Short Stories Essay--Lamb to the Slaughter, The Speckled Band. Both stories compared.

Essay by koolranaHigh School, 11th gradeB, January 2004

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Most murder mysteries often have a motive to prompt an investigation, and most classic murder mysteries include a detective to solve the case. Murder mysteries obviously also include a murder, may it be spectacular, cold blooded or accidental. There is also a murderer and a victim and a weapon of some description.. However, not all murder mysteries involve an alibi which in my opinion, adds to the suspense of the story. The main focus of a murder mystery is the location of the story or where it is set. There may be many different locations in a murder story, however there must be one main location for the story to be effective.

Lamb to the Slaughter was written by Roald Dahl who is infamous for his enthralling stories, most of which are directed at a younger audience. It was first published in 1954. In Lamb to the Slaughter, the use of modern language automatically gives the impression that it is written in the present day.

Roald Dahl is much more famous for his stories which are directed at a younger audience, however Lamb to the Slaughter is directed at an older audience ranging from GCSE students to adults. In his style of writing, Roald Dahl always writes about ordinary people who get involved in difficult situations to make his stories more suspenseful.

The other short story, which I will be investigating, is The Speckled Band. The Speckled Band was written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and it was first published in 1892. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is infamous for writing The Sherlock Holmes Adventures and The Speckled Band is just one story of many and The Speckled Band is written in speech of the time when it was first published much like Lamb to the Slaughter. Much more formal English...