Arthur Conan Doyle's Stories and Their Undying Appeal
When the Sherlock Holmes books were written, London was rife with
croime. The slums, especially, were victims to prostitution, murder
and drug abuse. Jack the Ripper was free on the streets, making many
people scared. The police couldn't catch him so the public resented
the police force as they weren't seen to be protecting them. I think
that this is one of the reasons why the Sherlock Holmes stories were
so successful. The idea of a detective who solves every crime would
appeal highly to a Victorian readership. Also, all the clues are given
to the reader which invites them to solve the crime as well.
To help me answer this question, I will refer to three Sherlock Holmes
Stories; "The Speckled Band", "Silver Blaze" and "The Cardboard Box".
These three stories are all very different, only two of them are
murders. "The Speckled Band" is about a premeditated murder with the
motive of money, whereas "The Cardboard Box" is a spur of the moment
murder arising out of jealousy. "Silver Blaze", however, is not a
murder, merely an accident, although until the dénouement we are led
to believe that it is.
The relationship between Holmes and Watson is completely platonic.
They live together but only in a professional partnership. This would
not have been unusual in Victorian England. Dr. Watson gives all the
narratives. In tradition doctors are a very trusted profession as they
have the image of being saviours. I think that this is why we believe
what he says and trust him. He is a more likeable character because he
is nearer the level we, as a reader, are at, when it comes to
detecting...
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... is an upper
class citizen as most detectives may have been in those days whereas
the modern detective is either a member of the police force or a
professional private detective. The age of the talented amateur has
passed.
Even though the Sherlock Holmes stories might not be as successful
today as they were in Victorian times because of the difference in
societies due to time, Sherlock Holmes is still one of the most famous
fictional detectives of all time. I believe that this is because his
stories set the basis for modern detective novels and films. I also
think, that because it was one of the original detective stories it is
more compelling. Overall, the likeable characters, intriguing plot,
gripping climax and the sense of realism have made the Sherlock Holmes
stories very successful, in the past and present.
Edgar Allan Poe, an often misinterpreted literary mastermind, known predominantly by his extraordinary tales of horror, forbidden love, madness, and mystery, is more than meets the eye. Though his genres of expertise may indicate otherwise, Poe was a very social person, a gentleman by trade, and he possessed more hands-on military experience than any other major American author in history. As a writer, Poe gained a great deal of his inspiration from his surroundings. His enlistment in the army contributed significantly to his repertoire, and inspired some of his greatest works, including “’The Gold Bug;’ ’The Man Who Was Used Up,’ a satire of southern frontier politics; ‘The Balloon Hoax,’ set along the mid-Atlantic Carolinas coast; ‘The Oblong Box,’ involving a voyage out of Charleston harbor; [and] ‘The Cask of Amontillado,’ possibly based on a Fort Independence/Castle Island Legend”(Beidler, Soldier 342). The death of his mother and his unfortunate love life played another major role in his authoring, giving him the ability to write about “. . . the intense symbiosis between love and hatred . . . [illustrating that] love is seldom as simple or as happy as popularly hoped” (Hoffman 81). Poe’s chilling tales remain popular today, and have a long history of providing inspiration for major books and other cultural staples of entertainment.
The Appeal of Arthur Conan Doyle's Stories Over 120 years ago the lived a fictional character called "Sherlock Holmes", who lived at 221B, Baker Street. Arthur Conan-Doyle created the character in 1887 and the stories are still popular today. In 1887 Doyle was going to stop writing the stories but he got death threats telling him to keep Holmes alive, he did what they asked. I am going to examine and write about three stories: "The Speckled Band" "Silver Blaze" "The Cardboard Box" "The Speckled Band" is a murder story set in the countryside and is about a man who kills his step-daughter because of the money she will inherit on her marriage.
So the next book that he published was made up of another twelve short stories and was called “The Memories of Sherlock Holmes”. In a rare occurrence Sherlock is the actual narrator of this story opposed to most of the rest that are narrated by Watson. In this story it would be the first time that another Holmes family member will be shown. It would be Mycroft Holmes Sherlock 's older brother. This group of short stories were not well received because in it a character commits adultery this is not the first controversial topic in one of Doyle 's stories. This is one of the stories that was not allowed in the U.S for many years after its publication. This might be the reason why Doyle took a break from short stories and went back to writing full
Doyle’s detective stories were written to be told by a character to which he could relate. He trained to become a doctor and used this training to influence the profession of the narrator of his Sherlock Holmes stories, Dr. John Watson. It is through the eyes of Dr. Watson that we first see our main character, Sherlock Holmes (Geherin 295). Watson was not the only character inspired by a real-life figure, however. Doyle based the character of Holmes off of his instructor, Dr. Joseph Bell.
