A post-colonial canonical and cultural revision of Conan Doyle's Holmes narratives
Redefining the British literary canon as imperial construct and influence
'A canon,' Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffiin argue, 'is not a body of texts per se, but rather a set of reading practices....' (189). They define 'reading practices' as 'the enactment of innumerable individual and community assumptions, for example about genre, about literature, and even about writing....' (189). The purpose of the following discussion is to investigate the link between the British literary canon and its attendant culture. That culture, Said argues, was one which imperial and colonial ideology had infiltrated. "Imperialism", in this discussion, will be defined in Said's words as 'the practice, the theory, and the attitudes of a dominating metropolitan centre ruling a distant territory....'(Culture 8). "Colonialism", likewise, will be noted as representing 'the implanting of settlements on distant territory....'(Culture 8). Increased imperialism and colonialism between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries resulted in the creation of a 'socially desirable, empowered space in metropolitan England....[which was] connected by design, motive and development to distant or peripheral worlds....conceived of as desirable but subordinate....' (Culture 61). England viewed itself as the powerful economic, academic and military centre of its empire: the colonised native was reduced by 'the authority of the [Western] observer, and of European geographical centrality' to occupy 'a secondary racial, cultural, ontological status....' (Culture 70). The oppression of the native cultures of the colonized territories maintained the fantasy of the centrality and superiority of British culture.
Said's argument, when combined with Ashcroft, Griffiths and Tiffin's canon moulded by 'reading practices' which include 'community assumptions' (189), suggests that the bias toward priviliging its own imperial and colonial status in Britsh culture would logically lead that culture to accept texts which affirmed its imperial centrality and primacy. Said affirms this when he argues that the culture of imperial Britain encouraged 'canonical inclusion and exclusion....' (Culture 70).
The first stage of questioning the canon and canonical texts as constructs of imperial ideology entails identifying 'unspoken subjects [i.e. marginalised, distorted representations of colonised cultures and individuals]' in texts accepted by their contemporary British culture. Said argues that the critical reappraisal of such texts 'entails reading the canon as a polyphonic accompaniment to the expansion of Europe, giving a revised direction and valence to such writers as Conrad and Kipling who have always been read as sports, not as writers whose manifestly imperialist subject matter has a long subterranean or implicit and proleptic life' in the works of preceeding generations of writers (Culture 71).
Shakespeare’s complex play The Tragedy of Julius Caesar contains several tragic heroes; a tragic hero holds high political or social esteem yet possesses an obvious character flaw. This discernible hubris undoubtedly causes the character’s demise or a severe forfeiture, which forces the character to undergo an unfeigned moment of enlightenment and shear reconciliation. Brutus, one of these tragic heroes, is a devout friend of the great Julius Caesar, that is, until he makes many execrable decisions he will soon regret; he becomes involved in a plot to kill the omniscient ruler of Rome during 44 B.C. After committing the crime, Mark Antony, an avid, passionate follower of Caesar, is left alive under Brutus’s orders to take his revenge on the villains who killed his beloved Caesar. After Antony turns a rioting Rome on him and wages war against him and the conspirators, Brutus falls by his own hand, turning the very sword he slaughtered Caesar with against himself. Brutus is unquestionably the tragic hero in this play because he has an innumerable amount of character flaws, he falls because of these flaws, and then comes to grips with them as he bleeds on the planes of Philippi.
The Battles of Lexington and Concord occurred on 19 April 1775 between the British Regulars and the Patriot Militia, also known today as Americans, in the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord. “The Battles of Lexington and Concord is often referred to as the “Shot Heard Around the World” and the beginning of the American Revolutionary War” (Fischer, 1994). The Battles of Lexington and Concord consisted of in four events: the skirmish in Lexington between the British Regulars and the Lexington Training Band, the search and seizure of arms, munitions and military stores in Concord, the battles between the Regulars and the militias during the march of the Regulars back to Boston and the surrounding of Boston by the American militias. The overall mission is that the British Regulars went into these towns to collect and destroy the American military supplies, while the Americans were trying to maintain their arms and their way of life which would evolve to their independence from the crown of England. This lead up to the Battles of Lexington and Concord was truly the kick off point of the utilization of intelligence collection/dissemination and intelligence operations for the Americans. The British Regulars employed a very strict intelligence collection in the preparation of the battlefield for their operations. The Americans established an “amoeba like” form of intelligence collection with the collective goal being their independence. Unfortunately on both sides of the coin, the lack of operational security provided both parties with an operational view of how each party was conducting business.
