The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Examine how Conan Doyle establishes the setting for the novel in the
opening four chapters. How effective do you consider this to be?
“The Hound of the Baskervilles” was written in 1902 when the detective
genre had been established in England for around 50 years, by authors
such as Wilkie Collins and James Anderson who published “Murder She
Wrote”. Arthur Conan Doyle contributed to the development of this
genre by creating Sherlock Holmes & Dr.Watson in a range of popular
short stories released in magazines. He was one of the most
significant, influential authors to this genre as he created the most
famous detective, in fiction, in Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes was
first introduced in “A Study in Scarlet” which was published in 1887;
this won a lot of success and meant that Holmes featured as a main
character in future stories and novels written by Doyle. Doyle, born
in Edinburgh, Scotland began practicing medicine in 1882; his
knowledge from his education comes through in his writing and there
are many references to scientific sources. This gave his writing a new
dimension and was new for readers at the time which perhaps even
contributing to the popularity of his writing. In “The Hound of the
Baskervilles” Doyle establishes the setting through five main aspects.
These are a sense of time, places, genre, the plot and characters.
An important aspect of the setting is how Doyle presents the main
characters, their relationships and personalities. Doyle introduces 4
of the main characters in the opening chapters and begins to establish
their relationships most noticeably between Holmes and Watson. The
main characters are Holmes, Watson, Dr. Mortimer, the Baskerville
family and of course the hound itself. These different characters are
introduced in different chapters through different methods. This is
for a number of reasons; to differentiate them, to let each of them
have a different impact in the novel and because of the tradition from
previous stories containing some of the characters.
Holmes and Watson are not described in great detail but introduced in
the opening chapters through their dialogue. Doyle did this as he
didn’t need to introduce them in more depth as they had already been
well established to the readers through other short stories in which
they appeared before “The Hound of the Baskervilles”. Readers at the
time already had a sense of their personalities and physical features
through their earlier introductions.
Holmes and Watson have a strong relationship in the novel which is
shown by the way they talk to each other, their actions and the way
they both try to solve the crime.
The Hobbit This hobbit was a hobbit, and his name was Baggins. Baggins had lived in the neighborhood of ”The Hill” some time, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most or them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected. You could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbors’ respect, but he gained- well, you will see what he gained in the end.
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.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a man of genius intellect with impeccable writing abilities. He was an absolutely mundane medical doctor until a passion for writing and adventure overtook him. Doyle is most noted for being the author of the four novels and fifty-six short stories of Sherlock Holmes (Geherin 295). He despised writing these detective stories, but wrote them anyway to earn his income and appease his fans. Doyle made writing these stories bearable by making a relatable narrator for the character that he based off his old medical school teacher and using his writing to persuade British citizens that their sense of imperialism was foolish and was tainting their country. Writing about his adventures in war and his indulgence into Spiritualism allowed Doyle to break away slightly from his Sherlock Holmes novels and branch out into the works he truly wanted to write. Even though Doyle may not have liked everything that he had written, he tried to convey his experiences and viewpoints of religion, imperialism, and war into the stories that are still avidly read today.
Are there many ways that themes and symbols can be shown in stories? Geoffrey Chaucer uses many different themes, symbols and styles in writing all of tales in The Canterbury Tales. By using these things, Geoffrey utilizes several specific symbols to illustrate various central themes. The characters in the tales make the same mistakes that ordinary people would make, and they receive the same or even worse consequences. One message that is portrayed is greed can make people to evil actions. An example of this is in "The Pardoner's Tale," when the three friends wind up killing each other because of their greed for the money. The second message that is displayed is that one should be careful when meeting strangers and to be cautious of the sincerity of false flattery from those that one does not know. For example, in "The Nun's Priest's Tale," Chanticleer falls for false flattery from Sir Russell Fox, but then he gets even with him when he to uses it to trick Sir Russell Fox. The third and last message that is shown is that reformation in a person can occur because of some type of punishment. This theme occurs in " The Wife of Bath," in that the lady that the knight has to marry is old and ugly, but because of this punishment of having to marry her, he eventually starts to like her. As shown with the three friends in "The Pardoner's Tale", greed stabs friends in the back and deceives them into doing wrong. There are two occasions in which the three friends plot against each other so one may receive more money than the others may. First of all, the three friends find a collection of gold coins under a tree, which they decide should be theirs and they choose to try to take it. They realize ...
