective stories 'The Adventures of the Speckled Band' and 'The Lamb
to the Slaughter', referring to the structure, language and
characterisation. 'The speckled band' was written in 1892 by Sir
Arthur Doyle, he was qualified as a doctor which gave him a medical
perspective for all his stories. 'The lamb to the slaughter' was
written in 1952 by Roald Dahl most famous for writing children's
stories although he did write adult material such as the book 'The
lamb to the slaughter featured in 'The tales of the unexpected'.
Detective stories mainly base themselves around solving murder cases;
the reader is taken on a journey to find who is guilty and their
motive which is normally along the lines of greed, loneliness and
hatred.
'The speckled band' is written in 1st person and the story is narrated
by Dr Watson, Sherlock's partner and dear friend. The story begins
with Dr Watson looking over his old notes and introducing us to his
views and feelings on Sherlock Holmes and his amazing talent for
solving murder mysteries. We are taken back eight years to a case they
solved. They were visited by a lady called Helen Stoner who explained
her story from the moment her mother died to the most recent events.
From there the story is slowly built up until the climax at the end
when the case is solved. Conan Doyle is able to engage the reader by
the affect of drama and atmosphere using short staccato sentences to
convey excitement, movement and speed. Dynamic verbs such as 'rush'
and 'groping' emphasises this. He is able to make the reader want to
carry on by uncovering each clue one by one putting together the
puzzle. The further you read the more clues you will get until you
have the full picture. The story ends with the uncovering of the whole
murder mystery; Sherlock explains that he is in 'no doubt' that he is
'directly responsible for Dr Grimsby Roylott's death' but it will not
'Weigh heavily' on his mind. He solved the case and prevented from
anyone else becoming a victim. This story is an extremely typical
detective story as it has the hero/ maverick and his apprentice crack
the case (which they always do), saving the lives of innocent people.
It contains vital ingredients for a detective story, suspense,
atmosphere, tension and so on.
'The Lamb to the Slaughter' is written in third person told by an
onlooker. The story begins in the home of Mr and Mrs Maloney, the room
it took bravery for her to stand up for herself. It's that kind of stupid bravery that wins
The first example of mystery elements in “Lamb to the Slaughter” is dramatic irony. Housewife Mary Maloney is startled by her husband’s bad mood and shocking news, so she turns into a murderer by killing her husband with a frozen lamb leg. She begins cooking the weapon, goes to the store to buy vegetables which creates an alibi. She comes home to call the police who bombard her with questions as she pleads her innocence. Later, at the end of the story, Mary Maloney served the lamb leg she used to kill Patrick to the police officers and they are personally disposing of the weapon and simultaneously trying to find it. This adds suspense because the reader knows that the lamb is the murder weapon but the police do not, leaving the reader unsure if the police will discover the truth about the meal they are eating. The second mystery element that adds suspense in “Lamb to the Slaughter” is inference gaps. At this point in the story, Patrick just returned home from work and is about to explain why he cannot go out to dinner and his depressed mood. After much confusing behavior from Patrick, “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”(Dahl 113). This adds suspense because the reader is not directly told what the news is and so their mind is left spinning,
Throughout our lives we encounter dilemmas which help us learn the real meaning of courage, which differs with every person. Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear. This could be interpreted that courage isn't committing an act of temerity without a reason, however, it is facing your fears to accomplish something which is more important than fear itself. Throughout the book B for Buster by Iain Lawrence, the main character of the novel learns the real meaning of courage through his acts of temerity in order to achieve something which is important to him. This novel takes place during World War II, when an underage sixteen year old signs up to become a crewman in the Halifax bombing of Nazi Germany. Although he is young, Kak makes it through his missions through his courage and determination to accomplish his dream and his love for flying. Lawrence uses characterization and many examples from the novel to show the true meaning of courage.
