The Adventure of the Speckled Band Questions and Answers
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What is the speckled band in the title of the story?
The speckled band is really a poisonous snake. It was responsible for the death of Julia Stoner, but no one realized at the time that Julia had been bitten by a snake. According to Helen Stoner,...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What clues allow Sherlock Holmes to solve the case?
There are other suggestive circumstances that should make the reader suspect that Dr. Roylott is responsible for the death of Julia Stoner and is trying to murder her sister Helen. These are not...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What is the rising action, falling action, and resolution in the story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?
The exposition sets up the problem for Holmes to unravel, understand and solve. In this story, it is brought to him by Miss Stoner who is newly engaged and deeply concerned about a recurrence of...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What conclusion does Holmes draw? On what basis?
Holmes does not reveal his conclusions until the end of the story. This is typical of the Sherlock Holmes stories. Watson observes Holmes in action and overhears most of what Holmes talks about...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What is the character sketch of Dr. Roylott?
Dr. Roylott is characterized as a strong, intimidating, and sometimes cruel man. One of the events in Dr. Roylott's life that shows both his strength and his cruelty happened while he lived in...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," who killed Julia?
Dr. Roylott was guilty of murdering Julia by sending a highly poisonous snake into her bedroom, which was adjacent to his. The snake would crawl through the ventilator and down the dummy bell-rope...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What three clues are the most important in the plot of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?
The three most important clues are all seen by Sherlock Holmes in the room at Stoke Moran currently being occupied by Helen Stoner, which had been her sister Julia's room when she died two years...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
How did Julia Stoner die?
Short Answer: Julia dies after being bitten by her step-father's venomous swamp adder. At the beginning of the story, Helen Stoner visits Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and explains to them that...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," what is the theme of the story?
"The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is an example of a sub-genre of mystery stories commonly called a "Locked Room Murder Mystery." Julia was in her bedroom when she experienced the pains and...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What was suspicious about Julia's room in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?
There were several strange modifications to the rooms in which both of the Roylott ladies resided. The fact that there was any work going on at all at the house was immediately suspicious: Some...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What is some verbal irony in Conan Doyle's "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?
When Dr. Grimesby Roylott comes to 221B Baker Street from Stoke Moran to confront Sherlock Holmes, he warns Holmes not to meddle in his affairs: "See that you keep yourself out of my grip," he...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What strange items does Holmes find in Dr. Roylott's room?
With Dr. Roylott out of the house and unlikely to return to Stoke Moran before evening, it's a good opportunity for Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson to go snooping around his bedroom to see if they...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What happened the night that Holmes and Watson were in Helen’s sister’s room?
Holmes and Watson wait for many hours in the darkness of Julia’s room before anything of interest happens. However, a little after the clock ticks three, the two men see a light gleam in Dr....
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
How does Holmes react to Dr. Roylott in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?
In the short story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a woman named Helen Stoner approaches Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in fear that her life is threatened by her...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
How does Holmes solve his mystery?
Most Sherlock Holmes stories are solved with the same formula. Holmes and Watson are usually sought out by someone in distress who tells them of their problem. Then the duo set out to...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What characteristic traits of Sherlock Holmes can be identified in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?
The main Sherlock Holmes trait that shines through this story is his step-by-step reliance on observation and rationality to solve a crime. For example, he startles Miss Stoner on first meeting her...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Why does Helen Stoner come to see Holmes in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?
The short answer to this is that Helen Stoner, in the story “The Adventure of the Speckled Band,” comes to see Sherlock Holmes because she fears that someone is going to try to kill her. The...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What was Dr. Roylott's plan to murder his stepdaughter and what was the reason behind it in "The Adventures of the...
Dr. Ryloth trained his snake, the “swamp adder” to bite his niece Julia so he did not have to give her the family fortune when she married. Dr. Ryloth was a sinister criminal. Sherlock Holmes...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What is a crime that happens in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?
In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," the principal crime occurred two years ago when Helen Stoner's sister Julia was murdered by their stepfather Dr. Grimesby Roylott. He was also guilty of the...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," what motives might Dr. Roylott have for killing Julia Stoner?
When Helen Stoner comes to see Sherlock Holmes at Baker Street in the early morning, she tells him, significantly: “When Dr. Roylott was in India he married my mother, Mrs. Stoner....My sister...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
How does Sherlock Holmes solve the mystery of the Speckled Band?
It is typical of Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories that the great detective explains his whole line of reasoning--almost invariably to his friend and biographer Dr. Watson--near the very...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Why does Holmes quickly suspect that Dr. Roylott is the criminal in “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”?
Holmes is on to Dr. Roylott almost from the start. Once he finds out that Roylott is a convicted criminal, convicted for homicide, no less, he suspects that he had something to do with the death of...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
How did Holmes and Watson solve the mystery of the "speckled band"?
When Miss Helen Stoner brought her case to Mr. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, Holmes had some suspicions about what might be happening to her. Miss Stoner fears that someone is trying to kill...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What is the point of view of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and who is the narrator?
The point of view in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," as in other Sherlock Holmes stories, is first person limited. Specifically, the narrator, Dr. John Watson, is a first person witness...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Is the speckled band a real snake?
When Holmes and Watson find the dead body of Dr. Roylott at the end of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," Watson says that Roylott "had a peculiar yellow band, with brownish speckles, which...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Sherlock Holmes is known for his intuition, and his ability to make quick, rational deductions from what he sees and...
It seems to me that the paragraph you write for your assignment could begin with more or less the same words as those stated in the question: Sherlock Holmes is known for his intuition, and his...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What are 6 clues in the story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?
