Similarities Between Sherlock And Watson In The Hound Of The Baskervilles

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Recommended: The Contrast Between Sherlock Holmes And John Watson

Vibha Janakiraman
Ms. Niedert
LA II
10 November 2017

Paradoxical Personalities and Paradoxical People Is it true that people of strongly opposing personalities are those who work together best? Sherlock and Watson from The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are a perfect match to test this theory on. Sherlock Holmes is the main character of the murder mystery, a highly observant detective who is always 10 steps ahead of everyone else. His assistant, Dr. John Watson, is like a student to him, and is the narrator of our story. It is well known that these two work very well together, and have differing personalities. However, are they really opposites, or are there more similarities to the two than what meets the eye? There …show more content…

Portrayed as a work-oriented introvert, this main character isn’t one to devote any time to emotions. “I am afraid Watson, that most of your conclusions are erroneous...I meant, to be frank, that nothing in your fallacies guided towards the truth,” (5) he says harshly as he disproves all of Watson’s theories. This brushing off Watson occurs repeatedly throughout the book. Watson, being the narrator, often explains how he doesn’t take Sherlock’s rudeness lightly. Another example of this is Sherlock’s response to Laura Lyons’ situation with Stapleton. After she explains her love for him, and how he lied to her with Beryl, Sherlock simply says, “I entirely believe you madam...the sending of this letter was suggested to you by Stapleton?” and continues on with the case. (239) Watson, however, shows numerous signs of his capacity to care. Even after just meeting the Barrymores a few weeks before, when Frankland suggested turning Selden into the police Watson says, “My heart sunk for the Barrymores,” implying that he feels compassion for them. (194) He also shows his ability to have emotions when he says, “I was still rather raw over the deception which had been practised upon me, but the warmth of Holmes’s praise drove my anger from my mind.” (206) These emotions of Watson may not be over the top or dramatic, but are standard in our world today, and aren’t familiar to Sherlock. Does this mean that they are opposites in this field? Although Watson may not be as serious about his profession as Sherlock, and Sherlock might not be as compassionate for others, it can be seen that they are both passionate. Sherlock’s life is centered solely around what he does, Watson’s around other people, but the level of dedication they both show is

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