The Adventure of the Speckled Band

Suspense depends on how much the reader and characters know at a particular moment. Choose a suspenseful scene from the story and rewrite it so that a character other than Dr. Watson is the narrator. How does your version affect the level of suspense in the scene? Does it change or add to your understanding of the story’s characters? Explain.

Imagine that you are Dr. Watson as he composes this story. Almost eight years have passed since the adventure at Stoke Moran. As you reflect on the case, you decide that there is a moral to the story. Write a conclusion to “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” in which you explain the moral. Imitate the perspective, style, and diction of Watson’s narration in your conclusion.

The beginning of the story establishes that the events at Stoke Moran took place in “the early days” (142) of Dr. Watson’s friendship with Sherlock Holmes, and yet Watson willingly follows Holmes into grave danger. Describe their relationship using precise adjectives and evidence from the text.

Doyle named “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” as his favorite Sherlock Holmes short story. The story also consistently ranks at the top when readers are asked to identify the best Holmes mystery. What about this story do you think makes it an enduring favorite? Consider the five elements of a story (characters, plot, setting, conflict, and theme) in your response.

Sherlock Holmes stories are set in the time in which Doyle wrote them: Victorian England. What elements of the story reflect the ideals of the period?

Edgar Allan Poe’s Dupin mysteries are considered the first detective fiction stories. Read Poe’s “The Murders in the Rue Morgue“ and consider how “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” would be different if Holmes, like his supersleuth predecessor Dupin, investigated crimes but did not participate directly in the action. How would this change affect the story’s structure, suspense, and resolution?

Static characters do not typically undergo an internal change, and detective fiction often features static characters, as the genre typically focuses more on plot reveal than character development. Consider the Sherlock Holmes canon. Are Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson true static characters?

Sherlock Holmes is one of the world’s most beloved fictional protagonists. What makes Holmes heroic? What other characters in the story possess heroic qualities, and how are those traits shown? Use precise adjectives and evidence from the text to support your reasoning.