Classic detective story Essay

      It had to be something a lot smaller because the only other opening in Julia’s room that communicated with somewhere outside of the room was the ventilation shaft in the ceiling which was directly connected to the ventilation shaft in the ceiling of Dr. Roylott’s room. Holmes also spotted the mysterious bell pull, which turned out to be a dummy. The strange thing about this bell pull was that it was hung from somewhere inside the ventilation shaft and it was positioned directly above the pillow on the bed. Holmes then goes in into a deep state of reverie putting everything that Helen Stoner told him happened together with all the clues that he had found in Stoke Moran. This matches my expectation of a classic detective story where the detective finds clues, analyses them and them puts them all together with all the information he has obtained from other sources such as the victim, people who knew the dead person, people who had some sort of relationship with both the person that died and the victim. In this deep state of meditation he solves the mystery but he has yet to solve the crime. So Holmes tells Helen Stoner to place a lamp outside of her window when Dr. Roylott retires to his chamber at night. Holmes also tells Helen to leave the shutters open in the room so that he and Watson can get in when she signals them. Holmes and Watson wait for the signal at the village inn. Later when Helen signals them with the lamp they head for Stoke Moran. They go into her room through the open shutter and wait for a number of hours before Holmes spots a snake coming through the ventilator. At this point in time Holmes knows who has committed the crime and how for sure. This then matches my next expectation that with all that is happening the detective then deduces what must have happened and if it was a murder who the villain was that committed the crime. He then immediately switches on the light and strikes at the snake causing it to return through the ventilator in a very angry mood. Then they all here the terrible screen of a man’s hoarse voice. They all immediately head for Dr. Roylott’s chamber and find him dead. He is killed by an Indian Swamp adder, which they find wrapped around his head. Holmes then explains how he solved the mystery and then the crime. This all matches my final expectation of a classic detective story, which is that the villain is either arrested or killed. The expectations of plot that are fulfilled in the Gatewood Caper The Gatewood Caper begins with a private detective being sent to help a man called Harvey Gatewood get his kidnapped daughter Audrey back. The detective is known only as the â€Å"the continental Op†. In this essay I will refer to him from now on as â€Å"the Op†. The Op is sent by the Continental Detective Agency to solve the kidnap of Harvey Gatewood’s daughter Audrey and to find out where she is being held then rescue her. In the Gatewood Caper the mystery surrounds the kidnap of Harvey Gatewood’s daughter Audrey, so my first expectation of a classic detective story’s plot and how it should involve some sort of mystery is fulfilled. In the Gatewood Caper it is the detective that comes to offer help to the victim and not the other way around like in the Speckled Band where the victim asks the detective to investigate something for them. So my next expectation that the victim approaches the detective to get his help is not fulfilled. No one has died and my expectation of a classic detective story that a there is a death and that it is either the result of a terrible crime or accidental is not fulfilled. This all makes the Gatewood Caper even less like a classic detective story. The only person that can solve the crime in this story is the Op and so that matches my next expectation of a classic detective story that the only person who can solve the crime is the detective. The Op then listens to Gatewood’s story and this fulfils my next expectation of a classic detective story where the detective listens to the victim’s story. Harvey Gatewood tells the Op what happened before he last saw Audrey. He tells to the Op about everything that he saw Audrey do before he last saw her. He tells the Op that the last time he saw Audrey was the day before at around seven in the evening. The next morning Gatewood receives a letter from the kidnappers demanding a ransom of $50,000 in $100 bills (American for notes) for her release. In the Gatewood Caper the detective doesn’t really ask many questions to Gatewood because he is so uncooperative. It’s more like the reverse of my expectation that the detective questions the victim is fulfilled. It’s almost like Gatewood has been described so much like a villain that it’s almost impossible to think of him as a victim. My next expectation that the detective investigates the scene of the death is not fulfilled because there is no scene of death in the Gatewood Caper as the crime is a kidnap. Instead in the Gatewood Caper the detective investigates Audrey’s rooms to find any clues or anything that will point to anyone who would want to kidnap Audrey. He finds nothing. Then the next day at 2:30 Harvey Gatewood gets a call from the kidnappers saying that they want him to the deliver the money straight away to someone he will spot when they signal him by holding a handkerchief to their face and then dropping it. They tell Gatewood that he will have to deliver the money to the person somewhere between his house and the waterfront along Clay Street. A woman signals Gatewood using the handkerchief he gives her the money and a couple of the other Ops follow the woman. They loose the woman in an alleyway where they find her clothes discarded all over the floor. They quickly realise that this must have been a woman disguised as a man. The trail of clothes leads to a backdoor of an apartment, which they find was occupied by a man called Leyton. The Op investigates this apartment and finds nothing but this fulfils are expectation that the detective investigates the scene to find any clues but again the Op finds nothing. The only clue