English Literature Coursework GCSE
Analyse a Short Story
Sherlock Holmes: “The Speckled Band”
“The Speckled Band” was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and is a
murder mystery. It was set in 1883 in a wealthy area of London. It is
so realistic that many people believe that Holmes and Watson really
did exist.
Sherlock Holmes is the detective and, as is usual in this type of
story, he has a sidekick. This is Watson who documents the cases in
diary form, “The Speckled Band being one entry.
The short story begins with Miss Helen Stoner visiting Sherlock Holmes
to ask for help with the case of her sister’s murder. She tells us the
story of how her sister, Julia, was engaged and about to get married.
Julia was made to move rooms for unnecessary repairs, which their
stepfather had ordered.
She then tells of her stepfathers’ past and the death of her mother.
The stepfather, Dr. Grimesby Roylott, had a history of gambling
problems and lost a lot of money through his addiction. He ventured to
India to continue his profession as a doctor in a small practice. This
is where he met Julia and Helen’s mother, who was at the time a rich
widow. They became close and married, but after sometime, Dr. Roylott
became violent and bad tempered. Then, tragically, the girls’ mother
unexpectedly died in the Crewe rail crash and left Dr. Roylott in
charge of the money, which the girls would receive when they marry.
Helen believes the death of Julia was suspicious and now she herself
is to be married, she fears for her life. She begs for help and
Holmes agrees to assist her.
Sherlock Holmes spends the rest of the story deducing who the murderer
is. He does this by piecing together the clues, in true detective
fashi...
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...mes tells Watson not to go to sleep as his “very life may
depend on it.” Another example is Holmes telling Watson to get his
pistol ready in case they need it quickly. This makes us think they
are unsafe and there are many ways they are in grave danger. Watson
also refers to the whole experience as a “dreadful vigil”.
I enjoyed this short story because of Conan Doyle’s writing methods. I
was kept enthralled by his technique of using suspense and ‘red
herrings’. I think this is a good way of keeping your audience
interested in the story as “The Speckled Band” is a complicated tale
and needs explaining as well as enjoying. The author kept me
interested as well as clarifying the parts I was unsure of by subtly
describing events in depth and referring to things previously read in
the story. All in all I enjoyed “The Speckled band” by Sir Arthur
Conan Doyle.
Undoubtedly, William’s suicide had a devastating effect upon Julia. After William’s death, she decided to move out of the Lavender Suite and into the William Lemp Suite across the hall. Also in late 1905, Julia was diagnosed with cancer. Her final weeks were spent in extreme pain. After becoming bedridden, she requested to be moved back into Lavender Suite. I think she wanted to spend her final days in the same room where her beloved husband took his own life. Julia lost her battle with cancer on April 6,
about a way that she could go to Eretz Island, Israel where she could be safe. She left her
out of curiosity to see the inside of her house, which no one save an old
The birth of classic detective fiction was originated just in the mid nineteenth century, and was producing its own genre. Classical detective fiction follows a set of rules called the ‘Ten commandments of detective fiction’. The genre is so popular it can bee seen by the number of sales in any good book stores. Many of these books have been created a long time ago and there is still a demand for these types of books. The popularity is still ongoing because it provides constant entertainment, and also the reader can also have a role of detective trying to solve the crime/case committed. Classical detective fiction has a formula, the detective story starts with a seemingly irresolvable mystery, typically a murder, features the astute, often unconventional detective, a wrongly accused suspect to whom the circumstantial evidence points, and concludes with a startling or unexpected solution to the mystery, during which the detective explains how he or she solved the mystery. Formula that includes certain elements such as, a closed location to keep the number of suspects down, red hearings spread around the stories to keep the reader entertained yet interacted.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is the creator of the character Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. He was a Scottish writer and physician, he wrote many things in his life. Doyle did not just write detective mysteries he also fantasy and science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction and historical novels. Even though he wrote many other thing he is mostly well known for writing all of the canon Sherlock stories. Doyle himself had a career in the medical field there he meet many influential people to base his characters from. A letter was found where he wrote to one of his colleagues whose name was Joseph Bell that the most important traits of his character Sherlock was mostly based on him. Bell himself had the career title of forensic
Arthur Conan Doyle's Stories and Their Undying Appeal When the Sherlock Holmes books were written, London was rife with croime. The slums, especially, were victims to prostitution, murder and drug abuse. Jack the Ripper was free on the streets, making many people scared. The police couldn't catch him so the public resented the police force as they weren't seen to be protecting them. I think that this is one of the reasons why the Sherlock Holmes stories were so successful.
A comparison between Roald Dahl's Lamb to the slaughter and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Speckled Band
to me that she wanted to speak to us, thought we were somebody she knew."
Agatha Christie depicts a descriptive, fictional murder mystery in the novel ABC Murders. With the help of the narrator, Captain Arthur Hastings, Hercule Poirot solves the murders of four victims who are killed in alphabetical order by Franklin Clarke, more commonly known as ABC. The story elicits copious high points but the rare low point as well. Examples of these aspects can be found within the plot, setting, characters, conflict, and theme of the book. According to Stanford’s Suggested Reading List, the book is considered a “must read.” ABC Murders definitely holds up to the reputation placed upon it by Stanford and would be a favorable choice for anyone wishing to read a well written novel.
“The ABC Murders” is about a detective by the name of Poirot who has to find clues on a killer who is killing people whose names are in alphabetical order. It started off with Alice Ascher from Andover. Then it went to Betty Barnard from Bexhill and then to Sir Carmichael Clarke from Churston. Each time the murderer committed a crime he would leave an ABC Train Map by the victim. The murderer was an experienced criminal who left no trace of his identity. He goes by the name of ABC. Before each murder ABC would send Poirot a letter saying the date and town the murder would happen. The relatives of the victims came together with Poirot to help try and get ahead of the criminal. In the ending Poirot reveals that the brother of Sir Carmichael Clarke, Franklin Clarke committed the crimes to draw away attention from him wanting to inherit his brothers treasures. He had to kill him so he couldn’t marry Thora Grey and not get the money. Franklin Clarke tried to frame the murders on Mr. Cust who is a travelling salesman.
While at Lowood, a state - run orphanage and educational facility, Jane’s first friend, Helen Burns, teaches her the importance of friendship along with other skills that will help Jane grow and emotionally mature in the future. She serves as a role model for Jane. Helen’s intelligence, commitment to her studies, and social graces all lead Jane to discover desirable attributes in Helen. Helen is treated quite poorly, however, “her ability to remain graceful and calm even in the face of (what Jane believes to be) unwarranted punishment makes the greatest impression on the younger girl” (Dunnington). Brontë uses this character as a way to exemplify the type of love that Jane deserves. This relationship allows Jane to understand the importance of having a true friend. Given Jane’s history at Gateshead, finding someone like Helen is monumental in her development as a person. Helen gives through honest friendship, a love that is
It is about the death of Emily Arundell on the 17th of April. Poirot receives her letter on the 28th of June though by the time Emily is already dead. Her first accident was blamed on the ball that has been left on the stairs by her dog. The more Emily Arundell thought about the accident though the more she was convinced her relatives wanted to kill her. Poirot now has to find out whether it was just an accident or planned murder and if so, who committed the crime.
give the impression that it is set in the late 19th century. It is a
Genre- the genre of Murder on the Orient Express I think is a detective murder mystery as the murder seems as though it will never be logically solved.
Now, let us look at “The Speckled Band” there is no doubt that it is a