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. "Silver Blaze" starts out to be a murder but ends up being an accidental death. This story is set on Dartmoor. "The Cardboard Box" is a murder mystery because of jealousy. The story is set in a normal road in Croydon but the story is quite unusual. Holmes has a side-kick called Watson. Watson is an amateur detective who helps Holmes solve the mysteries. He is very loyal to Holmes and is a very good friend. They live together in London. In the Victorian Period it was quite common for two professional gentlemen to live together being taken care of by a home keeper. Nobody took any notice of the men living together. Nowadays people would have suspicions and think that they are gay and not just two working colleagues. All three stories are set in three completely different places; "The Speckled Band" is set in a near-derelict house, in a small country village called Stoke Moran. There are gypsies camping on the estate and Indian animals roaming the gardens freely. "Silver Blaze" is set on Dartmoor in the middle of no-where, mist hangs on the hills and this gives a spooky feeling to the story. This is a good place to have a kidnapping storyline because Dartmoor is so big. "The Cardboard Box" is set in a normal house on an ordinary street and
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.
“People who are in earnest are always interesting, whether you agree with them or not” (The Chronicles). Doyle may be known as the author of Sherlock Holmes, but there are other facets to his life. On account of some strange events that occurred, Doyle was persuaded into thinking that spiritual beings existed. As Doyle’s career advanced he drew the attention of many to himself. He succeeded both by gaining supporters and detractors. He built on his fame by giving lectures. These aspects of his life are connected; his painful childhood led him to a successful medical career where his writing and life partner stepped into the picture. These aspects, when combined, led Doyle to a new world view of spiritualism.
For a while he finished the stories, but with debts and great public support he created another collection of the Holmes stories, due to the fact they were in high demand. Conan Doyle sadly died in Crowborough, Sussex, England, on July 7, 1930. Holmes is an intellectual detective who although spends a lot of the time by his self still depend on a valiant partner to accompany him on his cases, in this case Dr Watson. Dr Watson, in the Sherlock Holmes stories, is portrayed as particularly as an average British person helping his friend in his cases. Because he is portrayed as this it helps us see ourselves in the story along with Holmes therefore, intriguing the reader to usually read more.
Exploring the Reasons Behind the Popularity of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Stories Although not a real detective, the character of Sherlock Holmes gave the general public a sense of security because in the stories he is seen to solve cases quite easily, such as in "The Man With The Twisted Lip." Watson says "I wish I knew how you reached your results" and Holmes replies, "I reached this one, by sitting upon five pillows and consuming an ounce of shag. " This gives the readers a sense of security because it seems as if Holmes makes no effort to solve the crimes but they are still solved with the minimum of fuss. At the time of writing the concept of detectives was new, and when the stories were written there was almost no confidence in the police force. This point is brought up in "The Man With The Twisted lip," the police force caught a criminal and then proceeded to let him go.
The setting is an important part of any story. The setting can help paint a clear picture in order to establish what the characters are feeling, as well as setting the tone of the story. In the following stories, “The Destructors” and “The Most Dangerous Game,” Graham Greene and Richard Connell demonstrate the tone of the story by using Old Misery’s house and General Zaroff’s Chateau as the main focal point. While the two stories present differences in the tone of the setting, they both make a connection to the beauty that these two places possess. Greene uses Old Misery’s house to formulate the story that prepares the reader of how a post-war building and surroundings can have an effect on people’s behavior and feelings, while Connell uses General Zaroff’s Chateau in a way to deceive the reader from what is really happening in the jungle of Ship Trap Island.
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.
...r Conan Doyle loathed writing Sherlock Holmes. He would write the wrong name for major reoccurring characters and not care if the reasoning in his stories was completely illogical, yet he ironically created his own genre of mystery novels that are recognized even to those who have never read them. Doyle unwillingly created the most insane fanbase that is still alive and thriving today. Doyle’s stories are still popular even eighty-four years after his death because they keep readers enthralled with the story. He wrote war stories based on his own exciting experiences, stories that he believed brought him to the height of his writing capabilities, and stories that sent him crashing back down when a frenzy into Spiritualism crumbled his prestige as a writer. His stories manage to capture the reader’s attention, making them timeless classics in the world of literature.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is best known for his Sherlock Holmes stories. Although he did many more, these proved to be the most popular to this very day. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh in 1859 and lived until 1930. The time in which Sir Conan Doyle lived, had a great influence on his work. Doyle served in the South African Wars as a doctor. This influenced him because when he returned to England he wrote "The Boer War," and "The War in South Africa: Its Causes and Conduct" which justified England's participation. For these works he was knighted in 1902. During World War I he wrote the "History of British Campaign in France," and "Flanders" as a tribute to British bravery. One of Doyle's famous Sherlock Holmes story is "The Speckled Band." This is the murder Mystery I am using to compare to Roald Dahl's "Lamb to the Slaughter"
a poor victim comes round to his home and asks him for help. She is
The other setting in London is the Northumberland Hotel - The. This is where Sir Henry and Doctor Mortimer are. a stay in the house. The first mystery is introduced here when one of Sir Henry's boot goes missing. I put them both outside my door last night, and there was only one.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a British physician and writer, mostly well known for his stories “Sherlock Holmes”, which are generally in the field of crime fiction. He was a prolific writer whose other works include science fiction stories, historical novels, plays and romances, poetry, and non-fiction.
that the reader like so that they read on and the solution at the end
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.
This paper will explore the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and his companion and friend Dr. John Watson. What is the relationship between Holmes and Watson? Are they compatible or are their differences to great for them to overcome. Looking at how they work together will also be a key factor in how well the relationship works between the two of them. Do their own interests and abilities get in the way? Does the time period in which they live factor into the environment of their communication styles?
Over time the reader can tell that Watson and Holmes are alike but very different which makes them great partners. From the start Watson is seen as smart but Holmes is seen as a genius. After finding the mysterious walking stick Watson tells Holmes what he observes and Holmes replies with “Really Watson,you excel yourself,”said Holmes(Doyle 2).Sherlock Holmes is seen as the type of man that thinks he is higher than anyone else. Although Holmes blatantly tells Watson that he is a “conductor of light,Some people without possessing genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it (Doyle 3).Holmes is seen as to be a man of action. Your instinct is always to do something energetic.