The Adventure of the Speckled Band Group at eNotes

I would say that "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is not...

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:22:53 PST

I would say that "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is not primarily a modernist work. That's not the most fruitful way to think of it. However, if we wanted to argue that it is modernist, I would raise the following points: 1) The centrality of language. As Holmes says in the final pages: " “I had,” said he, “come to an entirely erroneous conclusion which shows, my dear Watson, how dangerous it always is to reason...

How is "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" a tale of modernism?

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 14:26:14 PST

How is "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" a tale of modernism?

This story expresses the weakness of the female identity, women are...

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 11:47:00 PST

This story expresses the weakness of the female identity, women are portrayed as helpless. Men in this story are in charge with full authority. Women are subservient and subject to the will of men. Even the inheritance is subject to terms that involve men. They won't inherit the money unless or until they marry.As the story goes, when Helen and Julia's mother died, she left each of her daughters a sum of money to be distributed upon...

In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," what are the specific...

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:38:31 PST

In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," what are the specific areas of the story that show women's ideology?

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Mon, 19 May 2008 14:38:52 PST

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In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," why does Helen Stoner...

Mon, 19 May 2008 14:31:49 PST

In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," why does Helen Stoner come to see Holmes?

Julia died in a locked room, at night. She had been hearing something...

Wed, 14 May 2008 09:06:23 PST

Julia died in a locked room, at night. She had been hearing something whistle in the night, and didn't know what it was. Then she shrieked out, "Oh, my God! Helen! Itwas the band! The speckled band" The combination of factors would make anyone baffled and suspicious, and having your sister die, as Julia did, trying to point out her killer and failing, would leave considerable fear hanging over your head. When Holmes visits the...

In "The Adventures of the Speckled Band," what are the...

Tue, 13 May 2008 17:29:09 PST

In "The Adventures of the Speckled Band," what are the circumstances surrounding Julia Stoner's death?

Helen's Diary

Tue, 4 Mar 2008 22:51:19 PST

If Helen wrote a diary entry after Sherlock Holmes agreed to take her case, what do you think it would say?

Part of it has to do with suspense. If Holmes were the narrator, then...

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 20:27:08 PST

Part of it has to do with suspense. If Holmes were the narrator, then the audience would know the solution to the mystery too earlier. Doyle would not be able to slowly demonstrate the process of the investigation. However, Watson is an outside observer who can do that, while also giving a positive spin on Holmes. The detective could appear to be cold, calculating, without sympathy. Watson, in admiring him, helps to humanize him. ...

One of the social concerns of this book is the treatment of women and...

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 20:16:28 PST

One of the social concerns of this book is the treatment of women and children in Victorian society. Like so many, Helen and Julia are at the mercy of their tyrannical and abusive father. Because they are women, they don't not have the resources to change their situation. By using twins, Doyle reinforces his theme through duality. The women can ben considered equal because they are twins. By being equal women, the horrors they face...

How does the fact that Helen and Julia are twins contribute to the plot...

Tue, 4 Dec 2007 03:33:40 PST

How does the fact that Helen and Julia are twins contribute to the plot of The Adventures of the Speckled Band?

The descriptive words in this one are good. Try removing the adjectives...

Sun, 2 Dec 2007 06:32:19 PST

The descriptive words in this one are good. Try removing the adjectives "wicked" and "clever" and see how the sentence changes, making it much less meaningful: "Ah, me! it's a wicked world, and when a clever man turns his brains to crime it is the worst of all."Or this one, in which the "visitor" comes to engage Holmes' unique services; the adjectives "manifold" and "wickedness" are...

What are the best adjectives in the Adventure of the Speckled Band?

Sun, 2 Dec 2007 04:43:23 PST

What are the best adjectives in the Adventure of the Speckled Band?

In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band", why did Doyle choose...

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 10:00:51 PST

In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band", why did Doyle choose Watson, who is not a key character, to be the narrator?

Doyle is writing a mystery; he wants to peak the reader's interest as...

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 05:14:29 PST

Doyle is writing a mystery; he wants to peak the reader's interest as soon as possible. The word you are asking about, "untimely", is more fully understood if you consider the phrase before it. Watson is about to reveal to the reader a long-held secret which could not be revealed until the lady whose promise he kept released him making his knowledge public. Here's the whole line:It is possible that I might have placed them...

In The Adventures of the Speckled Band, why did Doyle use the untimley...

Sun, 25 Nov 2007 02:28:25 PST

In The Adventures of the Speckled Band, why did Doyle use the untimley death of a lady to capture the readers attention so early on ?

Helen is obviously scared. She has been dominated by an almost...

Tue, 13 Nov 2007 05:19:15 PST

Helen is obviously scared. She has been dominated by an almost archetypal "evil stepfather". She has been put into a state of constant fear, inferiority, and relative poverty. However, Holmes is able to see that she has courage, and that she is determined to beat her stepfather and regain her independence and her fortune. She is more resilient than her situation would suggest, which is why Holmes agrees to accept the case.

What does Holmes learn about Helen by observing her?

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 17:12:53 PST

What does Holmes learn about Helen by observing her?

When Helen Stoner is re-telling the story of her sister's death and...

Mon, 5 Nov 2007 09:07:24 PST

When Helen Stoner is re-telling the story of her sister's death and Holmes asks her that very question, she guesses that it may refer to the gypsy people who are living on the estate the guests of her step father. She hypothesizes that maybe the adjective speckled referred to the dotted scarves of the gypsies. This sets the reader up to consider the speckled band as a group of people and the main suspects the gypsies.