Another convention of the detective story is that the detective will have a confidant through whom he can explain his reasoning to the reader. Holmes has a confidant, Watson, who is the stereotypical gentle doctor who is plain and uninteresting so as not to draw attention away from Holmes. “I had no keener pleasure than in following Holmes in his professional investigations'; this implies that Watson lead an uninteresting life, without many interesting hobbies or pastimes.
Forensics is a scientific method of gathering and examining information about a crime. It is used in the law for figuring out when, where, and what happened at the scene of the crime. Mystery writers must use forensics when writing about crime solving. This draws in the readers because of how realistic the mystery seems. In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story “The Red-Headed League,” the author shows his perspective on justice while exemplifying his linear and detailed style, with the main character depicting the story in chronological order and the detective using deductive reasoning to solve the crime.
“All we ever see or seem is but a dream within a dream.” This was a quote by Edgar Allan Poe that was included in his poem A Dream Within A Dream. This quote basically means that life is nothing but a dream, a long one perhaps, but it is one that you only awaken from when you died, or about to die. I really like this poem because sometimes I often wonder, what if life was really just a dream, and death is when you awaken and cross into another world; one that is more perfect and jovial than the one that existed in “life.”? Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer in the Poe often wrote about death and fear, for these two things seem to be the main focus points of Poe literary works. Edgar Allan Poe’s writing are often serious, talking about dark things, and they usually seem to reflect his childhood,his love life, and his view of what life basically is.
A detective is vital in an effective detective story because arguably there would not be a story and a detective to restore law and order and the villain/criminal would not be caught. Whereas it there was a detective it would have been a different story. A typical detective should be smart, observant, manipulative, and analytic and should have a good sense of justice. Sherlock Holmes has all of these elements to fight crime. Sherlock Holmes has the typical elements as a normal detective in classical detective fiction for example he is observant “Sherlock Holmes’s quick ...
An examination of Sherlock Holmes' abilities and techniques. allied to his personal characteristics, enable him to solve crimes. There are many reasons to explain why Sherlock Holmes is one of the world's most famous fictional detectives. However, the main reason for This is that not only are the stories complex, but the actual character of Sherlock Holmes has extreme depth, with some subtle. elements of his character only becoming apparent when he is in certain situations.
As soon as Holmes had all of his data and theories in order he determined what he had, what he needed, where it must be. This is all based upon the experience of ones self. Detectives get this part done, not just regular civilians. For an example in the Adventure of the Speckled Band, Holmes connected the crime with the bed being nailed down under a useless ventilator. There is no way in hell everybody could easily do that. I am trying to say that Holmes was a natural or even a great detective. That pretty much sums up all of his work.
How Does Arthur Conan Doyle Create Tension And Suspense In The Speckled Band The Speckled Band is just one of the murder mystery stories featuring the famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. Holmes was not any ordinary detective, he was a detective who was famous for solving murders. In this case Holmes is trying to solve the mystery of the 'Speckled Band'. Some examples of tension building techniques are dramatic events and in some instances the inclusion of red herrings. Bad weather and night time are also used as a means of building up atmosphere and tension.
As a reader, one can overlook “the detective’s social abnormality only because these are attached to individuals we take to be normal” (Gregoriou 25) as well as Watson’s adoration for Holmes pores through the narration and binds the reader.
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.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle writes a short story about how innocence gets victimized by a royal subject. When a royal figure clashes with someone who is not equal in social class, he will do anything to hide his mistake. This is when the King hires Sherlock Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle based Holmes off of a man named Dr. Joseph Bell, who was a friend of his in medical school. When Doyle saw that medical practice was not a success, he began writing Holmes stories for money. The public became infatuated with not only the stories, but mainly Sherlock Holmes. When Doyle wanted to write in more respectable genres (Duncan 3), he made one enormous mistake.
Sherlock Holmes, a name most people would know if they were to hear it, has come to greatly influence the modern world of mysteries. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had no idea a character he started to write about for the first time in 1887 would still be carried alive by other TV and movie producers in 2014. Doyle also never new that Holmes would become such a popular character or result in a name mostly everybody would know. Even if there was a person who did not know who or what Sherlock Holmes was, they are certain to have at least heard his name before. “Doyle turned his principal character into a household word” (Haining 7). Doyle started a legacy that lives on forever. Sherlock Holmes personality and looks may change with every generation he is in, but his main characteristics remain the same. Sherlock Holmes’ style of deduction, great sense of observation and strange personality in Arthur Doyle’s stories influenced how TV and movie producers would portray Holmes in their version of Doyle’s mysteries in shows such as Elementary and Sherlock.