Comparing and Contrasting The Speckled Band and The Lamb to the Slaughter

In the story “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” the author Conan Doyle portrays many different narrative techniques. He uses these techniques to provide meaning for the audience as well as help them visualize the situation that was being described. The different techniques used are narrative discourse, suspense, conflict, close, and focalization in his story. Narrative discourses are events, to describe a series of events that are contingent one on another. Typically focuses on one or more performers of actions. Personal experience can influence narrative discourse due to the explaining of significant events in the life of the narrator. Narrative discourse is made up of exposition/ setting, developing conflict, climax, final suspense, and conclusion. The narrative discourse is being portrait in the story by Sherlock trying to find the mystery. Helen Stoner goes to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson for help on figuring out the mystery of her sister’s death, and they both investigate. It all begins with the renovation that was done to the room. Holmes arrived to Dr. Grimesby Roylott’s home in order to investigate the noise that his daughter seemed to be hearing from the bedroom that the sister was killed in. Holmes describes the room “very strange” he found the ventilator open into another room as well as the bell-rope. The ventilator was the small opening between two rooms as well as the bed was fastened to the floor. “A ventilator is made, a cord is hung, and a lady who

“Lamb to the Slaughter” and “The Cask of Amontillado” are qualities of Gothic Literature. In “Lamb to the Slaughter” and “The Cask of Amontillado” both start at a point of not happiness but clam and mystery. “Lamb to the Slaughter” quickly turns from that tranquilized mood into depressing and doubtful when Mary kills her husband. Then in “The Cask of the Amontillado” even when that grim mood was not enough, it had to be more depressing when Montresor gets Fortunato drunk and later kills him. Thus, both “Lamb to the Slaughter” and “The Cask of Amontillado” has bites and pieces of Gothic literature. “Lamb to the Slaughter” and “The Cask of Amontillado” both have twisted and gloomy thoughts, and actions.

She lifted it out, and looked at it---a leg of lamb “ (Page 2). The fact that Mary Maloney can’t even feel herself doing anything, corresponds to how shocked she is. As a matter of fact, that is when her consciousness of her action momentarily fades away. She cannot accept the fact that her beloved husband would betray her like this, but in a way, the introduction to the story already tells us that their relationship isn’t strong and loving. Also, Mary is shown to have picked the very first thing she found, which was a lamb leg. This proves that she had no intention of premeditating a weapon beforehand, but instead used whatever she could find to let out her emotions. In addition, pregnant women are more emotionally unstable and because of that Mary Maloney couldn’t handle the stress of the news her husband told her. The final quote that proves her temporary insanity is, “She stepped back, waiting, and the strange thing was that he remained standing there for at least four or five seconds. Then he crashed onto the carpet. The violence of the crash, the noise, the small table overturning, helped to bring her out of the shock… It was extraordinary, now, how clear her mind became all of a sudden. She began thinking very fast. As the wife of a detective, she knew what the punishment would be…In fact, it would be a relief. On the other hand, what about the baby ” (Page 2)? Not only did she regain her consciousness, moments after her husband’s death, but she also

In Roald Dahl’s short story “Lamb to the Slaughter” , Mary Maloney murders her husband, a detective, after he declares that he is leaving her. Mary then has to cover her tracks or else she and her unborn child will be killed. Throughout the story, Mary’s character changes from loving wife to cold killer and back again based on her situation.

Mary has one motive for murdering her husband. The motive is that she couldn’t accept the fact that her husband was leaving her. He says, “ ‘This is going to be a bit of a shock to you, I 'm afraid,’ he said. ‘But I 've thought about it a good deal and I 've decided the only thing to do is tell you right away. I hope you won 't blame me too much...So there it is,’ he added. ‘And I know it 's kind of a bad time to be telling you, bet there simply wasn 't any other way. Of course I 'll give you money and see you 're looked after. But there needn 't really be any fuss. I hope not anyway. It wouldn 't be very good for my job.’ " Although he didn’t say the exact words the reader can infer this when he states “… i’ll give you money and see you 're looked after. But there needn 't really be any fuss. I hope not anyway. It wouldn 't be very good for my job…” Some readers might disagree with her for killing her husband because he was leaving her, but she was truly in love with him

Is Mary Surratt guilty? Mary Surratt is being accused of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln and is being hanged for it. Some people say that Dr.Mudd did it and other people say that Mary did it but who really killed Abraham Lincoln? Mary Surratt definitely deserved to be hanged for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

but it is connected to money. There is no victim in it but the villain

to kill Helen Stoner was so he would not have to give his late wife's

The short story Lamb to the Slaughter is interesting to read because of how gullible the detectives were. Mary cooked the lamb that she used to kill her husband with, then she tells the detectives to eat it and they do. They were talking amongst themselves saying that all she wanted to do was cook him dinner, so she couldn’t have killed him. There are possibly two reasons as to why the detectives were gullible. The first one is that Mary, Jack and the detectives were all good friends, “they always treated her kindly” (Roald 15). So

Anti-Semitism is the hatred and discrimination of those with a Jewish heritage. It is generally connected to the Holocaust, but the book by Helmut Walser Smith, The Butcher’s Tale shows the rise of anti-Semitism from a grassroots effect. Smith uses newspapers, court orders, and written accounts to write the history and growth of anti-Semitism in a small German town. The book focuses on how anti-Semitism was spread by fear mongering, the conflict between classes, and also the role of the government.

Mary Surratt deserved to be executed and was rightfully punished for her actions. Mary Surratt was guilty because she lied to the police, and because she was hiding things in her tavern.

Mary is very manipulative in that she is able to create the character of the poor, pregnant wife, whose husband has just been murdered. She is able to convince the police to take pity on her, to mix her a drink and then to even eat the evidence, the leg of lamb that she has left in the oven. "Why don’t you eat up that lamb that is in the oven" (Dahl, p. 17). Mary realizes that if the police find the evidence she will go to jail. Her quick thinking and manipulative character results in the police officers eathign the evidence and therefore she cannot be charged of this crime. These actions show the complex character that Mary Maloney truly is.

Authors use characterization to develop the actions of the characters. Like Mary’s actions in ‘The Lamb to the Slaughter’ by using different kinds of literature devices. Roald Dahl in "The Lamb to the Slaughter" uses characterization, imagery, and irony to develop the character of Mary so that the reader can understand what has occurred during the murder.

that it is not normal for her to look this way and there is a false

The conflict in “Lamb to the Slaughter” is, that Mary. Maloney, a devoted housewife, six months pregnant, kills her husband with a leg of lamb after he tells her that he is planning on leaving her. In the very beginning, the atmosphere is very calm. Mary Maloney is peacefully sewing in her living room waiting for her husband, a police officer, to come home from work. After his arrival, they silently sit in the living room drinking whisky. Mrs. Maloney watches her husband very carefully but after he swallows his whisky very quickly and gets another stronger drink, the reader notices that something is unusual. Before she wants to fix something for supper, her husband stops her and tells her, even though it isn’t exactly conveyed to the reader, that he