The Speckled Band - Book Report/Review Example

The Speckled Band has a unique dimension in several ways, but contains some key character elements important to any detective novel. In choosing to examine three aspects of his characters; villain, victim, and hero, we can observe the particularities of the genre. Doyle's villain, Roylott, is simply hideous. The homicidal stepfather of two has returned from the tropics of India to his ramshackle family home. Although he is a doctor, he has not established a practice in the area. We are told that his neighbors were initially overjoyed to see a member of the family return to the ancestral estate, but Roylott refuses to make friends.

Making things worse, is his penchant for violence. His involvement in various brawls has caused him to be a terror to the village people, who view him as a man of immense strength and complete rage (Doyle, 1892, p. 180). Within the path of this wretch, quite predictably in terms of genre characterization, come two helpless girls to serve as the victims of his attention. Helen and Julia Stoner embody the archetypal qualities of good detective-story victims. They are vulnerable and alone against this man with whom they must live.

They have no pleasure in their lives and are almost Cinderella-esque in terms of their isolation and forced labor. Their one relief is that Roylott occasionally allows them to see their aunt for brief visits. To add to the helplessness of the situation, Helen is approaching Homes after Julia's suspicious death. Doyle has delivered the perfect victim; she is terrorized and alone, the helpless victim to the whims of a dreadful villain, needing rescue from her plight (1892, p. 181).Enter the third character element typical to the detective genre; the righteous deliverer.

The renown of Sherlock Holmes spreads far and wide, with good reason. He is brilliant. Even his friend and protg, Watson, has "no keener pleasure than. following Holmes in his professional investigations.admiring the rapid deductions.founded on a logical basis, with which he unraveled the problems submitted to him" (Doyle, 1892, p. 177). If you have a mystery to solve, Holmes is your man. He will use logic, intuition, and deduction to save you. In a word, he is heroic. In this way, Doyle's work is faithful to the genre expectations of character.

If you have a hideous villain harming a helpless victim, you need a brilliant detective to solve the mystery and set things to right. That is not to say, however, that Doyle's story is your usual detective tale. It isn't; for in the use of literary device to build suspense and tension within the work, Doyle shows his genius.There are a number of ways in which Doyle builds tension within the Speckled Band, all effective on one level or another. Focusing on three of his most impactful techniques; use of setting, plot misdirection, and visual imagery, we can understand why Doyle's work is so powerful.

In terms of setting, Stoke Moran, the down-at-heels estate of the once-wealthy Roylotts which is centered by the old house, is a wonderful place for diabolical deeds. Watson tells us that there was "little difficulty" entering the grounds due to the "unrepaired breaches" in the walls surrounding the old house (Doyle, 1892, p. 199). He goes on to describe the dilapidated estate in