that the Op has now has to work on is Leyton’s description. So he starts to investigate all the clothes shops in the Oakland area asking them whether or not they have seen anyone matching Leyton’s description buying woman’s clothes and if they have any records or names. The Op gets lucky with the first shop he investigates because they have a record of a man who bought woman’s clothes matching Leyton’s description. This mans name is Mr. Offord and the Op also gets the address. The Op goes to see Mr. Offord and then finds out that he is not living alone but with a young woman possibly Audrey. The Op recognises Mr. Offord as being a conman. The Op goes up to his room but is then shot at but the bullets miss. The Op then kicks the door down and finds Audrey. He then explains how he solved the mystery of Audrey’s kidnap to â€Å"penny† Quayle the conman and Audrey. This fulfils are expectation of a classic detective story’s plot whereby from all the information the detective gathers he puts it all together to deduce what really happened. The villain in the story actually turns out to be the victim and in the end does not get punished because she blackmails her father with the threat of going to the papers with incriminating information that she has about him about his previous illegal activities. My expectation that the villain is either arrested or killed is not fulfilled making this story even less like a classic detective story. The Speckled Band is a perfect example of what a classic detective story should be like because it matches all my expectations in every way. The Gatewood Caper is completely different and is nothing like a classic detective story. Although it does match some of my expectations of how the plot of a classic detective story should be like it is a very modern story with a very modern plot. The main difference between the plot in the Speckled Band which is a classic detective story and the plot in the Gatewood Caper which is a modern detective story is that in a classic detective story the plot goes along a straight line and everything that happens we might expect to happen, happens whereas in the plot of a modern detective story everything we might expect to happen doesn’t always happen. Expectations of character that are fulfilled We expect the character of the detective in any classic detective to be a man who is extremely clever, intuitive, observant, inquisitive, deductive and highly instinctive. The name of the detective in the Speckled Band is Sherlock Holmes. Holmes matches all of my expectations of how the character in a detective story should be and so too does the Op in the Gatewood Caper. The big difference is that the Op is a lot weaker in all of these aspects when you directly compare him to someone of the likes of Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes probably the greatest detective of all time whereas the Op is just an ordinary policeman turned detective. We expect the character of a detective in any classic detective story to be something of a superhero but what we see in any modern detective story is the character of a detective has a big sense of realism associated with him which makes it all that little more believable so that we can relate to the detective more. We also expect the character of the detective in any classic detective story to be very strong (powerful), tough, very brave, a good soul and an expert in his field of work. Again Holmes is these things and personifies greatness whereas the Op is also has all these aspects but again is weaker in every department. This is again done on purpose to make it all more realistic and believable. Sherlock Holmes is the more classic detective whereas the Op is the more modern detective. We also expect the detective in any classic detective story to go into soliloquy and Holmes does this a lot whereas the Op never does this and we aren’t able to connect with his thoughts as much as we do with Holmes. We expect the character of the villain in any classic detective story to be man who is extremely clever, very strong (powerful) and tough but at the same time a man who is evil, devious, very greedy, and deceptive. We also expect the villain to be dangerous and psychotic. In the Speckled Band the villain Dr. Roylott matches all my expectations of how a villain should be like in any classic detective story whereas the surprise villain in the Gatewood Caper is nothing like my expectations of how the character of a villain should be in any detective story. Dr. Roylott is a huge giant of a man who bends pokers to scare people, whereas because Audrey is a woman she is portrayed as being weak in the Gatewood Caper but is still the villain. Audrey Gatewood has parts of the character of the victim mixed in with parts of the character from the villain. She is a woman and that is the main the difference between what a villain could never be in a classic detective story and could possibly be a modern detective story. Although she might be a woman she is certainly not the victim because she is not innocent, helpless, afraid, a good soul or someone who is grateful for anything. In fact she is the exact opposite a spoiled brat. Also although she is not the victim she is certainly the villain because she does in fact have all the qualities of being a villain except that she is not very strong, or tough. Dr. Grimesby Roylott is the more classic villain whereas Audrey Gatewood is the more modern victim. We expect the character of the victim in any classic detective story to be a woman who is weak, innocent, helpless, afraid, a good soul and someone who is extremely grateful to anyone who will help them. Firstly in the Speckled Band the victim Helen Stoner fulfils all of these expectations whereas in the modern detective story the Gatewood Caper the victim is Harvey Gatewood and he is nothing like the victim but everything the villain is in a classic detective story. He simply does not belong in the role of the victim so he does not fulfil any expectation of the character of the victim in a classic detective story. He has every quality of