Lamb To The Slaughter The Murderer example essay topic

"Lamb to the Slaughter" was written by Roald Dahl in 1954. Roald Dahl has written many stories, a lot of them aimed at adults involving un ordinary situations. But Roald Dahl is mainly a writer of children's books such as 'James and the giant Peach'. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote 'The Speckled Band' in 1892. he is the author who wrote about Sherlock homes and his side kick Dr Watson. The story of 'Lamp to the slaughter" is about a married couple, the wife Mrs Mary Maloney killed the husband Patrick Maloney, by striking him about the head with a frozen leg of lamb. The first time that I started to suspect that Patrick Maloney was going to be killed was when I read "on the evening of his death Patrick Maloney did an unusual thing.

He finished his drink very quickly and then poured himself out another very strong one". A key part of the introduction to this story is when they couple are talking in the living room, where Mary Maloney would say something and there would be a long awkward silence before Patrick Maloney would reply. "Her eyes waited on him for an answer, a smile, a little nod, but he made no sign". In the 'Speckled Band' the victim Miss Helen Stoner approaches Sherlock holmes with a problem. The first time that we meet her in the story she was wearing black, veiled and grey haired. She was shivering and terrified "we could see that she was indeed in a pitiable state of agitation, her face all drawn and grey, with a restless frightened eyes, like of those of some hunted animal", "the lady gave a violent start", "It is fear, Mr Holmes.

It is terror". In 'Lamb to the Slaughter' the murderer was Mary Maloney. She was married to the victim Patrick Maloney. Mary Maloney was pregnant "Her skin... for this was her sixth month with a child... had acquired a wonderful translucent quality, the mouth was soft and the eyes, with their placid look, seemed larger, darker than before". Her motive for murdering her husband was because he has told her he would be leaving her for someone else, "Of course I'll give you money and see you " re looked after. But there isn't needn't really be any fuss.

I hope not anyway. It wouldn't be very good for my job". Mary Maloney didn't want to get caught because she didn't want her or her child to get killed and wasn't going to take any chances "What were the laws about murders with unborn children? Did they kill them both... mother and child?

I feel sympathy for her, that her husband was going to leave her for someone else and that he thought that money could solve the problem. The murderer in 'The Speckled Band' was Doctor Grimesby Roylott. He was a violent man who had a bad and short temper "In a fit of anger, however, caused by some robberies which had been perpetrated in the house, he beat his native butler to death". It was after his wife died that he became so violent "But a terrible change came over our step-father about this time... ."he is a man of immense strength, and absolutely uncontrollable in his anger".

His motive for trying to kill Miss Helen Stoner was over money. This is because when his wife died she left all of her money to her daughters, but he knew if they died he was their next of kin, meaning he would receive the money. Dr Roylott was a very evil man, I believe that he should have been subjected to capitol punishment when he murdered his butler in India. In 'Lamb to the Slaughter', the murder scene was very un-stereotypical "The room was warm and clean, the curtains drawn, the two table lamps alight - hers and the one by the empty chair opposite. On the sideboard behind her, two tall glasses, soda water, whisky. Fresh ice cubes in the Thermos Bucket".

The calm atmosphere inevitably creates tension between the couple. In the scene of the crime in 'The Speckled Band' was in an old house. "The building was of grey, lichen - blotched stone, with a high central portion and two curving wings, like the claws of a crab, thrown out on each side. In one of these wings the windows were broken and blocked with wooden boards, while the roof was partly caved in, a picture of ruin". This description is one very similar to that of a haunted house, promoting a scary and frightening atmosphere. This type of atmosphere is very common in murder mysteries also the baboon and cheetah that live in the grounds of the house add a lot of fear to the story.

In 'Lamb to the Slaughter' the detective did not suspect Mary Maloney, here the detective made many basic mistakes. Things that they did, which they shouldn't have are the fact that they discussed the case openly with her and 'ate the evidence'. The detectives did not conduct their investigation very well at all "she could hear them speaking among themselves, their voices thick and sloppy". This quote sums up their investigation well, first of all they were quite thick and secondly they performed the investigation very sloppily. In 'The Speckled Band's sherlock Holmes suspects Grimesby Roylott from the very first time he meets him, he also acts very professionally and treats Helen Stoner very well.

Sherlock Holmes was very good at finding the clues that has been left in the scene. "My attention was speedily drawn... to this ventilator, and to the ropes which hung down to the bed". In 'Lamb to the Slaughter', the murderer, Mary Maloney gets away with killing Patrick Maloney. The detectives didn't suspect her at all. After killing him she became sad but this feeling surpassed this is unusual for a murder mystery. I believe that it was very unusual for a pregnant women to be the murderer, and she was very cunning in how she disposed of the evidence.

In 'The Speckled Band' the murderer, Doctor Roylott, gets killed by his own weapon (the snake). I believe that his death was worthwhile and I found it to be a great twist. The most compelling and exciting part of 'Lamb to the Slaughter' was when Mary Maloney killed her husband with the frozen leg of lamb "At that point, Mary Maloney simply walked up behind him and without and pause she swung the big frozen leg of lamb on the air and brought it down as hard as she could on the back of his head". The part which made me carry on reading the story was when Patrick Maloney was going to tell Mary the bad news "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 to tell you right away. I hope you won't blame me too much". The most exciting part of 'The Speckled Band' was when the snake killed Doctor Roylott.

"His chin was cocked upwards, 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 movement". Another great part that made me feel as if I couldn't put the story down was when Doctor Roylott followed Helen Stoner to Sherlock Holmes "Don't you dare meddle with my affairs. I know Miss Stoner has been here-I traced her! I am a dangerous to fall foul of!

See here". 'The Speckled Band' is set in Victorian times. I believe this because it uses a lot of old fashioned English, The dress sense was also a large clue because it was in Victorian times when women wore long dresses and gloves. Also the use of dog carts tell us that its I a quite a while ago. "There is no dog cart which throws up mud in that way". You can tell the 'Lamb to the Slaughter' was set and written in the 1950's because the language that it uses is a lot more modern and up to date.

It also makes reference to a 'car' ensuring that it is modern story "tyres on the gravel outside", and the reasonably modern 'Thermos Bucket' "Fresh ice in the Thermos Bucket". They both show that the story was set in the 1950's. I do not believe that it is strange or unusual to not include any women detectives because 20th century women are stereotypically housewives. I preferred 'The Speckled Band' because it went into detail with the investigation, and clues unlike 'Lamb to the Slaughter'. Even though the language is more old fashioned then the language used in 'Lamb to the Slaughter' I found it more enjoyable. Both stories had unconventional endings which I liked and made both stories more interesting.

I believe that people will always enjoy reading murder mysteries because they are very interactive with the reader. You are presented with the clues and decide who is the killer, and then you find out if you were right at the end.