Lyndon Johnson was born in 1908 in Texas; he was the oldest child of five other siblings. His father a farmer, Sam Ealy Johnson Jr, also represented the USA as a legislator was married to his mother, Rebekah Baines Johnson. Lyndon graduated from Southwest State Teachers College in 1930, today the school is known as Texas State University – San Marcus. To assist in paying for his education he took jobs teaching underprivileged Mexican-American students, it was during this time while talking and teaching he was exposed to discrimination and poverty, which made a deep
This book follows Johnsons political career, from a eager hard-working congressional secretary to the landslide victor of the 1964 presidential election. It discusses his "liberal" political views, It seems as though Johnson thought he could help the American people single-handedly and he seemed determined to do it. Johnson is He is praised for his vast legislative record and his stand on poverty and eventually, civil rights. He is criticized for his methods and
During the LBJ administration, Johnson was focused on ending the War on Poverty, the centerpiece of his presidency, and bringing justice to his fellow men and women. However, his pressing desire was to give the “Great Society a chance to grow and prosper! Johnson inherited the presidential seat after the death of John F. Kennedy. Immediately, Johnson was concentrated on establishing himself in the office of the Presidency, and to continue the legacy of JFK. Johnson quickly administered a group of domestic programs which he called the “Great Society”. Johnson’s vision for the Great Society drew on both his own primary identification with the New Deal (which he supported heavily) and his commitment to go beyond the achievement of FDR to create an America worthy of leadership in the twenty-first century. For America, this was the perfect time to build a Great Society. LBJ was confident that this was a time to prove that our material progress is only the foundation on which we will build a richer life in mind and spirit. He believed that the Great Society rested on an abu...
Canny, Nicholas: The Oxford History of the British Empire,vol I, TheOrigins of the Empire (New York 1998)
Alfred Noyes wrote The Empire Builders at the turn of the twentieth century. Despite the time at which it was written in, there are various post-colonial themes regarding the hierarchy of difference. The tone of the poem is pessimistic which is understandable since Noyes is writing during the Naturalist period of English literature. Noyes is speaking to the middle class of England; those who “fulfill their duties as they come” (Noyes, 45). He uses the first person plural article to create a unification between the readers and the narrator. Noyes, in his poem, addresses two postcolonial themes of Christianity as a vehicle of colonization, and the fallacies of European philosophy. In this essay, I argue that the themes and structure that have been connoted in Alfred Noyes’ The Empire Builders are essential in constructing the notion of the hierarchy of difference. The hierarchy of difference helped create a colonial state and since postcolonial theory primarily analyzes the legacies of the colonial period, it is essential to know the hierarchy of difference. I will divide my essay in three parts: in stage one I discuss the structure of the poem and how it creates a hierarchy of difference. In stage two I discuss the two themes mentioned above and how they establish a fragmented world between the occident and the orient. Finally in stage three I discuss the conception of time that is discussed in the poem and its relationship to postcolonial theory.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is the creator of the character Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. He was a Scottish writer and physician, he wrote many things in his life. Doyle did not just write detective mysteries he also fantasy and science fiction stories, plays, romances, poetry, non-fiction and historical novels. Even though he wrote many other thing he is mostly well known for writing all of the canon Sherlock stories. Doyle himself had a career in the medical field there he meet many influential people to base his characters from. A letter was found where he wrote to one of his colleagues whose name was Joseph Bell that the most important traits of his character Sherlock was mostly based on him. Bell himself had the career title of forensic
In 1960 on July 13th Johnson was nominated for President of the United States by Sam Rayburn, a Speaker of the House of Representatives. On November 8th Johnson was elected Vice President of the United States and was re-elected to his third term in the United States Senate. On November 22nd, Johnson had become the 36th President of the United States after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas. Due to all the aftershock of Kennedy’s death, Johnson was given a climate that gave him the opportunity to finish the unfinished work of Kennedy’s New Frontier. Once Johnson became President a couple of very important pieces of legislation were passed. The first was the Civil Rights Bill that Kennedy had promised to sign. The second was the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Johnson also did great things involving the Vietnam war, the Dominican Republic, He passed the Higher Education Act, Johnson also worked on the Elimination of Poverty and Stopping racial injustice. Johnson often was noticed as an ambitious, tireless, and imposing figure. He was ruthlessly effective at getting legislation passed. Johnson usually worked a number of 18 to 20 hour days with no break and usually was always absent of any leisure activities.