a villain in a classic detective story and the exact opposite of every quality the character of the victim has in a classic detective story. In fact the way he is described in the story he is almost identical to Dr. Roylott in the Speckled Band. Helen Stoner is the more classic victim whereas Harvey Gatewood is nothing like a classic victim and is the more modern victim. Setting The setting in the Speckled Band was very interesting because of how it was described in such high detail from every blade of grass to the huge mansion of Stoke Moran. The setting really did provide an excellent atmosphere because it was so complex and always changing. The story starts off and is set in one the biggest, most highly populated cities in the world, London. It is a bustling metropolis and you can imagine the atmosphere it creates and how strong it is over everything else. While this huge feeling of atmosphere is creating by the setting Helen Stoner is going to see Sherlock Holmes. Then the setting changes once Helen arrives to see Holmes, it suddenly changes from being an extremely busy and chaotic atmosphere to an extremely peaceful, quiet and relaxing environment whilst inside Holmes’s home. I enjoyed the setting when Holmes and Watson leave for Leatherhead from Waterloo station as I have always like trains so I can imagine exactly what it would have been like with all the steam trains and the huge atmosphere created by people getting on and off the trains to get off at London or travel to other places. Then when at Stoke Moran the setting changes to this mansion with a small village nearby. The setting here is a dark, scary and lonely place. You can feel the mystery and danger resonating from every wall, every corridor and every room. We don’t feel safe in this place because we know that it has a very mysterious past and a very mysterious owner. It is a very old building built in the 17th century and is almost crumbling to pieces because of decay in some parts. You can imagine the sense of fear that would be created from a setting like this just by walking through the long dark corridors. With each step moved you would here the echo through the whole building because of the dominating silence. The only light would be of that slipping through the small dirt sprayed windows adding to the feeling of loneliness and fear creating extreme suspense. The setting in the in the Gatewood Caper is my favourite personally. I enjoyed the very beginning of the story because of the deep sense of tension that is created by the description of Harvey Gatewood’s Lumber Corporation HQ. I can imagine a it as a huge building full of people working for this one Scrooge like tyrant of a businessman who absolutely loves to quash all opposition and dominate his industry. This setting provides a huge sense of excitement and liveliness. You rarely get a sense of fear or loneliness in the Gatewood Caper because of the setting and how there are always people wherever the Op goes and so there is always someone to talk to. This is another big difference between classic and modern detective story’s where in a classic detective story there are less characters but they are more detailed and you get to know them better whereas in a modern detective story there are more characters who are less detailed which often makes it very confusing. You can then imagine all the cars speeding through the city and past Gatewood’s empire, all the people coming in and out of the building, all the noises caused by the people and machinery creates an immense feeling of power and prosperity which makes me feel good as I can really relate to this kind of setting having being born and raised in modern day London. I loved the setting between Gatewood’s house and the waterfront walking along clay Street. I can just imagine the sense of excitement that I would get if a were just an innocent bystander walking along Clay Street and I saw the mysterious drop off of $50,000 and then saw someone dressed like a woman in black but with the figure of a being followed by so many private detectives. I also enjoyed the setting of the police station at the end with all the detectives in the station drinking coffee and eating donuts. Between the two stories I enjoyed the setting in the Gatewood Caper the most because it was more modern and a lot more like I was used to seeing in life. I definitely expected the setting in the Speckled Band to be old and lonely. I also expected the setting in the Gatewood Caper to be so modern and lively. Structure The structure in the Speckled Band is very different from the structure of the Gatewood Caper. In both stories at the very start of the story we find out what it’s all about and whom everyone is as is the case with the beginning of any detective story. What is very different about the beginning periods of both stories is that one is a complete mystery and it is uncertain what has happened whereas the other is not a mystery at all as the crime is known. In any classic detective story the crime is not known until somewhere in the middle or at the end of the story whereas in a modern detective story the crime is usually known and made clear right at the very beginning. This is a key difference in structure because in any classic detective story the mystery is of great importance because it draws suspense and tension into the reader whereas in a modern detective story the crime is usually more important than the mystery is because modern day readers generally have less patience and want what they read to get to the point quickly. In the Speckled Band the period of uncertainty is both in the beginning period and the middle period of the story whereas in the Gatewood Caper it is in the middle period and also the ending period. In both stories the mystery is solved and the crime explained in the end period. Style of writing When I read Speckled Band the style of writing created a very slow and dull mood within me but I couldn’t help being captivated by it even if it may have been dull or slow. The writer built up suspense using highly implicit and detailed language.