GCSE English Coursework †Wide Reading Assignment - Lamb to the Slaughter :: English Literature

GCSE English Coursework – Wide Reading Assignment - Lamb to the Slaughter by Roald Dahl, and The Speckled Band In this wide reading assignment I have been looking at two stories, 'Lamb to the Slaughter' by Roald Dahl, and 'The Speckled Band' by Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle. Both these stories are classed as murder mysteries, and I am intending to investigate and compare the motives of the killers in both stories. 'The Speckled Band' is written in first person from the viewpoint of Dr. Watson. The story starts with Watson looking over notes of the cases that he and Holmes have taken in the last eight years; one in particular comes to his mind, and from their Watson tells the story of 'The Speckled Band'. The killer in 'The Speckled Band' is Dr Grimesby Roylott. Roylott is a tall man who was well built. 'Lamb to the Slaughter' is written in a third person perspective, and the story starts with a description of a room, and then breaks into the characters, and follows them though the rest of the story. The killer in 'Lamb to the Slaughter is Mary Maloney, a gentle, petite housewife. The two stories, as previously said, are both classed as murder mysteries, however when comparing these two stories the styles of writing and the way in which the stories are presented is completely different. An example of this would be the chronological order of each of the stories. What I mean by this is the traditional order of murder mysteries would be body, a motive, a weapon, a death, a suspect, an alibi and detectives. Lamb to the Slaughter and The Speckled Band are no exception to these "guidelines". The Speckled Band follows this order and is a very traditional murder mystery; Lamb to the Slaughter on the other hand does not follow the conventional style of murder mysteries and follows its own order. This order would be a motive, a weapon, a death, a killer, an alibi and detectives. In changing the traditional order of murder mysteries I feel that Dahl is mocking the genre of Murder Mysteries. The motives in 'The Speckled Band' are clear from an early stage. Its clear to see that Roylott's motives was the money, or the lack of it he would have if his step-daughters were to marry. While spending some time in India, Dr Roylott married a considerably rich woman. Upon her and Roylott's return to England Mrs Stoner died, and left her money to Dr Roylott, and an annual fund that Julia and Helen Stoner could collect when they were to wed. This is what Dr Roylott obviously