Both Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band share some
characteristics of murder mysteries. What are the similarities and
differences between the two stories?
I this essay I am going to compare two short stories. 'The Speckled
Band' by Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle and 'The Lamb to the Slaughter' by
Roald Dahl.
There are both many similarities and difference between these two
stories. Though some similarities/differences are obvious and easy to
spot, there are also some less obvious similarities/differences.
The first difference we can see is the setting. 'In Lamb to the
Slaughter', the main setting is in a quiet, warm house. 'The room was
warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight - hers
and the one by the empty chair opposite.' This description tells us
about how the house is appealing to be in. Also, by saying the 'empty
chair opposite' you can gather that there is another character in the
story, to which she is waiting for. The time period is a post 20th
Century America (1954, about 10 years after the Second World War.)
However, the main setting in 'The Speckled Band' is the complete
opposite. '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.' This gives a foreboding atmosphere, which
could be used to en-still fear into readers. Another difference is
that it is set in 19th Century England.
Though both very different, both settings hold a murder to them.
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. 'Curiously tranquil eyes with their new placid
look, seemed larger, darker than before.' The writer also indicates
that she is pregnant, 'for this was her sixth month with child.' With
this description, you would not think of Mary to be a 'typical
killer'. What people consider a typical killer is someone who is cold,
precise and knows what they're doing, usually a man. However we are
misled, 'brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his
head. She might just have hit him with a steel club.' As you can see,
this would not have been expected from a quiet tranquil person. There
are no more descriptions of other people. This is strange as you would
think that there would be more people in the story. Even though more
people come into the story, they are not significant enough to get a
description. They are just said to be a 'police detective'.
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.
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It does not occur to the detectives that the leg of lamb is a club
The mood at the Beginning of both stories is calm but there is a bit
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'Oh, sir, do you not think you could help me too, and at least throw a
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