Lack Of Self-Reliance Among The Victims Of The Pips Analysis

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Lack of Self-Reliance Among the Victims of the Pips In some individual’s journey through life, self-reliance, is an important segment that helps form a foundation amongst them. Most struggle with the lack of self-reliance. In the late 1800’s many were faced with hardships, many lacked the importance of self-reliance because life was not actually simple. The well known author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, gives a well written short story, The Five Orange Pips, to examine the lack of self-reliance among the characters Elias, Joseph, and John Openshaw, along with the misconceptions of Sherlock Holmes. Arthur Doyle wrote 56 short stories that shunned most during his time. The Five Orange Pips was published around 1891, one of the most mysterious stories …show more content…

Elias had requested a lawyer to accompany him to pass his estate to his nephew John Openshaw, a younger and well groomed man that was in his early twenties. As John Openshaw approaches Elias’s lumber room, noticing a well dressed individual, Elias states “... to witness my will. I leave my estate, with all its advantages and all its disadvantages”(Doyle3). Elias decided to push the estate into Johns hands involving its pros and cons. Elias knew something fatal was to occur in his nearest future because land in the late 1800’s was not something any man in general would give away. Instead of handling his business and keeping his estate he practically gave himself and his estate away because he lacked …show more content…

One particular day things changed for him because he received the same letter, he stated “I seem to be be in the grasp of some resistless, inexorable evil, which no foresight and no precautions can guard against”(Doyle4). John realizes that his nearest future is not in his best interest because of the horrific tragedies that follow the letter. Because he has no lead or any evidence who is responsible for his elders deaths, he feels as though he is trapped and has no idea of how to reach lifes escape. His ignorance strengthens his lack of self reliance. John decides to report his problems to the officials because he has no self-confidence to overcome the dark and wretched letter. After reporting to the police, he took his problem to a private investigator, Sherlock Holmes, because they took his case as if it was a joke. Holmes was a very intellectual and clever individual that had “ a good practical knowledge of British law”(Benjamin93). Holmes had a fairly well understanding of the law because he was a detective that was well known for his successful cases. John seeked Holmes’s help because he had no other solution to overcome his lack of

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