On one hand the slaves were free, and on the other hand they were not given equal rights, and they were discriminated for the color of their skin tone. In other words, Reconstruction was a mixed success, which combined both positive and negative impacts. By the end of the era, the North and South were once again reunited, and all southern state legislatures had abolished slavery in their constitutions. However, it some sense, Reconstruction was a failure because blacks were not provided equal rights and opportunities. Racism and segregation did not end at all. On the other hand, there was a huge change to the country as the US was completely in a chaos stage during the civil war. Despite some obstructions, it can be concluded that the Reconstruction was somewhat beneficial for African American. As time passes, many schools and colleges were founded for blacks, and many other doors were opened to uplift their life. Overall, all these outcomes can be considered as a huge
Saikaku, Ihara. Life of a Sensuous Woman. The Norton Anthology of World Literature. 3rd Ed. Volume D. Ed. Martin Puchner. New York: Norton, 2013. 591-611. Print.
During Johnson’s presidency, the federal government significantly extended its domestic responsibilities in attempt to transform the nation to what Johnson called the “Great Society,” in which poverty and racial intolerance ceased to exist. A previously unsurpassed amount of legislation was passed during this time; numerous laws were passed to protect the environment, keep consumers safe, reduce unfairness in education, improve housing in urban areas, provide more assistance to the elderly with health care, and other policies to improve welfare. Johnson called for a “War on Poverty,” and directed more funds to help the poor; government spending towards the poor increased from six billion in 1964 to twenty-four and a half billion dollars in 1968. Not only did Johnson improve the American economy and greatly reduce poverty, but he also advocated for racial equality; he managed to get Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making segregation illegal in public accommodations/institutions. He also enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, prohibiting literacy tests in areas in which the amount of voters was under a certain number, which forced many southern states to allow more blacks to vote. As a result of his presidency, the poor and minorities enjoyed significant benefits from the more favorable legislations and more successful American legislation.
Ward & Trent, et al. The Cambridge History of English and American Literature. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1907-21; New York: Bartleby.com, 2000 http://www.bartleby.com/215/0816.html
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: A Scandal in Bohemia, demonstrates how a specific character can be used to expand upon the complexity of the story’s main character. Specifically in the case of Irene Adler, Conan Doyle does not go into much detail about her, as much as he uses her as a contrast to Holmes. Adler’s presence in the story is the antagonist, but seems much more than that to Holmes’. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s use of Adler seems to be very unique and creative compared to some of his other works, though after her appearance, Conan Doyle’s works with Sherlock all come to a similar structure, that Sherlock seems to come to adore the villains, more so the villains intellect, and put up with the people that hire him.
Several works of late 19th century British imperial literature contrast the role of information with the role of superstition in colonial encounters. Looking at Stevenson’s “The Beach of Falesa” and Stoker’s Dracula, we see that information plays an important role in both British and non-British characters’ abilities to dominate over their opponents. However, each of these works differs in its treatment of rational and irrational forms of knowledge. In “The Beach of Falesa,” the natives’ irrational belief in demons stands in contrast to the practical knowledge of the Europeans, which is shown as superior to knowledge based on superstition. The role of information in “The Beach of Falesa” also demonstrates that the high intellect of whites allows them to dominate over the native people whose land they colonize. Stoker’s Dracula counters this point by illustrating that both Europeans and their non-European opponents can use information as a tool for domination and conquest. While “The Beach of Falesa” portrays rational forms of knowledge as superior to beliefs in magic or folklore, Dracula shows the importance of utilizing multiple types of information in defeating the enemy. Comparing Dracula to Stevenson’s “The Beach of Falesa,” Stoker uses the theme of information to challenge the idea of a clear separation between Europeans and the “others” they encounter in imperial experience.