“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth” claimed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. These words would come to influence some of the greatest and most renowned characters of any and all detective esque literature: Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Doyle’s work Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles became incredibly popular and was eventually recognized as an American classic. Through his novel, Doyle portrays a fantastic use of the elements of fiction and takes advantage of them in order to provide depth and understanding. The novel first takes place in the 1880’s, in London, at Sherlocks famous office on 221B Baker Street. This is only prominent in the beginning because the setting changes …show more content…
A major characteristic of Watson is loyal, ‘“Well you know what my instructions are. I am sorry to intrude, but Holmes insisted that I should not leave you’” (Doyle 124). He very rarely strays from the instructions Sherlock has given him and takes his role as Henry's temporary bodyguard fairly seriously. He even later says in a letter to Sherlock, “‘I imagined what my feelings would be if I had to return to you and confess to you that some misfortune had occurred through my disregard for your instructions,’” (Doyle 125). Watson holds in high regard the things that Sherlock says to him and will always attempt to follow what he says with intent to please him. Jack Stapleton and Henry Baskerville are the other two semi-major characters in The Hound of the Baskervilles. Henry is a driving force for the plot as he is the reason Watson and Sherlock are involved in the first place. He starts off as a fairly adventurous, semi-laid back character, but develops throughout the story to end up like his late-uncle: Worn-out. On the other-hand, Jack Stapleton is our antagonist. He starts off seemingly harmless, but you begin to understand toward the end of the book that he’s a very mal-intended man with very defined
Sherlock Holmes novels are the face of mystery, featuring literature’s greatest detective, but one might ask, how does The Hound of the Baskervilles fit into the genre’s common conventions? Mystery being a sub genre of genre fiction novels, it has many common conventions found throughout the majority of the novels. In the average mystery, the plot focuses around a crime, commonly a murder or a robbery, in which the culprit must be found by the protagonist. The crime in Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Baskervilles is that Sir Charles Baskerville has been murdered, or frightened to the point of death. Generally the protagonist who solves the mystery, has a dominant character flaw and/or defining characteristic which aids them in cracking
Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 22nd May 1859. He attended Edinburgh University and graduated with a degree in medicine, in 1881. He then practised as a doctor from 1882-1891, but not very successfully. Whilst practising as a doctor, in 1887, he published his first short story featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson, “A study in Scarlet”. The Strand magazine, founded in 1890, published a series of Sherlock Holmes stories, this let both the detective and the magazine becoming extremely popular. My essay will be based upon how Doyle creates suspense in the following three short stories; “Silver Blaze”, “The Red-Headed League” and “A Scandal in Bohemia”, and I will be commenting on what impact it may have on the
Sherlock Holmes is a work of art, he cannot be copied. Holmes is always very serious as he needs to get his job done. In The Hound Of the Baskervilles, Holmes interrogates Dr. Mortimer, one of his clients, “And you, a trained man of science believe it to be supernatural?” (Doyle 31). Also, Holmes is very deliberate in the way he thinks. He is able to see a small detail and process it into his method almost immediately. Lastly, Holmes is always a detective and is certain he will
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.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes is one of the most easily recognizable characters in detective stories. He has many remarkable traits that other fictional detectives do not. Some examples of this are his observational abilities, his dual personality, and his being a skilled musician and composer.
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 you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth?” was spoken by Sherlock Holmes, a famous English Literature icon, and Sherlock lived by this too. Arthur Conan Doyle was a doctor who lived in Scotland, although he is more publicly known as the author for the Sherlock Holmes mystery stories. While he never intended on becoming a writer, he has still set the six fundamental requirements for a good mystery story. These six requirements include the crime must be significant, the detective must be memorable, the criminal must be a worthy advisory or opponent, the clues must be made available to the reader, the suspects must appear early in the story, and the solution to the crime must be reasonable and plausible. While not all six elements are required for it
Watson is a very different character and although on an intellectual level he is by far below Sherlock, he has far more emotional capacity and is more caring and empathetic. Unlike his partner, he can really feel love as he found Mary Morstan “A very attractive woman”. This also foreshadows a potential romance that might occur further into the novel. He can also be quite driven by a cause. We know this because he was in the army and trained to be a doctor. He has achieved far more in his life than average yet is still looked down on by Sherlock. “ I cannot congratulate you upon it”. From this quote we can deduct that Sherlock is quite arrogant as despite Watson’s huge efforts writing the pamphlet Sherlock just blatantly tells him that
While Mr. Holmes was a serious and a brilliant London-based detective. Holmes is renowned for his ability at using rationale and an intelligent observation in solving the case. “It is murder, Watson refined, cold-blooded, deliberate murder.” The Hound of the Baskerville, page 144. As Watson said, “All of my unspoken instincts, my vague suspicions, suddenly took shape and centered upon the naturalist.
As a child, I loved nothing better than relaxing in front of the coal fire naturally engrossed in Sherlock Holmes movies on our monochrome television. Nevertheless, these wonderful stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle started my lifelong passion for his juicy murder mysteries. His brilliance, not to mention his dedication to education throughout his lifetime, I admire this fine gentleman. Being an adventurous man and standing up for his unwavering beliefs on spiritualism.
Sherlock Holmes is considered to be one of the most popular fictional characters in literary history with many movies, plays, and books about him. First of let's take a look at Sherlock’s way of deduction or in other words solving mysteries. My first example was in The Hound of the Baskervilles
In the book The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are helping Sir Henry Baskerville. There will be lots of fears and they will solve the mystery of the ghastly hound that has terrorized the Baskervilles for years. Throughout Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles, the book develops the theme “don’t be ruled by fear,” by showing that the people fear the Hound of the Baskervilles and the dangers on the moor.
Arthur Conan Doyle’s legacy rests heavily on one Victorian creation: the character of Sherlock Holmes. Holmes's attitude of intelligence and originality continues to keep fans inclined and fascinated ever since the Victorian era. Holmes persists as remakes and reincarnations of the Sherlock character keep the mastermind relevant. While the modernization of Sherlock creates a personal connection between the reader and Sherlock in “A Scandal in Belgravia,” the BBC adaptation dilutes Sherlock’s character from a distinguished genius to a mere detective.
In his third of four novels The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle uses Sherlock Holmes and his assistant, Dr. Watson, to demonstrate the theme of practical control opposed to supernatural power; he does this symbolically through British culture by discovering, investigating, and resolving mysteries.
When someone mentions the occupation of detective, a single image usually comes to mind, a man wearing a cape and deerstalker, holding a magnifying glass and smoking a pipe. This entire image can be contributed to one character: Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is considered by many to be the greatest detective to ever exist, even if he only exists in the pages of books and on movie and television screens. It is impossible to escape the influence of Holmes. Countless references are made to him in all types of media and he is used as an inspiration to may more fictional characters we have all grown to love. The cultural impact of Sherlock Holmes has spread to more than just fiction; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s