The Speckled band Essay Example for Free

The Speckled band Essay Now, of course that suggests at once there must be a communication between the two rooms. It can only be a small one, or it would have been remarked upon at the coroners inquiry. I deduced a ventilator Holmes explained to Watson. In Dr Roylotts bedroom the position of the wooden chair showed it had been used to stand on to reach the ventilator, An inspection of his chair showed me that he had been in the habit of standing on it, which, of course, would be necessary in order that he should reach the ventilator Holmes told Watson. The other clues found in the stepfathers room by Holmes were a metal safe with a saucer of milk on the top of it, on finding this Holmes asks there isnt a cat in it for example? at which Helen replies No what a strange idea! . In Dr Roylotts room there was also a small dog lash hung on one corner of the bed. The lash, however, was curled upon its self, and tied so as to make a loop of whipcord. The red-herrings in the story relates to the speckled band which Julia had said before her death, O, my God! Helen! It was the band! The speckled band! . Helen had thought that her sister was referring to the gipsies spotted handkerchiefs Which so many of them wear over their heads might have suggested the strange adjective which she used. The gipsies were camping on the ground of the Stoke Moran estate with Dr Roylotts permission. The estate also had a cheetah and a baboon roaming the estate grounds which had frightened Helens sister greatly prior to her death. Dr Roylott has a passion also for Indian animals, which are sent over to him by a correspondent and these animals wander freely over his grounds, and are feared by the villagers almost as much as their master Helen informed Holmes. Within both stories we see Holmes as a respected master of deduction in the Victorian period. The language is formal with Holmes using long sentences to explain the methods he has used to investigate and solve the crime and disappearance. This is shown when Holmes informs Watson in The Speckled band that he had come to an entirely erroneous conclusion , which shows , my dear Watson , how dangerous it always is to reason from insufficient data . In The Man with the twisted lip Holmes remarks to Watson There is plenty of thread , no doubt , but I cant get the end of it in my hand. This is the language used during the Victorian time. It is also apparent that both Helen Stoner and Mrs St Clair have sought help from Holmes as they have heard that he has a reputation for solving crimes. Sherlock Holmess character in The Man with the twisted lip is a well known and respected man by the police force this was seen when he entered the police station in Bow Street the two constables at door saluted him. The police are willing to work with him as seen by Inspector Bradstreet showing him into his office and asking him what can I do for you Mr Holmes? he then provides him with information about Hugh Boone and allowing him into to cell were he was imprisoned. His authority and the way he is able to reassure people is seen when he confronts Neville St Clair in the cell Sherlock Holmes sat down beside him on the couch, and patted him kindly on the shoulder. He uses his authority to persuade Neville to provide information to Inspector Bradstreet so that the case would never go into court at all this is to avoid the shame, the publicity of a court hearing which would bring to his family. The way that Holmes worked in solving the disappearance is by quietly sitting and thinking all through the night with an old brier pipe between his lips, his eyes fixed vacantly upon the corner of the ceiling, the blue smoke curling up from him, silent, motionless, with the light shinning upon his strong-set aquiline features this shows that Holmes is committed to his job. In The Speckled Band Holmes works quickly and methodically to solve the crime by inspecting the house where the death occurred, whatever danger threatened an occupant of the room could not come either from the window or the door this shows that he uses his detective skills to piece together the clues like a jigsaw. He also works in a calm and composed manner, this is shown in the way Holmes deals the Swamp adder the deadliest snake in India, Without hesitation he drew the dog whip swiftly from the dead mans lap, and throwing the noose round the reptiles neck, he drew from its horrid perch, and, carrying it at arms length, threw it into the iron safe, which he closed upon it, this is showing that he is brave and deals with danger without hesitating. As well as this Holmes shows his commitment to his profession, this is shown in the way he informs Helen Stoner As to reward, my profession is its reward this means that Holmes motivated by solving crimes and not by money. The endings of these two short stories are different in The Man with the twisted lip there is a happy ending were the main character is reunited with his wife and family having gone missing for several days. The Speckled Band ends with the death of Dr Roylott who is killed by the swamp adder. In The Man with the twisted Lip the ending concludes a successful piece of investigative work by Holmes and Watson as they restored the normal everyday life of Mr and Mrs Neville St Clair. Apart from Mr St Clair going missing for a few days there is no scandal, as the newspapers do not find out the facts behind his disappearance and is wife is not told the true story behind his disappearance. So satisfied in Holmes with the outcome of this investigation that he says to Watson If we drive to Baker Street we shall be in time for breakfast. The ending to The Speckled Band is not happy as it results in the death of Dr Roylott, this does not play on Holmess his conscience as Dr Roylott is described by Helen Stoner as a man of immense strength , and absolutely uncontrollable in his anger. An example of this is given he hurled the local blacksmith over the parapet into a stream. The final sentence of this story ends with Holmes stating that I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr Grimesby Roylotts death ,and I cannot say that it is likely to weigh very heavily upon my conscience. To conclude from looking at detective fiction in the nineteenth century and comparing the two short stories above I have been able to examine the winning formula that detective fiction has been written to. This is the way these stories are written to involve the reader in the detectives role of gathering clues, to solve the crime and find the culprit. This method has stood the test of time; in fact detective fiction is probably stronger today than it was in the nineteenth century. This is due to having wider audience as it has been translated into television and its popularity is evident as it scores of highly in the ratings. Harry Johnson 1 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Conan Doyle section.