Comparison of ‘The Speckled Band’ and ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ Essay

In this essay I will be comparing the devil stories The dapple Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and beloved to the whipping by Roald pigeon-pea plant.The Speckled Band was create verbally in 1892.This was in The Victorian Period when the great unwashed had very little faith in the Police and Conan Doyle needed to create a Detective who ceaselessly got everything right so that the public started to believe the Police could actually get it right. It was first published in a magazine called The Strand in weekly episodes so to a certain extent he needed to keep his endorsers interested as well which is why the plot is so complicated. The plot is nigh(predicate) a charr called Helen Stoner who is passing play to get married, just now someone or something murders her infant who as well as was supposed to get married. Helen Stoner goes to see Sherlock Holmes to see if he can attend to mould the crime. The plot is full of twists and red herrings that is up to the reader to try and solve as they go along solely as always Sherlock Holmes works out the significance of everything and solves the crime.Lamb to the Slaughter was written in 1954by Roald Dahl. This baloney was also published in a magazine called Harpers precisely was written to be read in one go so it does not have the complicated layout of Conan Doyles fable. Instead the reader knows exactly what is going on form the start of the story and the ending is shocking and designed to h darkened and horrify. It was written by Dahl to show how women at the time were a lot more right on than the men gave them credit for and should be respected more than being at home , pregnant.The plot is about a modern couple that seem to be falling out. bloody shame Maloney is the perfect 1950s lady of the house who makes dinner and cleans, but one day when her husband (Patrick Maloney) comes home from work they have an argument. Mary loses her body fluid with Patrick and hits him over the head with a leg of la mb and accidentally kills him. In a panic she phones the natural law and puts the leg of lamb in the oven to cook for dinner. When the law of nature arrive she persuades them to eat the lamb because it would be a waste of food. In the end the police eat the evidence and Mary didnt get caught. Dahl uses comic irony at the end to engage the reader as Mary sits there express joy about what she has acquiree you dont say her to do this as a middle line housewife.The times that these stories are set in are both very different. resembling travel, in The Speckled Band. They travel by horse and cart but in Lamb to the Slaughter tether use car or foot just like in the modern day. For communication the plurality in 1892 would have to write or go and see the person they wanted to talk to but in 1954 they would have used the telephone. Also in 1892 they did not have much electricity so they used candles instead of light, whereas in 1954 they had lots of electricity. In 1892 the women wo uld have worn veils and long skirts but in 1954 they would have they would have worn jeans, t-shirt etc. in 1892 rich families would lived in large houses with servants but in the modern day most families are middle classed and do not have the bullion for servants etc. When there was an enquiry in 1892 the detectives would have had to use their own knowledge to solve crimes but in 1954 they would use fingerprints, evidence etc to solve the crimes.The language used in The Speckled Band was old fashioned and very formal like when Sherlock Holmes says Very sorry to knock you up Watson, state he, but its the common lot this morning. He also says things like Mrs Hudson has been knocked up, she reported upon me, and I on you. This isnt the kind of language we would use in the modern day and proves that it is set in 1892. besides in Lamb to the Slaughter there was a lot of slang and it was not as formal. Like when Mary says Hullo darling. And Hullo Sam to the grocer. However the way she speaks to Sam the grocer proves it was set in the 1950s and not in some(prenominal) other time because we would not know the person in the break shops first name today but it was common in the 1950s to be friendly with them.In The Speckled Band Sherlock Holmes is the main character. He is a famous detective and solves difficult cases. Conan Doyle invented him because community in the Victorian times were fed with the fact that the police could not solve any crimes and he wanted a character that always got everything right. However in Lamb to the Slaughter there were police who are good at solving cases but wouldnt be able to solve them without any evidence and they are very arrogant and treat Mary as a silly woman when in fact she is the person who has tricked them and been the murderer. Dahl does this to shock his readers and make it even more dramatic which Conan Doyle would not want to do because they needed to trust their detectiveIn The Speckled Band the killer was a snake that had been hypnotised by Helen Stoners stepfather, but all the way through the story he is a suspect and he acts suspiciously like when Helen goes to visit Sherlock Holmes to tell him what has been going on, shortly after she leaves her stepfather came in asking if she has been here. It seemed like he had something to hide, but in the end it had postal code to do with him.In Lamb to the Slaughter Mary seems like a nice, gentle woman who feels that she has to help out. Like when she says,Darling, shall I get your slippers? but after the police eat the evidence she laughs so I hold he whole issue hade made her go a bit insane. At the parentage of the story you didnt expect it from her because she just seems like a normal, average wife like when it express about She took his coat and hung it in the closet. and when it said She was sat back again in her chair with the sewing. The photograph seems too realistic for something bad to happen.In The Speckled Band the victim was Helen Stoners sister because there was nothing anyone could do to save her this made the readers feel very sorry for her. The nigh victim was Helen Stoner and because nobody knew what killed her sister it seemed that she needed protection. I would expect someone like her to be the next victim because she is a woman who has done nothing wrong and is innocent. I dont think of her or her sister deserved to be the victims because they are both just happy and normal people.In Lamb to the Slaughter you dont feel sorry for Patrick because he is being horrible to Mary and you feel automatically on her side from the beginning. I think he deserved to be trouble but not killed because they are just having a falling out.The Speckled Band is set in Stoke Moran, which is Helens stepfather house. Sherlock Holmes is investigating the house. I think it is a good setting for a murder to take place and because its a very big house which makes it creepier for the reader because you dont know what is doin g the killings.Lamb to the Slaughter is set in Mary Maloneys house. I think the way the author has described it makes it sound very realistic, like when he says,The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight. This makes the room sound cosy and like it really exists. You can really picture the scenery. I also think its a good setting for a murder because you can imagine it happening there. I think I would expect it because so many crimes in real manners have been taken place in houses.Out of the two stories I preferred Lamb to the Slaughter because it is easier to understand and keeps you interested all the way though with the description it uses. I disliked the other story because the speaking parts dragged on to long and I did really just want to get on and find out what happens.