Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Adventure of the Speckled Band Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of From a Railway Carriage, The Hound of the Baskervilles and Pumpkin in a Jar so, you can check these posts as well.
The Adventure of the Speckled Band Questions & Answers
Question 1: Who was Helen Stoner? Comment on her appearance at Sherlock Holmes’ chambers.
Answer: Helen Stoner was the step-daughter of Dr. Grimesby Roylott of Stoke Moran. She came to see Holmes regarding the death of her sister. When she appeared at Holmes’ chambers, her face was drawn and grey, with restless, frightened eyes. She was shivering.
Question 2: What were Holmes’ findings after his inspection of the rooms at Stoke Moran?
Answer: Holmes found that there was actually no need for repairs in Helen’s own room. Since, the reapirs had begun, she had been using her sister’s room and there, Holmes found that the bed was bolted to the floor. A rope that was meant to ring for the housekeeper was actually a dummy – it was attached to a ventilator that opened into the next room. Dr. Roylott’s room was larger than the others. Holmes also found a saucer of milk in the doctor’s room.
Question 3: Who was Julia? How had her death affected Helen?
Answer: Julia was Helen Stoner’s twin sister. After her death, Helen had become lonely and depressed because she had lost her only companion. She had also begun to suspect that some foul play may have been involved in her sister’s death.
The Adventure of the Speckled Band Questions & Answers
Question 4: What happened the night that Holmes and Watson were in Helen’s sister’s room?
Answer: When Holmes and Watson were in Julia’s room, they waited in the dark, in absolute silence. After a few minutes, they heard a gentle whistling sound and Holmes sprang from the bed, struck a match and began lashing furiously at the dummy bell-pull with his cane. When he stopped, they heard a horrible cry from Dr. Roylott’s room. They rushed into his room and saw Dr. Roylott dead in a chair, his eyes staring up. There was a deadly swamp adder around his neck. The doctor had been killed by the weapon he had been trying to use on his step-daughter.
Question 5: Describe Dr. Grimesby Roylott’s character. Support your descriptions with examples from the text.
Answer: In the beginning, after his marriage to their mother, Dr. Roylott did not make much of an impression on the girls. Soon, after their mothers’ death, he seemed to become a sort of a recluse. He seldom came out of his room and argued with anyone he met. He had a fondness for dangerous animals from India. His greed was obvious in his decision to kill both his step-daughters. The manner in which he planned to execute the killing – with a snake from India, that would be unfamiliar in England, tells us that he was very clever and calculative.
Question 6: Read the lines and answer the questions:
(a) What incident is Holmes referring to?
Answer: Holmes is referring to how he might be indirectly responsible for Dr. Roylott’s death.
(b) Why had Holmes seemed to have developed an indifferent attitude?
Answer: Holmes’ indifference stemmed from his deduction that Dr. Roylott had murdered his step-daughter Julia and tried to kill Helen too.
The Adventure of the Speckled Band Questions & Answers
Question 7: Read the lines and answer the questions:
“Oh my God! Helen! It was the band! The speckled band!”
(a) When were these lines uttered and by whom?
Answer: These lines were spoken by Julia just before her death.
(b) Before this, what had the speaker told Helen?
Answer: Before this, Julia had spoken to Helen about a low, clear whistle that she heard in her room at around three in the morning every day.
(c) What was the speaker trying to convey?
Answer: She was trying to convey that she thought there was someone who was trying to harm her in some way and that she was scared.
Question 8: Read the lines and answer the questions:
“Ah! That is suggestive.”
(a) What did Holmes mean by ‘suggestive’? What is he referring to?
Answer: Holmes means that the fact that repairs were begun in Helen’s room when none were needed indicate the possibility of foul play.
(b) What prior information had Holmes acquired to build his case on?
Answer: Holmes’ visit to the Doctors’ Commons had given him important information on the state of Dr. Roylott’s finances.
(c) What warning did Holmes issue after this?
Answer: Holmes warned Helen not to stay in Julia’s room that night.
So, these were The Adventure of the Speckled Band Questions & Answers.