The Speckled Band And Lamb To The Slaughter

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Compare and Contrast ‘The Speckled Band’ And ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ In ‘The Speckled Band’ Helen Stoner goes to talk to Sherlock Holmes after her sister’s death. Later, Holmes visits Helen and her step-father’s house, Sherlock soon discovers that it was a snake that killed Julia, Helen’s twin sister. However, in ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ Mary Maloney’s husband arrives home from work and after a few whiskeys tells Mary some important news for which she hits him over the head with a leg of lamb murdering him. The atmosphere in ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ is like a typical family home. I think this is because the phrase ‘The room was warm and clean‘ suggests that Mary tries to be a typical, housewife who tries to keep her husband happy. However, the writer suggests that this family may be too perfect and that maybe Patrick Maloney might not love his wife as much as Mary loves her husband. ‘She took his coat and hung it in the closet. Then she walked over to make the drinks.’ The family seems, overall, quite loving ‘Now and again she would glance up at the clock, but without anxiety, merely to please herself with the thought that each minute gone by made it nearer to the time when he would come.’ Mary and her husband seem to be happy together and their life seems to be on a routine. ‘When the clock said ten minutes to five, she began to listen, and a few minutes later, punctually as always, she heard the tyres on the gravel outside.’ This is described as if the same thing happens at the same time everyday. I think Roald Dahl does this to make it seem out of the ordinary when Patrick Maloney did not want to go out for supper on a Thursday. In contrast, the feelings between Helen Stoner and Dr Roylott, her step-father in ‘The Speckled Band’ are angry and sad. It creates the atmosphere in the book. This feeling is especially after Julia (Helen’s twin sister) and their

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