Sherlock Holmes : The Most Iconic Detective Figure Of All Time

The legendary fictional character Sherlock Holmes was constructed by a basis of a French criminal expert and a famous police investigator. He is known for his prowess in perception and analysis. On the other hand, Holmes sympathy towards people is near absent. Holmes loves to breakdown the story of each person he comes in contact with it. However, he does make a mistake occasionally. Although, there are many positive representations of Holmes, the Downey-Holmes is the best.

The first example of Holmes’ exquisite trademarks is his ability to see things that other people cannot. He uses his powers of observation to solve cases. For example, in “The Red-Headed League” Holmes notes that Mr. Jabez Wilson “has at some time done manual labor… that he is a Freemason, that he has been in China…” To explain his reasoning, he says “Your right hand is quite a size larger than your left… the muscles are more developed… rather against the strict rules of your order, you use an arc-and-compass breastpin…the fish that you have tattooed immediately above your right wrist could only have been done in China.” The fact that these observations are so obvious to Holmes, whilst being unnoticed by Watson and Wilson, make his observational skills something that stands out from other fictional detectives of the time. He uses these skills throughout his cases to his advantage with great success.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a British physician and writer, mostly well known for his stories “Sherlock Holmes”, which are generally in the field of crime fiction. He was a prolific writer whose other works include science fiction stories, historical novels, plays and romances, poetry, and non-fiction.

When H.H. Holmes arrives in Chicago, he looks like any other ambitious young doctor braving the journey to the Windy City to start a new life. “He walked with confidence and dressed well, conjuring an impression of wealth and achievement. He was twenty-six years old… He had dark hair and striking blue eyes, once likened to the eyes of a Mesmerist,” describes the author. Larson cites a physician, John L. Capen, “‘Great murderers, like great men in other walks of activity, have blue eyes’” (35). In including this citation, Larson clues the reader in on Holmes’ true nature in addition to eliciting a feeling of unease through his diction. With this first impression, the reader is already wary of Holmes and his actions. Larson further solidifies this distrust with the following passages. “The city had impressed [Holmes], he said later, which was surprising because as a rule nothing impressed him, nothing moved him. Events and people captured his attention the way moving objects caught the notice of an amphibian: first a machinelike registration of proximity, next to calculation of worth, and last is a decision to act or remain motionless.” (37) With this quotation, Larson explains how Holmes chose

H. H. Holmes was born as Herman Mudgett on May 16th 1861, and lived in a rural town in New Hampshire. Holmes had a privileged childhood and expressed interest in the medical field. He grew up during the period of the civil war and newspapers were always filled with images of death on the battlefield. These images had a significant influence on Holmes and he used this as an outlet to practice his desire to become a doctor. Holmes would capture wild animals and begin experimenting on them by dissecting them with a pocket knife (Biography.com). This eventually evolved into Holmes entering medical school at the University of Michigan. This is where he studied and mastered the art of surgical dissection. Holmes graduated in 1884 at the top of his class as a surgical doctor (Dorfman). After college, Holmes moved around a bit until he settled down in the south side of Chicago Illinois where he worked for a

“…and to listen with a mocking smile to the general chorus of misplaced congratulation.”(The adventure of the Devils foot)

Sherlock Holmes, by nature, is quite bold and he is willing to face any challenges in the way of justice. In “A Scandal in Bohemia” he throws himself into a mob to get the attention of Irene. He usually confronts violent murderers and people with better physical structures, for example: Dr Roylott from “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”, intrepidly. In fact, Sherlock possesses above average physical strength and he once unbent the half bent fire poker with sudden effort in “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”. As Dr Watson mentions during the conversations in “The Five Orange Pips”, he is a boxer and swordsman. Moreover, in “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”, Sherlock fought off the deadly snake with a cane, showing he is a versatile combat expert.

Sherlock Holmes is a well-known detective, deeply in which royalty has asked for his assistance in retrieving a photograph from Irene Adler. He is known for the excellence use of skills in solving crimes, of astute logical reasoning and of disguise. Holmes work has consistently involved

In the Sherlock Holmes stories “The Red-Headed League” and “A Scandal in Bohemia” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle explores mysteries through the eyes of Dr. Watson, Sherlock Holmes’s assistant. Holmes is able to amaze the people around him with his deductive abilities and can quickly determine aspects of a person’s life by just looking at them. This allows him to solve mysteries that others cannot wrap their heads around. He uses his skill to first help the King of Bohemia recover a picture of him with a former lover. Next, he investigates the disappearance of the Red-Headed League. In both of these mysteries he experiences a unique challenge due to the intelligence of his opponents and the unusual situation surrounding the case. The cunning and cleverness of Holmes, Irene Adler and the conspirators of the Red-Headed League are shown in the stories “The Red-Headed League” and “A Scandal in Bohemia”.

Sherlock was persistent, while Dr. Roylott was aggressive; this created many conflicts between them. These conflicts create a reason for Holmes to become more interested. Not only are there conflicts between Sherlock and Dr. Roylott there are many other conflicts that include Dr. Roylott. For example, Helen versus Dr. Roylott, Sherlock versus Dr. Roylott, plus, Dr. Roylott versus society. In the beginning of the story, there is a set mood and tone. The mood is anxious, whereas the tone is serious. Holmes was an attentive detective making him always extremely curious.

Holmes is a man who very

This excerpt alone can describe the relationship between the detective and his partner, separating Holmes from Watson by interpreting how he observes and infers upon the scene of the crime versus Watson, who is intelligent nonetheless but not as keen as Holmes in identifying such specific details. In terms of this discussion, it can be assumed that Doyle may have intended to use this dialogue to play out the scene in a dynamic way to show the difference between the two. Here, Holmes carries most of the conversation while Watson listens and struggles to follow Holmes’s complicated thinking. Another factor to consider is how Holmes asks Watson many rhetorical questions. This aspect of their interactions compares their sense of understanding as well, suggesting that Holmes has a habit of asking these questions to explain his observations to Watson.

Coulson, 2004). Sherlock is a part of the upper class while Watson is seen as a middle class citizen while he is respected but he isn't on the same level as Holmes. He is also respected for his work as a doctor and is known for being hard working. Sherlock is portrayed as a troubled but brilliant detective who is often troubled and socially awkward with people. He also deals with psychological noise with the fact that he sees everything he call it both a gift and a curse at the same time. Holmes and Watson both have different degrees of perceived self and presenting self. In Watson case his is more concerned with his presenting self than Sherlock is (C. M. Shaw& R. Edwards, 1997).

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle utilizes many detail-oriented literary elements to develop the many adventures of the famous fictional British detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner, John Watson. Long winded description and complex vocabulary are infused into Doyle’s writing to accentuate Holmes’s great intelligence. By incorporating such a heavy, educated tone upon the mysteries, the tales of Sherlock Holmes are expressed as very complicated stories that challenge readers in comprehension as well as encourage curiosity through puzzling cases.

Sherlock Holmes is a character created by British author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock is a legendary detective who solves even the most baffling and meticulously puzzled cases with astute observation, abductive reasoning and with little to no people skills. As a "consulting detective," he favors reason and logic above all else and rarely makes personal attachments beyond those that benefit him. He calls himself a "high functioning sociopath" because he does not make any acquaintance or understand emotions very well, beyond what can be studied.