Death on Pine street Essay

In this essay I will be comparing two detective stories. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s story ‘The Speckled Band’ was written in the 1890’s and set in England. It follows Sherlock Holmes as he investigates the unusual death of a young woman. Through clever logic he manages to solve the case entirely by simply investigating the scene of the crime. ‘Death on Pine Street’ was written in the 1930’s and set in America. The detective in this is a more â€Å"street-wise† roughed up detective, investigating the murder of a woman’s husband. His sly and even dishonest methods of investigation solve the case, however there are a few complexities. Both stories are first person narratives. In ‘The Speckled Band’ Dr. Watson is the narrator but in ‘Death on Pine Street’, the Op himself tells us the story. This means that in the Holmes story the reader is kept in the dark about what is happening because we only know what Watson knows and, therefore, have to wait to the end of the story for Holmes to explain how he solved the crime to Watson. In the other story, because the Op is the narrator we know what he is thinking and what is happening to him. This different style works well, because although we know what he is thinking, we still have to wait to the end for the Op to explain how he solved the crime to the police; this way it doesn’t ruin the element of interest that keeps the reader going on. The detectives in the two stories, Sherlock Holmes and the Continental Op, have some things in common, but are also very different characters. This is due to the very different places and times in which the stories are set. Both are private detectives solving crimes for money. They are both loners with no wives, families or girlfriends. They are both quick thinking, clever and observant – they see clues and evidence that nobody else can see. They are both brave and strong, and can use weapons and know how to defend themselves. These are important factors in a good detective, which I think is why they share these traits whilst being from such different places and times. Sherlock Holmes was the first fictional detective ever, so it is probable that some of the inspiration for the Continental Op came from him. However they differ in many ways. Holmes is a more upper-class, well spoken and well-educated man. The Continental Op is more of a slang-talking, lower-class working man. He works for a company, and has to travel to meet clients. Holmes works from home; Miss Stoner comes to see him. He seems to do detective work simply for enjoyment, he tells Miss Stoner she need not pay him. Holmes seems more calm and collected, he doesn’t carry a firearm or get into fisticuffs – the Continental Op does both of these. Since Watson is narrating ‘The Speckled Band’, we get a good description of Holmes; the Continental Op does not describe himself at all – infact the only description of him is given by the Tenant, referring to him as â€Å"our little fat friend†. The Continental Op is always skulking around bad areas and apartments, Holmes usually takes a safe journey to the scene of the crime (in this case a mansion). It is the difference in location and time that plays an integral part in shaping these completely different characters that share similar and almost universal traits. ‘Death on Pine Street’ is set in America in the 1930’s; this was during the Great Depression when times were very hard on people. Unemployment was high, many people could barely afford to live and so naturally people were more highstrung or ill-tempered, and crime rose. It was this kind of tough way of life that forms the environment and the character in ‘Death on Pine Street’. ‘The Speckled Band’ is set in England, in the 1890’s, a fine period for upper-class people. Holmes would have been raised comfortably, and it would not have been a necessity for him to be â€Å"tough† like the Continental Op. He does not deal in the same way as the Continental Op; he quietly investigates a single place, and works without any interrogations or interviews. This greatly seperates the feel of the story from ‘Death on Pine Street’, as the Continental Op interracts far more, with many more characters.