In 1885 He married Louise Hawkins. Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in a short novel called "A Study in Scarlet" which was printed in 1887. He continues to write thrilling stories until he realised he wanted to be known not just for Sherlock Holmes but wanted to get involved in other projects. Readers were astonished when Doyle finally killed off the famous detective when he was shoved off a cliff. in 1893 by his arch-nemiss Professor Moriaty.
On page 39, it describes the moment in which bullies from his school force him to go face to face with a skeleton in a doctor’s office. Such a terrible experience truly could have scarred Holmes, but at the same time his comfortability with an representation of death could have prompted his killer roots. Also, the “accidental” death of Holmes’s childhood friend, at an event that Holmes was present, was another red flag in terms of potentially becoming a psychopath. We learn more of Holmes’s younger upbringing through the text in which it states,"He drifted through childhood as a small, odd, and exceptionally bright boy....in the cruel imaginations of his peers, he became prey" (Larson, 38) Holmes was essentially an outcast, a person who has been rejected by society or a social group. He was the target of many because of his oddness and rather unique characteristics. With no solid upbringing, and a probable fascination with death, Holmes was bound to be the infamous serial killer he became in his future.
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles. New York: Penguin Books Ltd., 2001. Print.
In The Hound of the Baskervilles, various factors of Arthur Conan Doyle’s early life, popularity, perspective, and status were all expressed in multiple ways. Spiritualism played an crucial role in his life, greatly impacting his work, specifically “The Hound.” Additionally, his birthplace and upbringing, along with the time period, inveigled his writing. Furthermore, Doyle characterized the people in the story in along with real life scenarios.
The Real Inspector Hound by Tom Stoppard For this unit, the play which we are studying is "The Real Inspector." Hound" written by Tom Stoppard, an English playwright famous for his clever use of language and ironic political metaphors. Stoppard was associated theatre of the absurd, and often his play referred to the meaninglessness of the human condition. He combined English tradition of the "comedy of manners" (a play that attacks the customs).
In 1887, Sherlock Holmes made his first appearance in A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, but only in 1891, in A Scandal in Bohemia that Holmes’ stories became very famous, and eventually, Holmes’ adventures got adapted for film. Lately, in 2010 BBC made a series called “Sherlock”, and the first episode is called “A Study in Pink” referring to the first book where Sherlock Holmes was introduced. The TV adaptation is significantly more effective in showing the relationship between Holmes and Watson with changes made to the plot and characters.
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. The Hound of the Baskervilles. Great Britain, Penguin Groups, 2004. New York, Berkley Publishing Group,1993.
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.
Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan. Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories. 1. New York, New York: A Division of Random House, Inc., 1986. Print.
In the novel, Sherlock Holmes The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson are given a case that is paranormal. They decide to split up and Dr. Watson is given the task to stay by Sir Henry’s side while looking for clues. They cross paths against and Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson meet to discuss this case as a murder. They find major clues against Mr. Stapleton leading to his death. The novel explores the theme of not being ruled by fear through characters dealing with the apparent supernatural myth coming to life.
The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of Arthur Conan Doyle 's most famous works. The novel is the prime example of a Gothic Detective Story. Written during the first year of the 20th Century, the novel is a reflection of the concerns and issues that were prevalent at the time. The novel incorporates beliefs that were widely popular, including atavism and criminality. Although the novel is viewed as just another addition to the Sherlock Holmes canon, there are deeper philosophical conflicts that reflect the time period in which the novel was written.