When Sherlock Holmes is inspecting the bedrooms at Stoke Moran, he finds many clues. In Helen Stoner's room he finds a ventilator that only leads into Dr. Roylott's room next door rather than to...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
How does Doyle present Sherlock's genius in the opening of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?
"The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is written from the perspective of Dr. John Watson, Holmes's close friend and avid admirer, and through his eyes Doyle presents a picture of Sherlock Holmes as...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What is Roylotts motive for the crimes and why does Roylotts plan backfire?
Dr. Roylett's motive was money. His wife's will stated that the total income they would get from her estate would be 100 pounds. Due to the fact that agriculture prices had fallen, the estate was...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Explain the line, "I can not say this death will weigh very heavily upon my conscience."
This last line of the short story is spoken by Sherlock Holmes. He is explaining how he got the poisonous snake Dr. Grimesby Roylott was using as a murder weapon to turn on Roylott and bite him....
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What two sounds does Helen Stoner hear on the night of her sister Julia's death?
The two sounds that stand out in Helen's memory of the night of her sister's death are described by her to Sherlock Holmes at their initial meeting in the early morning. As I opened my door I...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Why does Holmes want Miss Stoner to stay in her bedroom? And how did Holmes know there would be a ventilator in the...
Holmes advises Helen to remain in her present room until Dr. Roylott retires for the night. Roylott is a violent man. He might subject Helen to verbal and even physical abuse after learning that...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
How did Dr. Roylott die in "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?
In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," Dr. Roylott dies from being bitten by a poisonous snake. Dr. Roylott has devised an ingenious and diabolical scheme to murder both his stepdaughters before...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What is a character description of Helen Stoner from "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" with some quotes?
A physical description of Helen Stoner is in paragraph 10 at the beginning of the story. It says, ".....her face all drawn and grey, with restless frightened eyes, like those of some hunted...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What three clues are the most important in the plot of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"? Explain the significance...
"The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is an example of a so-called "locked-room murder mystery." The biggest question is: "How could Julia Stoner have been murdered in her bedroom with her door...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What is the setting of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle? Does the setting change at all?
The setting in this story changes in the middle of the tale. At the beginning, the story is set in Sherlock Holmes's quarters on Baker Street, London, in April of 1883. It is there that Helen...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," why does Helen move into Julia's room? What frightens her when she does that?
Before Julia died she had told her sister Helen about hearing a strange whistling but could not tell exactly where it was coming from. Helen explains to Holmes and Watson why she is presently...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What was Julia Stoner holding in her hands when she came out of her room before she died ?
According to Helen Stoner's long description of the night Julia Stoner died two years earlier, Helen was holding a burned out match in one hand and a matchbox in the other. These are the exact...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Why would Dr. Roylott be opposed to his stepdaughter's marrying?
After talking with Helen Stoner for a long time in the early morning, and after the tumultuous intrusion of her stepfather Dr. Roylott, Holmes goes to Doctors' Commons to do some research. When he...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," how did Dr. Roylott attempt to murder Helen Stoner?
In the Arthur Conan Doyle story, “The Adventure of the Speckled Band,” Dr. Grimesby Roylott tries to kill his stepdaughter, Helen Stoner, by introducing a deadly snake into her room to bite her....
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
In "The Adventure of the Speckled Band," what does the evidence Holmes has discovered suggest?
At the end of the story, after Helen Stoner has been saved from death and Dr. Grimesby Roylott has been killed by his own snake, Holmes tells Watson all about his deductions from the evidence found...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What is a character description of Dr. Grimsby Roylott from "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" with some quotes?
Dr Grimesby Roylott is a violent, aggressive and intimidating character- he is a man of immense strength, and absolutely uncontrollable in his anger. He was very antisocial and unpopular He had...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Why does Helen Stoner come to see Holmes?
Helen Stoner comes to see Holmes because she wants him to investigate her sister's death and also because she fears that she will meet the same fate as her sister. Essentially, Helen wants Holmes...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
How do Holmes and Watson spend the night at Stoke Moran?
After Holmes has carefully examined the three bedrooms at Stoke Moran, he tells Helen that she must sleep in her old bedroom and that he and Watson will spend the night in the bedroom she has...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Why is Helen Stoner afraid when she comes to see Holmes?
When Sherlock Holmes first meets Helen Stoner, he can see that she is agitated and fearful. He makes note of her "restless frightened eyes" and her hair that has prematurely gone grey. She looks...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Why did Dr. Roylott go to India?
As Sherlock Holmes discovers in the course of his investigation, Dr. Roylott has close connections with India. It turns out that Roylott spent a lot of time in the country, first as a medical...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What happens at the end of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?
After examining Helen Stoner's bedroom, Sherlock Holmes has concluded that Dr. Roylott is sending a snake through their communicating ventilator. He tells Watson later: My attention was speedily...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
Why is Helen Stoner concerned that Sherlock Holmes won't take her case?
Helen Stoner is afraid Sherlock Holmes will refuse to help her because she does not have enough money to pay his fee. She tells him: Oh, sir, do you not think that you could help me, too, and at...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What is the resolution of "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?
The resolution is the part of the story that ties up the loose ends. In this case, it is when Sherlock explains to Dr. Watson how he solved the mystery. Sherlock Holmes had made the logical...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band
What's one of the red herrings that Conan Doyle employed in writing "The Adventure of the Speckled Band"?
"The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is a story of the type sometimes called a "locked-room mystery," in which the deceased has apparently taken every possible precaution against their own death....
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