What are the two major themes of The Adventure of the Speckled Band?
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
- Exoticism.
- Greed, Desperation, and Decline.
- Isolation and Powerlessness.
- Fate and Justice.
What is the moral of the Speckled Band?
In “The Adventures of the Speckled Band” the theme of the story is that evil will be punished by fate if not by man’s instruments of justice. The story demonstrates a kind of karma. The doctor commits evil deeds, and those deeds pave the way for him to destroy himself.
What is the symbolism in the Speckled Band?
The speckled band!” (Band. 50), you’d be forgiven for thinking that some kind of spotted ribbon is going to have some hidden meaning to the Stoner girls, that it’ll symbolize family trust or something along that line. But no, the “speckled band” is quite literal: Julia’s last words indicate the snake that killed her.
How did Holmes know Helen was screening her stepfather?
How did Holmes know Helen was “screening” her stepfather? The bruises on Helen’s wrist.
What did Helen say was the reason her wall was being repaired?
What did Helen say was the reason her wall was being repaired? Her stepfather had damaged the wall in a fit of rage. The stonework of the old mansion was beginning to crumble. She thought it was an excuse to move her from her room.
What was Dr. Roylott’s evil plan to get rid of Julia and Helen?
The gypsy band living there as well is just a red herring. When the snake comes into their room, Holmes realizes how the doctor used the snake to kill Julia. It was only Holmes’s brute strength and fast deductive skills that saved them, as the snake came after them in the dark.
Who was Helen Stoner?
Helen Stoner is the twin sister of Julia Stoner, who died under mysterious circumstances two years prior. Helen enters into the story when she comes to London to seek Holmes’s help in solving this case.
How was Dr. Roylott punished?
Dr. Roylott is killed with his own weapon and as Holmes puts it, “Violence does, in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another” (309). Roylott is a victim of karma, but he is not only being punished for killing his niece.
How does Doyle present Justice in The Speckled Band?
Roylott, Doyle suggests that justice is a natural condition of human life and that goodness or fairness will always prevail in the end. More than a mere detective solving crimes, Holmes see himself as a conduit for justice.
What are the three animal figures in The Adventure of the Speckled Band?
In “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle there are three animals described: A cheetah, a baboon and a snake, the Speckled Band. Neither of the animals is from English descent. Each of the animals has their own role within the story, although it might not seem, like they would be that important.
Who killed Julia in The Adventure of the Speckled Band?
Dr. Roylott
The murder victim in this story, Julia Stoner was the twin sister of Helen Stoner. She was killed in the middle of the night in her bedroom at the Stoke Moran Manor by a poisonous swamp adder snake. The snake was trained by her stepfather, Dr. Roylott, who lived in the neighboring bedroom.