The Adventure Of The Speckled Band

Because of his individuality and charisma, Sherlock Holmes is well known throughout the world as a person who keeps calm in even very hostile situations. I think that in this 'Sherlock Holmes Mystery', as in most, Holmes doesn't seem to need to explain or justify his actions, no matter how irrational or harsh they seem to be. This could be because Watson and Holmes have built up a strong bond of trust. An example of this is when Watson awakes to find Holmes standing next to his bed.

"He was a late riser, as a rule" Watson knew that it was out of the ordinary and didn't like to get up early but still trusts Holmes and joins him in the room with Helen Stoner. I know this because he says, " ...and perhaps with a little resentment..." In Holmes' mysteries there is usually a build up of tension, which can be resolved in half a page of text. In a Holmes Novel, the tension seems to take longer to build up because it is built up in a different way.

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I think that in a novel, the use of long descriptive passages can build up tension by using calmness to unrest the reader. But there is always a build up of tension in some way.

An example of this is the description of the house. I have noticed that in most of the Holmes Mysteries, He takes the law into his own hands but in this one it could have backfired on him because he was indirectly responsible for Dr Grimesby Roylott's death.

He shows that he knows this when he says " I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Grimesby Roylott's death, and I cannot say that it is likely to weigh heavily on my conscience."

And although he seems to be right to have carried out this action from the reader's point of view, he and Watson don't tell the police because that would probably counteract the moral reasons. But I think that Conan Doyle has done this well. He let's the reader decide if Holmes is right or not. I think that the mystery stories are common, because they make the reader think and question the outcome of the story. Even though Holmes answers all the necessary questions relating to the case. Also, the name of the villain plays an important role in most stories, for example in The Hound Of The Baskervilles The villain is Dr Grimesby Roylott is like a stereotypical name of a villain, this could be because of the prolonged pronunciation of the first syllable of each name.

"I am a dangerous man to fall foul of!" Roylott has an uncontrollable temper about him and seems to know this and use this to his advantage. He also doesn't like to be questioned in his actions, he shows this when he says " Don't you dare meddle in my affairs". The location has a very big part to play in the build up of tension in a mystery story. A big house, castle or manor is automatically associated with mystery or secrecy. In this mystery, the house is discreet and secluded. This is reminiscent of Building in "The Hound Of The Baskervilles"

Windows seem to have great importance in Sherlock Holmes mystery stories. Helen stoner lights a lamp for Holmes and Watson. In order for this to work, the surrounding area needs to be densely dark. This suggests that the house is like an anonymous mass by night, because it can't be seen. And a harsh reminder of it's tyrant like inhabitant by day.2 There is another reference to darkness when Helen Stoner is at Holmes' house and she says, "throw a little light through the dense darkness which surrounds me." The word "dense" may give the reader the feeling that the story is going to have a thick plot. This could be described as a catalyst to the mystery and tension build up. I think that the word "Dense" also seems to indicate that it is difficult to breath, like smoke in air. Or a situation or moment where everything is unclear.

In two Holmes mysteries, which I have read, there is a constant presence of some sort of wild animal. In the first example, this animal is the "Wild Hound" which Stapleton kept locked away on the moor. In "The Adventure of The Speckled Band" it is the Cheetah and Baboon of Roylott. The baboon is graphically described as "" this could be to surprise he reader from the silent but tense atmosphere of the Stoke Moran Grounds. In this mystery you also know who murdered Julia Stoner but you do not know how she was killed. This adds another dimension to the mystery of this story. Holmes Mysteries seem to be based around situations. The reader is presented with some extremely puzzling situations, one that is difficult to explain. He then solves the mystery, by developing some brilliant twist that completely contradicts the apparent situation. This keeps the reader engrossed until the very end of Holmes' conclusion and the end of the Mystery.