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A Successful Relationship Essay

Decent Essays

The relationship between Sherlock Holmes and Watson is crucial to the success of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Detective stories; however, there are many more factors, which make the stories so successful such as problems presented in the case and factors affecting tension. Their relationship, though, is a key point to the timelessness and popularity of the stories. A successful relationship and the success of a detective story depend on many things, such as: intelligence, authority, and respect for one another as men. Sherlock Holmes and Watson work so well together because although they are good friends they possess different qualities, which make them ‘gel’ together. For instance, Holmes is a very intelligent man, on the basis of his …show more content…

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle grips us with these three stories: The Man with the Twisted Lip (TMWTTL), The Engineer’s Thumb (TET) and The Speckled Band (TSB) by giving us a sense of us being in the world of his protagonist Holmes. His descriptions of the flickering oil lamps, the depravity of the opium den and the danger in the streets is never so evident as in his powerful description of Upper Swandam Lane. In TMWTTL we are told about a dark place called Upper Swandam Lane, here men come to smoke opium in the den. In a passage of Upper Swandam Lane it sais “Vile alley lurking.” This shows to us that there is danger. “Vile” reminds us of a disgusting place by using a strong adjective. “alley” reminds us off a dark and disreputable place were such dangers as thieves and rats could be waiting. “Lurking” is personification reminding us of something dangerous like a predator. All of these points can be related to imagery and in some cases animal imagery. This helps to create tension, which is a key point in a good detective story, this is created without the use of Holmes or Watson meaning that they aren’t needed to help create a great detective story. Conan Doyle uses very descriptive language to evoke place and create a realistic setting.
Watson is made the Chronicler of this story, which makes us see the daily life of him and Holmes as it goes on the streets. Watson as a character is a loyal and supportive friend to

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