`` The Boscombe Valley Mystery `` By Arthur Conan Doyle

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

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.

Lastly, Holmes has so much bravado.  As the creditors were swaying to arrest Holmes, “Holmes fled”(Larson 325).  This shows he won’t be a man and face the consequences. He won’t fight back. As Holmes fled, he shows the reader this fake courage and fake dignity.

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

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

Larson uses extreme detail to make the reader fully understand the evil in Holmes and gain a grasp of Holmes’s mind and inner thoughts. Holmes “admitted to killing 27 people” however, there is no proven number. He at least murdered 9 people but estimates range as high as 200.This means that his violence was not limited to a certain number of people there is a high range of doubt to who died by Holmes’s hand . Next we see the distortion within holmes. He describes himself as “ believing that he is resembling the devil” this further adds to his earlier point of him being “born with the devil inside him”.(109)This further proves the issues holmes has mentally.

Although Holmes’ actions spooked many of the people close to his crimes as well as many who had heard of them, possibly the most unsettling things about Holmes was

“After the fair he intended to burn the building to collect the insurance and, as a happy dividend, destroy whatever surplus “material” might remain in its hidden storage chambers, although ideally, given other disposal measures available to him, the building by then would contain nothing of an incriminating nature” (85). This allows the reader into the mind of Holmes and create an understanding that Holmes had no interest in the innocent people that were going to be hurt because of him. Assuming the role of architect once more, Holmes hired carpenters, in which they started remodeling the second and third floors of his building. Once again Holmes’s method of segregating tasks and firing workers proved successful. Holmes had already used this method of firing workers by claiming that they had done an inferior job, and his true intention succeeded since Holmes did not pay the workers for the job they

Many times Holmes was able to get what he wanted by what he told the many women in his life. He told lies to women for them to leave their husbands and convinced men to take out life insurance in Holmes’ name. He did all of this to increase his ability to move forward with his idea of his dream building. He was able to make people to place their trust in him. Julia Conner was one of the many women who put her trust in holmes and “reached for his hand” to let Holmes know that she had full trust in him (Larson 148).

The antagonist of the novel, H.H. Holmes, is depicted as quite the ladies’ man. Larson helps the reader to recognize that Holmes’ good lucks and charms will help him lure in his future murder victims later in the novel. Holmes has no apprehension when it comes to making a mess of people’s lives’. Especially, when it comes to getting what he wants. Throughout, the story Homes continues to convince multiple women to marry him without legal documentation. He then disposes of them in various ways, gaining joy from their deaths. Holmes always concocted a story to get the attention off of him when asked

4. Henry H. Holmes was a very dangerous, and disturbed man. He loved money and tricking people into thinking that he could be trusted. That’s why I believe that both money, and control were possibly to two of his main motives. It is important to try to understand the motives of a person like Holmes so that situations similar to this can be avoided in the

One of the most important literary features of Doyle’s works is the use of dialogue and conversations held between characters, whether it be Holmes, Watson, a victim, and so forth. It seems that a key

One of the most important literary features of Doyle’s works is the use of dialogue and conversations held between characters, whether it be Holmes, Watson, a victim, and so forth. It seems that

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