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Situational Irony
Style
Explanation and Analysis:
"The Adventure of the Speckled Band" is written in a formal and verbose style characterized by long sentences, extensive detail, and heavy dialogue. These stylistic choices are important for readers' understanding of the genre of the story because they give readers the opportunity to solve the mystery along with Sherlock. When Sherlock and Watson first arrive at the manor, Watson almost overloads the reader with sensory information:
The building was of gray, lichen-blotched stone, with a high central portion and two curving wings, like the claws of a crab, thrown out on each side. In one of these wings the windows were broken and blocked with wooden boards, while the roof was partly caved in, a picture of ruin. The central portion was in little better repair, but the right-hand block was comparatively modern, and the blinds in the windows, with the blue smoke curling up from the chimneys, showed that this was where the family resided. Some scaffolding had been erected against the end wall, and the stone-work had been broken into, but there were no signs of any workman at the moment of our visit.
Watson describes the scene at a high level of detail. In fact, his language becomes almost technical here; the sensory detail in his description not only crafts an ominous atmosphere, but also provides the reader with information about the structure of the manor. By presenting the reader with all the details of the crime scene, the story invites the reader to apply their own deductive skills and share in the excitement of solving the mystery.
It is also notable that Doyle's long-winded sentences still feature relatively simple language. This is typical of detection fiction like the Sherlock Holmes stories, which were written to be accessible to a wide readership.
