Sir The author Conan Doyle was very popular for his detective fiction stories featuring the famous character Sherlock Holmes. He used various writing techniques to create suspenseful tales and earned credit for creating the most popular fictional detective of all time. Doyle became an expert in crime fiction thanks to his ability to use different writing styles and methods to create exciting stories full of anticipation and tension. One of the greatest examples is “The Adventures of the Speckled Gang” in which Doyle's use of characterization, setting and story structure helps combine gothic horror and detective fiction into an exciting short story. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The use of characterization is one way Doyle creates a suspenseful story. The narrator, Watson, tells the story in the first person. The narrator is Sherlock Holmes' partner and friend, but is not the lead detective on the case. He sees the same crime scenes, the same evidence, the same victim stories as Holmes, yet he will never fully solve the case on his own. This is essential to creating suspense throughout the story. Since Watson is not analytical enough to solve cases on his own, the reader also has no idea how to solve the case. Doyle does this on purpose because if the readers knew the whole time what the mystery of the spotted band is, then there would be no excitement or tension as the readers are waiting for the case to be solved. For example, Watson and Holmes both saw the same evidence in Helen's house, and Holmes was able to draw conclusions, while Watson stated that he "(could) see no connection" (15) between the evidence of the crime. The reader therefore does not know how to solve the case and therefore can anticipate and even try to guess what the answer might be. Doyle cleverly leaves false clues throughout the piece, including the addition of dangerous animals and gypsy gangs. Doyle does this so that the reader has difficulty solving the case on their own and gets excited about finally finding out what the real cause of death is. The anticipation in revealing the cause of the murder increases the tension throughout the piece due to how mysterious and baffling the case actually is. Another use of characterization that Doyle added to create an anxious and worried feeling in the readers' heads is the victim of the case, Helen. . She is an innocent and defenseless woman who fears for her life. She rushes to Holmes' apartment early in the morning wearing a black veil over her head which she lifts to reveal the terror in her eyes. She trembles and claims that the cause is not the cold but fear, pure terror. “Her features and figure were those of a woman of thirty, but her hair was flecked with premature gray and her expression was tired and haggard” (Doyle 2). Doyle uses a helpless, scared woman as a victim to make readers want to feel scared for her. Doyle's use of body characteristics and dramatization of the sense of fear he feels is added so that readers feel that the case must be very serious and dangerous if it is taking a toll on physical characteristics and mental health by Helen. Readers fear for Helen's life as she lives in the same room where her sister died and next to a man of pure evil, Dr. Roylott. Roylott is another use of characterization added to scare readers. The man is very violent and short-tempered and has even served time in prison. ANDknown as the terror of his village. Dr. Roylott bursts into Holmes' house and Watson describes him as a huge man with “a broad face, seared with a thousand wrinkles, sallow sunburnt, and marked with every evil passion” (8). Doyle creates the perfect villain. This man is described as an immoral and malicious person capable of doing horrible things. Readers feel a sense of unease after Doyle reveals Doctor Watson's true self because this man lives right next door to the innocent and terrified Helen. He is smart enough to track Helen down and strong enough to beat her or perhaps kill her. Helen is not safe in her home. This makes readers feel very anxious because Helen's house is unsafe and she has nowhere to go to escape her fears. Helen lived right next door to an evil man, a perfect setting created by Doyle to add tension to the piece. Doyle had intentionally had Helen live in the same room where her twin sister died. This adds an eerie and suspenseful atmosphere to the whole story. The house he lives in is a huge mansion that is falling apart. Doyle creates a disturbing atmosphere because the house is very old and “the windows were broken and blocked with wooden boards, while the roof had partially collapsed” (11). Home isn't exactly the kind of place someone would place a "home sweet home" doormat in front of. The discomfort of the house causes readers to feel discomfort. It's the perfect setting for a sinister crime. Doyle also uses time to create an eerie atmosphere for readers. On the night of Elena's sister's death, "the wind was howling outside and the rain was beating and splashing against the windows" (5). This sets the scene for the final scene where a spooky crime will take place. If Doyle set the scene on a bright sunny day, rather than during a thunderstorm in the middle of the night, readers might feel less fearful about the situation. Modern suspense and horror films also use the climate in their favor to create a tenacious atmosphere. Doyle foreshadows the next repeated crime when he adds that there is “a cold wind blowing” (15) the night Holmes and Watson lurk in Helen's room. Doyle lays the groundwork to respond to readers' fears. A reader may identify more with the gothic aspect of the narrative if the surrounding environment is as dark and bleak as the plot. Doyle's gothic writing techniques used to create the plot of the story also contribute to the sensational effect of the passage. Doyle creates the plot of the story so that readers feel a sense of tension throughout the entire passage. This is because a life is at stake. If the case isn't solved in time, Helen could be killed. Doyle achieves this sense of time limit expiring for readers through the use of events leading up to Julia's death in correlation with similar events Helen is going through. Julia heard a faint whistle every night, days before she died. Helen says she hears the same low whistles at night. Julia died a few days before her wedding. Helen is getting married soon. Readers know that it could portend an imminent death. Sherlock then discovers that Dr. Roylott had very strong motives in hindering his stepdaughters' marriages. Readers also discover that Helen was moved to Julia's room not actually because of the construction work, but because Dr. Roylott simply used the construction as an excuse to take her to the same room where her sister died. Doyle gives many clues that Dr. Roylott is attempting to kill Helen to give a sense of irrational fear to the readers because she is so close to death every night she sleeps in that room. Doyle uses even the smallest scenes in the story to create.