Analysis Of The Adventure Of The Speckled Band

A Satisfying Plot The best novels or stories leave the reader with satisfaction and a feeling of being content, they leave the reader in a state where he/she doesn’t have to go back to the book or question how it ends. This is the satisfaction that every reader searches for when they are reading a book, a satisfaction that is in many cases, only available in books and stories. One story that portrays this satisfaction is “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” written by Arthur Conan Doyle. This is a murder mystery story that features Sherlock Holmes, it involves a woman (Helen Stoner) whose sister died mysteriously. Helen started experiencing some of the same things her sister experienced before she died, making the woman paranoid and nervous. Seeking help; the

The father dies from the bite of his own snake, due to Holmes lashing out at the snake and sending it back up the rope, where the stepfather was waiting for it. This gives the stepfather a taste of his own medicine, he dies the same way in which he murdered the Helen’s sister. For example, Watson states “His chin was cocked upward and his eyes were fixed in a dreadful, rigid stare at the corner of the ceiling. Round his brow he had a peculiar yellow band, with brownish speckles, which seemed to be bound tightly round his head. As we entered he made neither sound nor motion.” (Doyle, 155-156) This statement is explaining the moment of death of the stepfather, and it also reveals how the stepfather murdered, with a deadly snake. The stepfather’s death helps to leave the reader satisfied because the reader is left knowing that the stepfather cannot kill anymore, so there will be no more murders by his hand. The stepfather’s death also leaves the reader satisfied at the end because of the revenge aspect, the stepfather dies the same way in which he murdered which can leave a reader more