Before reading Arthur Conan Doyl’s, “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”, I had suspected that the plot would include an investigation of a murder. The story discusses the death of Helen Stoner’s sister Julia. Before Julia’s death, she was engaged and was receiving a great amount of wealth from her mother. Because of this the detective Sherlock Holmes grew suspicious of the sister’s stepfather. This investigation thus makes it a detective story because there is a problem an investigator or detective must solve.
Readers follow Sherlock Holmes and Watson as they speak to each other and the suspects in dialogue. Each investigator pays close attention to detail and informs the readers of their every move and what they are thinking. For example in the story, Conan includes details like, “he investigated the case with great care, for Dr. Roylott's conduct had long been notorious in the county, but he was unable to find any satisfactory cause of death. My evidence showed that the door had been fastened upon the inner side, and the windows were blocked by old-fashioned”. This convention causes readers to feel involved in the investigation, making it feel like they are detective’s themselves. The story also includes details about the scenery and sound. These small details make the story effective. This detective story is very similar to other stories in that it has a death or a mystery that an investigator needs to solve. Most times a story or film including detective Sherlock Holmes, involves some sort of murder mystery. I just recently saw the film Sherlock Holmes which is very similar to this story. It included details of a mystery, adventure and death.
No comments:
Post a Comment