THE ADVENTURE OF
THE SPECKLED BAND
Setting:
Surrey, A suburb of London in 1883.
Characters:
Grimesby Roylott, Sherlock Holmes, Julia Stoner, John H. Watson, Helen Stoner.
Plot:
Exposition: In this story, the exposition is contained in Helen Stoner’s narrative which relates the grim events surrounding her sister’s death and the background to the case.
Rising Action:
The rising action begins just after this, when Helen’s stepfather, the fearsome Dr Roylott unexpectedly appears in Holmes’ room, having tracked Helen there. When Roylott confronts Holmes he instigates the showdown between them. Although we have already gained a lurid impression of Roylott from Helen’s narrative, this sudden fierce appearance by him in person establishes him beyond all doubt as a villain.
Climax:
Is when Holmes attacks the snake and it goes back into the hole, attacking its owner and killing him. The Speckled Band is that the "speckled band," also known as a swamp adder, kills Dr. Roylott instead of the planned victim, Helen Stoner.
Falling Action:
The falling action takes place, after Sherlock attacks the snake, when the snake returns to Dr. Roylott's room and kills him instead. This is followed by the discovery of the snake and Dr. Roylott's body.
Resolution:
It is when Sherlock explains to Dr. Watson how he solved the mystery. Sherlock Holmes had made the logical deduction that there must be a ventilator there.
Conflict:
Man vs. Man: Dr. Roylott killed Helen's sister, Julia, some two years prior to the start of the story by training a snake to crawl through a small ventilator passage into her bedroom and bites her while she slept, though the characters only realize this after discovering the death of Dr. Roylott.
Man vs. Society:
Sherlock Holmes has an ongoing conflict with society, namely in that he is bored by his very existence and feels that using his intellect to solve puzzles can help him overcome the tedium of dealing with others. 'My life is spent in one long effort to escape from the commonplaces of existence.
Man vs. Nature:
In this story we can see that snakes are used for self defense or to execute people. as it was in Helen's case, only she was just an attempt
Theme: evil will be punished by fate if not by man's instruments of justice.
Voice: 1st person.
Mood: urgent and excited
Tone: suspenseful and precise.
Ending.
Holmes discovers that Roylott wants his stepdaughters dead so that he can keep their inheritance. Roylott sends a poisonous snake through the air vents to kill Helen, but Holmes intervenes and the snake ultimately kills Roylott instead.
By Valerie Cuello, Step 8 Yellow