When wandering physically or mentally, courage will lead you back to the path. In “Home of the Brave” a heart touching memoir by Katherine Applegate, Kek experiences his new life in America with the assistance of his caring friends and family. He struggles along the way but never loses hope to find his mother. The most important theme in “Home of the Brave” is courage. Courage is when you have hope to better the future for you and others. This theme is shown when Kek continuously strives to find his mother even though his friends are indirectly saying that she is gone.
Courage is not simply about how well you deal with fear, how many noble deeds you accomplish, or how you overcome life threatening situations. Courage is the practice of determination and perseverance. Something like, an unwillingness to abandon a dream even when the pressures of society weigh down on your shoulders; society will make you feel tired, humiliated, broken, and confused. Actually, it can be effortlessly said that daily courage is more significant than bouts of great deeds. Since everybody undergoes demanding circumstances on a daily basis, and most of us will not be called to perform a great deed, courage comes from those daily struggles and successes. However, Kate Bornstein is one person who has been able to transform her everyday life into a brilliant deed of courage. She threw herself into an unknown abyss to discover truth that many others would never dare tread. Ingeniously combining criticism of socially defined boundaries, an intense sense of language, and a candid autobiography, Bornstein is able to change cultural attitudes about gender, insisting that it is a social construct rather than a regular occurrence, through here courageous writing.
Q1: The argument suggests courage be defined based on, the actions of an individual and the situation they are placed in. Someone could be put into the same situation and act on the situation differently based on experience, knowledge, desperation, and the meaning of the action or situation to an individual.(192c1-3-192d7) Someone with more knowledge will act more accordingly to a difficult situation if they know what their chances are in succeeding in that action or the consequences attempting it. Courage is a representation of bravery. If someone stands up for something not only to benefit them but to
Finding the courage to be brave is not always easy is explained and illustrated with examples of Salva being brave. “He was crying so hard he could hardly get his breath. He could not think, he could barely see. He had to slow down and for the first time on the long journey, he began to lag behind the group.” ( Park, 53) While Salva was walking through the Akobo Desert he got injured by stepping on a rock. Salva kept walking even when he could hardly breathe and he was falling behind, because he could have gotten lost and wouldn’t know where to go, and would have to travel alone. In addition, Salva shows
The vast majority of heroes in novels display courage frequently, making it a characteristic praised by many. Once a character demonstrates their cowardly nature, he becomes looked down upon. Those unlucky enough can be named weak, wimpy, chicken, and so forth; however many do not understand that both courage and timidness are intertwined. In the novel The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien, the author indicates that courage can be driven by both fear and cowardice.
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.
What does it take to be a survivor? What makes us survivors? What makes famous past figures survivors? Being a survivor is much more than brute strength and knowledge of the wild. It’s cooperation, patience, focus, the will to survive. Lee, Ralston, and Katniss Everdeen from the Hunger Games all show certain attributes such as courage, patience, and the will to survive.
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.
This is how you know courage is not by holding a gun in your hand but by how you act and deal with a situation even though you know you might lose you still risk everything and do the right thing. No matter what it takes, give it all. A courage’s man is what it takes to make this world right. “i wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what” (lee 124). What harper lee said there really explained courage perfectly and she explained it and demonstrated it really
Survival is indeed a word that can change a human’s perspective on what they need to do to remain alive. In order to survive, people have been known to go to great lengths and to do things they would not ordinarily do. I have noticed this throughout my life by watching movies, and reading books. Most of the time, it is the main character who comes face to face with death, and does anything to keep themselves alive. I have set up a few great examples that show’s people in their survival situations, and what they will do to get out alive.
How Does Arthur Conan Doyle Create Tension And Suspense In The Speckled Band The Speckled Band is just one of the murder mystery stories featuring the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. Holmes was not any ordinary detective, he was a detective who was famous for solving murders. In this case Holmes is trying to solve the mystery of the 'Speckled Band'. Some examples of tension building techniques are dramatic events and in some instances the inclusion of red herrings. Bad weather and night time are also used as a means of building up atmosphere and tension.
Kearny, Cresson H. Neclear War Survival Skills. Cave Junction: Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine, 1990.