Sherlock Holmes Traits

Holmes had been born into a wealthy New Hampshire family and was given the name Herman Webster Mudgett (America’s Serial Killers). “If Mudgett or his brother or sister were bad, their strict Methodist parents sent them to the attic for a full day without speaking or eating,. Mudgett’s father was especially abusive after he’d been drinking - which was often” (Spikol). However, his father was a wealthy and respected citizen and had been the local postmaster for nearly twenty five years (Taylor). It is surprising an important member of the community was a child abuser. The abuse of his father may be one of the

He grew up secluded with his two brothers, Henry and Arthur, and his sister Ellen. He also grew up with his parents who were devout Methodists. A common factor about serial killers is that they usually grew up in a strictly religious household. His home life was hard because of his mentally and physically abusive parents, especially his father. Researchers have found out that his father used tactics such as “prolonged isolation and even food deprivation. Furthermore, his father reportedly held kerosene soaked rags over Holmes and the other children’s mouths to “quiet them” when they cried.” (Concordia University). A child’s relationship with their parents is crucial in their development. Psychologists have researched this specific topic for years and drew the conclusion that, “Without the safety net of a secure attachment relationship, children grow up to become adults who struggle with feelings of low self-worth and challenges with emotional regulation. They also have an increased risk of developing depression and anxiety.” (How Childhood Trauma). Because of his parents neglecting, his idea of relationships was skewed, and he became isolated. He had no positive relationship to model after and that really took a toll on his social life. In fact, “It is possible that Holmes...was so traumatized by the abuse that it ultimately led to his inability to form meaningful relationships.” (Concordia University). He was bullied at school for being smarter than the rest of the class and having no friends. His most notable bullying incident was when “ Holmes, blindsided by classmates, was forced into a doctor’s office, where the hands of a skeleton were forcibly placed over his face.” (Concordia University). Holmes had a phobia of doctors and anatomy as a whole, and the event was so traumatic to him that his fear reversed itself and turned into an extreme interest, something that is not uncommon between trauma victims. The

His ambition was to create a game which involved the suffering of others. Killing people created him a sort of pleasure, “Holmes was enjoying himself. He had arranged the insurance fraud for money, but the rest of it was for fun. Holmes was testing his power to bend lives of people” (Larson 355). Holmes always looked for people that he saw as weak and he used them to create his game which to him was to see how far he could go in changing a person’s life. While Geyer was investigating the disappearances of the Pitezel children he said that all criminals had a motive but no one really saw clearly what Holmes’ motive was. Later Geyer was drawn to the conclusion of Holmes wanting to have power over people’s lives. Holmes wanted to control people and produce others a suffering as he did when Carrie Pitezel was put in a hotel by Holmes in front of the hotel her children were in, without any of them knowing, that was his game. In the novel both Burnham and Holmes had ambitions but both had very different ambitions, which led their lives in different paths. Burnham by having the ambition to want Chicago to prosper became America’s best architect. Holmes’ ambition took him to jail and eventually to his death. The novel The Devil in the White City, illustrates that everything is not what it seems using the character Holmes and the creation of the World’s Fair. Holmes was known as a charming doctor that starstruck every woman that he laid an eye upon. It was said by

Dr. H. H. Holmes has a passion for murder, and he hides his true personality behind an act of a charming man managing a hotel. Since Holmes uses his creativity to disrupt the lives of innocent people, he brings out the Black City of Chicago. As a result of Holmes’s passion for murder, he has to keep his psychotic talent secret. Only very few people know Holmes’s true lifestyle, and if they do, he kills them. Holmes weaves his way into to his victims’ lives to manipulate them for his personal benefit.. Even though the White City masks some of Chicago’s problems, evil still

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 Devil in the White City reads, “As word spread that a young, handsome, and apparently unmarried doctor now stood behind the counter, an increasing number of single women in their twenties began to patronize the store”(Larson 46). You can’t build a log cabin without wood, and you can’t be a serial killer without victims. Victims are an essential part to the art of murder. As a result, he had a plentiful picking because he was “young, handsome and apparently unmarried”.  These attributes make Holmes a very charismatic person. While Holmes was being escorted to his death, the novel reads, “This was a difficult moment for his guards. They liked Holmes. They knew he was a killer, but he was a charming killer”(Larson 386). Even though the guards knew Holmes was a despicable person, they still liked him and found him “charming”. His charisma was such a potent attribute, even if people knew the real him...as seen in the text….they stilled “liked him”. They knew he had murdered innocent women and children, but still founded him “charming”. As can be concluded from the examples, Holmes’s charisma served him well in becoming a long time anonymous perpetrator.

Throughout the novel, Larson repeatedly expresses Holmes’ wicked, yet, alluring nature through figurative language. In order to convey Holmes’ twisted feelings after a killing and project how joyous and fulfilling murdering truly is for him, Larson uses a simile to compare the sensation to a “warm languor (148)” one would obtain from “sitting too long in front of a hot stove. (149)” This association tends to make the reader think of happiness and fullness, as many link it with warmth, making them feel a similar emotion to Holmes. Later, with the purpose of expressing Holmes’ proneness to psychoticness, Larson writes of a simile comparing the office Holmes built for himself to the “corner of a room where the gaslight could not reach. (266)” This dark alliance makes the reader think of emptiness, linked with loneliness. A trait of a psychopath is detachment and dissociation, and the fact that Holmes has no issue working on his own in an empty, dim place highlights

Sherlock Holmes holds the Guinness World Record for “literary character most frequently portrayed on screen.” Over one hundred actors have played Holmes on screen. There are over two hundred and fifty movies, hundreds of episodes, and even plays based around Doyle’s writings with the first known Sherlock Holmes movie debuting in 1905. The first American Sherlock Holmes actor was William Gillette, who played him on stage in 1899 and on film in 1916 (Dawidziak, n. p.). The many adaptations make it very hard to

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

Following a massive investigation and numerous interviews with Holmes, forensic psychiatrists would diagnose Holmes with Schizotypal personality disorder. This mental illness makes it difficult for individuals to maintain social relationships and causes the person to isolate themselves from society, causing anxiety, depression, among other symptoms.

Sherlock Holmes, a creation of Scottish Author and Physician Sir Author Conan Doyle, is a fictional detective famous for his prowess at using logic and astute observation to solve cases. Sherlock is a very unique individual and he is so realistic that many people believe he was a real man existed in the late 19th century. In fact, Sherlock possesses a very interesting set of personality and his distinctive characteristics plays a big role in captivating the heart of the audience. So, who is Sherlock? What kind of person could draw many people’s attention?

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle utilizes literary elements such as dialogue, tone, vocabulary, a different format of narration and perspective, along with chronology to construct the adventures of the eminent fictional detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner, Dr. John Watson. The creative use of dialogue assists in telling the story fluently and vividly, while a suspenseful and occasionally humorous tone maintains interest from case to case. Long winded descriptions and complex vocabulary are infused into Doyle’s writing to fit his knowledgeable characters as well as fuse them into the setting of traditional Britain. Lastly, these features are accompanied by both Holmes and Watson’s different perspectives alongside each other. the tales of

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).

In the story “A Scandal in Bohemia,” we get a glimpse of Holmes’s character, a natural mastermind, through John Watson's narration. As with any narrated scene, our perception of Holmes

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.