Sherlock Holmes 'Short Story' The Speckled Band

English class

"The Speckled band"

In the short story "The Adventure of The Speckled Band". Sherlock Holmes states that "violence does in truth recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another. If one has a dark soul and evil intensions, in the end one shall perish. One simply meets the same fate they intended for another. No good will ever come out of under handed and insipid acts. Darkness doesn't really exist. The true definition of "dark" is only the absence of light. What's done in the dark, under the quiet or covered up is classified as unknown. It never stays that way,
things always tend to be brought to light. The honest truth , nothing more, nothing less. Sherlock Holmes is right in every way, It's a very deep and interesting quote but true nevertheless.
This wonderful and mind challenging short story was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's. The genre of this literature is fiction.
Dr. Grimesby Roylott, the sinister character that made this short story so interesting. He was the evil and ruthless step father of the twin girls, Helen stoner and Julia stoner. Dr. Roylott was indeed the murderer of poor Julia. His step daughters were to be married to claim their mother's late income. If both sister's were to succeed, their step father would have been left with very little. His plot against killing his step daughters was for a selfish and sick purpose! On page 333 Sherlock Holmes states that Dr. Roylott was a "clever and ruthless man". He came to this conclusion due to the proof he gathered together, which tied the step father to the murder of Julia. Sherlock Holmes solved the case by catching Dr. Roylott in pursuit of attempting to murder Helen. He was at it once again, but this time little did he know Mr. Holmes was in position as the victim to his crime. Helen was supposed to be in that room that very night. This was the same room Julia met her fate in. The room was constructed to trap whoever is inside. Dr. Roylott had
installed a dummy bell pull and the bed was attached to the floor. making so the victim couldn't move the bed away from the dummy bell pull. It was a very discreet trap that ended Julia's life. If it hadn't been for Mr. Holmes Helen would have met the same terrible fate. Sherlock Holmes out smarted Dr. Roylott with all the information he gather from observing. Helen secretly had Mr. Holmes explore the three rooms in the house. There were three rooms, one belong to Dr. Roylott, the other was Helen's and last was Julia's. There was a ventilator that was hidden in Julia's room. The dummy bell pull that is supposed to signal housekeeping, was attached to the ventilator. When Julia was alive she never discovered this. Her and her sister always used to get what they need their selves. Resulting in no need to ever pull the bell pull. The ventilator had a small opening that went from Julia's room into Dr. Roylott's. Helen was moved into Julia's old room due to construction in hers. She was terrified of the thought of spending the night in a room her sister died in. Helen brought the case to Mr. Holmes a day ago. He promised to help and see her through the investigation on her step father. Based on the story and details of Julia's death, Mr. Holmes was very interested in trying to solve it. He didn't have a clue what had killed Julia. Dr. Roylott gave himself away by confronting him. on pages 320-321 Dr. Roylott exchanged some negative words toward Mr. Holmes after meeting with Helen. "I know you, you scoundrel! I have heard of you before. You are Holmes the meddler". ' Don't you dare meddle with my affairs. I know that miss stoner has been here-I traced her! I am a dangerous man to fall foul of! See that you keep yourself out of my grip". This encounter sealed Mr. Holmes suspicions that Dr. Roylott could be responsible for Julia's death. Helen in their meeting also added that he had a anger problem. She said Dr. Roylott would always have ferocious quarrels with whoever might cross his path. Mr. Holmes found this information quite useful to the investigation. He just wanted to be sure and actuate. Dr. Roylott was just where Mr. Holmes wanted him. His step daughters may have been fooled by the sneaky evil behavior but he wasn't. Mr. Holmes wasn't threatened by him in any way shape of form. Sherlock Holmes was the highlight of this suspenseful short story. He had a companion name Dr. Watson, a physician. Watson aided Mr. Holmes on the entire investigation. Dr. Roylott's death was soon approaching. The night Dr. Roylott attempted to murder Helen, Holmes and Watson stayed in Julia's bedroom without his knowledge. Helen followed Homes instructions to lock herself away from Dr. Roylott. She stayed in her original room, However Dr. Roylott believed she was fast asleep in Julia's where she was supposed to be. Holmes and Watson sat for hours in the pitch black of Julia's room. Waiting patiently for Dr. Roylott to strike. Finally they started to hear the sounds that Helen had described the night her sister was murdered! There was a sudden whistle and light coming from above the dummy bell pull. The light went out, Holmes got of his matches. When lit the match he attacked what he saw a few times enough to do the job. After he was done he was just observing what he saw through the ventilator. He yelled out to Watson on the other side of the room. on page 330, "You see it Watson" you see it?" Holmes then told him to ready his pistol. They exited Julia's room and proceeded to greet Dr. Roylott in his chamber. Dr. Roylott was sitting in a chair dead. The whistling, this is the noises Julia used to hear at nights before she died. It is also the same exact sound that Helen heard the night she died. There was also a radiant lamp on the table in Dr. Roylott chamber. The unknown creature was now seen by Watson's eyes. It was wrapped around Dr. Roylott's head, it was a deadly snake like looking thing from India. Swamp adder, also known as "The Speckled Band" the very words Julia recited to her twin sister Helen. Dr. Roylott had trained the snake to be drawn out of the safe that Helen had no idea of. He would draw the snake out by the whistle noise and the lamp was to shine into the ventilator. Once the light from the lamp hits the ventilator it's so bright the victim can't see the snake. The swamp adder would then attack the victim on the other end of the ventilator. Holmes had now just solved a case and prevented another deadly murder. Dr. Roylott was now dead from his own sinister plot. He "died within ten seconds of being bitten by the snake due to Holmes strikes with his cane to the dummy bell pull in Julia's room. The evil step father got what was coming to him and now Helen is safe with her aunt at harrow. The investigation was now over, on page 331 he say's "Violence does in truth recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another". This was well put and exactly what happened to Dr. Roylott. At the end of the story Holmes clearly states that did feels no remorse about the death of Dr. Roylott. On page 333, "In this way I am no doubt indirectly responsible for Dr. Grimesby Roylott's death, and I cannot say that it is likely to weigh heavily upon my conscience". Justice was served in Holmes opinion, so why should he feel bad or regret his actions.
The two literary elements that was clearly shown in the text time and time again was setting and the point of view of the short story. The setting played an important role in this short story. Setting is the time, place, physical details, and circumstances in which a situation occurs. If the reader doesn't understand each different settings throughout the story, they would get lost easily. On page 330, "Suddenly there was the momentary gleam of a light up in the direction of the ventilator, which vanished immediately, but was succeeded by a strong smell of burning oil and heated metal". The author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, writes in a way to challenge your brain in a unique way. I can't say I really like the way the short story was written, but I admire his literature. The narrator of the story was Dr. Watson, therefore it was told from his point of view in first person. Point of view is the perspective from which the story is told. "The Speckled Band" was a remarkable piece of literature!
It is very important because it shows how evil lingers but pure good always prevails. The darkest corners here on earth just need light and positive energy. This short story taught me to have a different outlook on situations. It also shows individuals that they need to pay more attention to their surroundings. Even if you feel secure and safe just be attentive and stay alert! Poor Julia died in her own bedroom in her house by the sinister plot of her own step father. If she was a little more observant and explored her bed room she probably wouldn't have met her fate. Sherlock Holmes is hands down a genius, no one can take apart a case like him. When he starts an investigation it's as if he's in another world. He thinks outside of the box. Only I few people manage to do that. I'm sure Helen stoner was honored to have him work on her sister's case along with saving her life in the process. Looking forward to reading another one of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's short stories in the
future!