The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Book Analysis

In the excerpts from The Adventure of the Speckled Band, there are visuals to assist us in completely understanding the plot. Arthur Conan Doyle employed a variety of writing techniques to create suspense and tension throughout his novel. The characters, setting, and tone of The Adventure of the Speckled Band are represented by the images from the passages. The characters in the story are completely represented by the visuals. We see Sherlock Holmes through the eyes of Watson: "I awoke one morning to discover Sherlock Holmes standing at the side of my bed, fully dressed." As usual, he was a late riser, and the clock on the mantelpiece indicated that it was just quarter-past seven.

The first image depicts Watson waking up to find Holmes standing on his bedside, fully dressed in a teal jacket. Watson inquires if Mrs. Hudson had a fire emergency, as Holmes was used to being a late riser. "No, a client. It appears that a young lady has arrived in a considerable state of excitement, who insists upon seeing me" (Doyle, 35). Holmes' mouth is slightly open, his left arm is outstretched, and his indexing finger is pointed upwards in the shot. The story and the artwork appear to be related because the citation emphasizes how Helen's issue is urgent and unique to Holmes. Sherlock Holmes and Waston are known for solving unusual cases.

“The gypsy camp and the estate” is a clear and concise image of the Roylott of Stoke Moran house. Helen Stoner explains how Dr. Roylott is back in the old family house but has been having manic episodes. “... he would give these vagabonds leave to encamp upon the few acres of bramble-covered land which represent the family estate, and would accept in return the hospitality of their tents, wandering away with them sometimes for weeks on end.” (para. 28) The image matches Helen Stoner's description giving homes a better understanding of who Dr. Roylott truly is. In image three “Gypsies” it shows the speckled band that appeared the night Julia died. Ms.Stoner believes that the band has something to do with the death of her sister. The image displays the uneasiness she gets from seeing the band that night. The image displays the band as disheveled and thrown together at random. “It is my belief that she died of pure fear and nervous shock…” (para. 59) This gives Holmes and Watson a better impression of what they're dealing with. 

Image four “Dr.Roylott” is the perfect deception of how Helen, Watson, and Holmes saw Dr.Roylotts once entering his room. “Beside this table, on the wooden chair, sat Dr. Grimesby Roylott clad in a long grey dressing-gown, his bare ankles protruding beneath..” The literature displayed in the text is portrayed perfectly in the image. As for image five “Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes” it shows them in their matching uniforms but the text fails to mention what they are wearing and lets the picture speak for itself.  Holmes tells Watson that he is aware that he is at least somewhat to blame for Roylott's death, but that the guilt of such a terrible man dying will not weigh heavy on him which is shown in the picture. 

At the end of the narrative it is shown that the images are aligned with the description of the story. The subject of the story was that evil will be punished by fate rather than by man's weapons of justice. The story depicts a form of karma. The doctor does bad things, and those bad things lead to him destroying himself. This concludes the illustrations of what we saw and was being told about.