The adventure of the speckled band Essay Example for Free

The adventure of the speckled band Essay These stories, whilst written in the 19 century, still seem very relevant today. In this age where terrorism is a constant threat, it is easy to believe that we are the first generation to experience these fears. However, these stories give us an excellent reminder that we are not the first, and that these threats have been with us for many years; they have also been well documented and explored. Before reading these stories, I believed that these stories would be very remote, as the 19th century setting would be too early for me to easily relate too. However, as I read the stories, I started to realise that they were very relevant indeed. It was very easy to relate the poison of the swamp adder in Conan Doyles, Adventure of the speckled band, to ricin, which we are so aware of today due to the finding of the poison in London. Both poisons would also not normally show up on an autopsy, but a few milligrams of it could still kill many men. I also spotted very quickly the similarities in HG Wells, The stolen Bacillus, to the possibility of Biological attacks on many cities, such as the possibility of attacks on major cities with airborne spores, like anthrax. Whilst, in the story, it turns out that the visitor, as he is referred to, has not taken the deadly cholera bacillus, I found the vivid description of how the disease would, go hither and thithertake the husband from the wife, the child from its mother, absolutely terrifying, simply because of the sheer detail in which it is described. The personification which is used to help describe the pestilence also helps make the disease more terrifying, as if it is made to seem like a person is doing these terrible deeds, it can do so calculatingly and even more evilly. This personification is very well illustrated in the way that the bacteriologist constantly refers to the cholera as, he, in his rhetoric. We are also told how, he would creep through the streets, picking out and punishing a house. These very human characteristics show that the bacterium should be feared, as a person rather than a micro-organism. An issue which I feel is related to that of terrorism, and which is mentioned in Wells novel is that of immigration. There is a growing concern about letting people into our country, partly due to the fear of terrorism. This can, unfortunately, greatly promote racism against people of an Arabic origin. Whilst the immigrant becoming a criminal in this story is not of Arabic origin, he is clearly not a native to the British isles:  Certainly the man was not a Teutonic type, nor a common Latin one. This not only shows the problem of immigrants turning to crime, but also that of discrimination against them. Whilst it could be argued that no discrimination occurred, as the Bacteriologist let him into his lab, I feel that as it is only after, musing on the ethnology of his visitor, that he started to panic, as he did not trust foreigners. This illustrates that immigration and discrimination against immigrants was as much a problem in the 19th century as it is today. Another issue that is very relevant to the 21st century is that of womens rights. Whilst the spice girls, and other girl power related groups were formed in the 20th century, many girls raised listening to the spice girls will soon be adults with a significant say in our society, such as the right to vote. We have also seen many court cases in the past few years relating to sexism and unfair dismissal cases. However, I believe that these issues are brushed upon even this early in these stories, which, considering the time they were written in, is somewhat impressive. For example, the womens suffrage movements only appeared in the early 1900s, so these books evidently show that both authors were somewhat ahead of their time. The issue of sexism is clearly raised in Wells novel when the bacteriologist is running down the street and his wife is chasing him in a dog-cart. The off-duty dog-cart drivers see this and are evidently very aware that she is female, as they say that, Shes a following him. Usually the other way round. This shows that the woman could never be seen as a person, at least not by the common taxi drivers, who are shown to be common by their dialect; she was simply something to be chased. I think that the fact that Minnie is also following the bacteriologist simply to give him his hat is significant, as it shows that she is solely concerned about her husband, and therefore her image. This seems to show that she has nothing important to do and has no job. Women are therefore presented as somewhat inferior, at least to the 21st century reader, as this may have been the norm in the 19th century. This sexism is also shown in, The adventures of the speckled band, as women are simply expected to marry as a matter of course, and have to ask their fathers for permission to do so. This shows that women were seen to be reliant on men in order to survive. I also believe that it is relevant that Helen has no job in this story; she simply survives using money from her stepfather and mother. She also clearly has nothing else to do but look pretty and marry. This sexism is clearly something that the 21st century reader can identify with, and can also help the reader not becoming alienated from the 19th century setting.  Domestic violence is another thing which is still as relevant today as it was over 100 years ago. Domestic violence is shown in Conan Doyles story when Helen is beaten by her stepfather. As Holmes says in the story, she has been cruelly used, when he notices a hand mark on her wrist. As domestic violence is, clearly, an issue which still effects us today, I believe that this is certainly an issue relevant to the 21st century.