Comparing the Portrayals of the Villains from Tell-Tale Heart and The Speckled Band

Comparing the Portrayals of the Villains from Tell-Tale Heart and The Speckled Band

The two villains in “Tell-Tail Heart” and “The Speckled Band” both

have similarities and differences in their portrayals of murder,

conveyed in the stories. They have disparities between motives and

methods of murder, although there is a resemblance in the masterminds

of murder.

The villain in “The Speckled Band”, Dr. Grimsby Roylott was married to

Mrs. Stoner in India who is prosperous with her wealth, but she had

died in a train crash and bequeathed the sum of £1000 to Dr. Roylott.

This money was enough to fulfil the family’s needs as they moved into

an old ancestral house in Stoke Moran. Roylott unfortunately in dismay

fears that the family will deteriorate into financial decline as his

step- daughters will be leading their lives through marriage. It was

an unmanageable situation for Dr. Roylott to elucidate this matter. He

was inconceivable to murder his step daughter, Julia Stoner with his

knowledge of deadly snakes in an ambitious attempt to stop her,

despite the fact that his motive was reason enough to keep him

focused. Dr. Roylott had planned to target his next victim, Helen

Stoner. It was only then that Sherlock Holmes intervened and impeded

his plan.

Edgar Allan Poe delineates a murderer’s mind thoroughly as it is the

murderer who relates the story to us. He commits a murder of an

innocent man, but does not take the blame that he is mad, as

throughout the story he attempts to deny it. His motive was to rid of

the innocent man’s “vulture eye” which was the concentration, because

he believes justification of society’s morals is hi...

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...r Roylott to pursue Helen to generate an absolute

indistinguishable murder.

Roylott had used his time to manipulate his passion for Indian animals

as an excuse to “lock doors” during the night so there was no evidence

of a forced break – in, which would drive him far from the involvement

of murder. He had deliberately secluded the ancestral house with

“blotched windows” etc, which constructed a perfect crime scene to

leave its victim vulnerable; a truly sinister and stereotypical

villain.

Both stories enable viewers to establish a connection between

stereotypical villains from their devious murders, and how the writers

have conveyed it through their writing techniques. These stories

relate to us in modern society, how and why murders happen and are

contemplated, which all reflects the demonstration of villainy.