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False portrayal of mental illnesses in media
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False portrayal of mental illnesses in media
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Can Readers Relate to Holmes?
Holmes in many cases behaves the way most people would behave, which further proves that he has emotions even though behavior does not always imply certain emotions. In "The Speckled Band," Holmes deduces that his client's stepfather has ill intent towards his stepdaughter. He killed his stepdaughter's sister, and had Holmes not intervened, his client would likely also have died. Holmes cautions Watson to arm himself. At the climax of the story, Holmes indirectly kills Dr. Grimesby Roylott. Holmes even admits to doing this, but he says that Roylott's death will probably not "weigh very heavily upon my conscience" (325). Most people would think this way. People do not usually sympathize with killers being killed.
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Commenting on Holmes as a roommate, Watson says, "Holmes was certainly not a difficult man to live with" (13). Later on, Holmes says he has no time to waste to Watson before he smiles and apologizes for being rude (20). He explains that he intended no malice, simply being frustrated since Watson accidently broke Holmes' train of thought. Most people would call this a perfectly normal response. Nobody likes interruptions during tasks or amidst conversations. Additionally, Holmes often smiles or chuckles when he figures out something, again perfectly normal (Doyle 10, 22, 25, 315). Holmes also cries out when something or someone surprises him, such as in A Study in Scarlet when he cries out: "It can't be a coincidence" Doyle (39, 48, …show more content…
Some people say Holmes has autism, even though this diagnosis didn't exist as Doyle wrote about Holmes; this would not matter if people regarded those with autism as equals, but alas, they like many people considered mentally ill remain dehumanized. Thus, Holmes constantly has his humanity questioned, even by his good friend Watson. According to the article titled "The Autistic Detective: Sherlock Holmes and his Legacy" written by Sonya Freeman Loftis, Watson represents "the neurologically typical reader" (Loftis, 2014). As I brought up earlier, readers always see Holmes through Watson. Thus, regardless of truth or falsehood, Holmes appears abnormal in Watson's point of view. Readers cannot assign fictional characters diagnoses. Using Holmes as an example of a person with autism causes big
(O’Neill, Weisfeldt, & Cabrera, 2015, para. 24) On the opposing end, a defense psychiatrist found that Holmes was psychotic and he had a warped view of reality. The psychiatrist, Raquel Gur, said, “The severe defect in his brain made him incapable of distinguishing right from wrong by societal standards” (O’Neill, Weisfeldt, & Cabrera, 2015, para. 25). I believe that James Holmes is a psychopath and according to the DSM-5, suffers from antisocial personality disorder. Holmes obviously has a disregard for other lives and lacks empathy. He felt that with each life that he ended, his life began to add value. In an interview with an appointed psychiatric, Holmes said “he gained nothing from injuring people or leaving them behind to grieve for the dead. He spoke of the 70 people wounded as ‘collateral damage’” (O’Neill, Weisfeldt, & Cabrera, 2015, para. 42). With the ending of his romantic relationship before the massacre, that is also an example of James lacking the ability to maintain relationships. It is believed that along with the ending relationship with Lynne Fenton, he had few relationships. I also think that moving at the pivotal age of 12 created depression and most likely anxiety in Holmes and began to create the personality disorder. Holmes did not
Using the Psychoanalytical approach, Freud might say that Holmes’s life long killing spree was caused by Holmes’s unconscious aggressive and sexual urges. When Holmes was a child, a mother who devoted herself to the Methodist church instead of her children raised him, and this could have some connection to why Holmes acted out the way he did. Holmes got pleasure from hurting others, and death did not scare him. This could’ve been caused because he never got the love and nurturing he needed from his mother. Aggression is something that children who have parents that don’t give them enough love and attention are more prominent to having. The child will begin to resent the mother and father, and I believe that this was shown through whom he killed and the way he did. Holmes could have picked victims only being female with blonde hair because they unconsciously reminded him of his mother, and he was letting out the resentment and aggression he felt towards her because of how she treated him in the early years of his life. This resentment towards his mother could have been so built up that she’s the reason he did not feel remorse when torturing and killing mass
In “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” Sherlock Holmes did not harm Dr. Roylott in shape or form. The story never mentioned that Sherlock Holmes touched Dr. Roylott; therefore, Sherlock Holmes did not commit the crime. The text states “He has died within ten seconds of being bitten”. That phrase is describing how quickly Sherlock died from the snake, not a human. Sherlock Holmes was in the room beside Dr. Roylott protecting Helen Stoner; thus, Sherlock Holmes was nowhere near Dr. Roylott to commit the
In the story "The Adventure of the Speckled Band", the detective Sherlock Holmes was to solve a mystery regarding the unexplainable death of a woman named Julia Stoner. Helen Stoner, Julia's sister, consulted Sherlock Holmes about the matter. After a number of questions, as well as a thorough examination of the crime scene, it was deciphered by the detective himself that it was probably the step-father's fault. However, while saving Helen Stoner's life by fending off the deadly snake that killed her sister, another life was taken. Dr. Roylott was killed by the snake that he had used for his murderous deeds, once it retreated through a ventilator, back into his room, biting him. I believe Sherlock Holmes was not guilty of his death. Although he knew he had agitated the snake, he could have never known it was going to kill Dr. Roylott. Sherlock Holmes did not know where Dr. Roylott was in the room. Additionally, the doctor should have known how to maintain the snake. Lastly, on any other occasions that the snake was provoked, it had never bit him before.
Examine the role of Sherlock Holmes as a Detective in the Story Of The Speckled Band The creator of the very legendry stories of Sherlock Holmes was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Sir Arthur. As a child he was sent to a harsh, strict and then applied to study medicine. After qualifying, he travelled as a ships doctor, however he had very little success.
American serial killer H. H. Holmes once said “I was born with the devil in me. I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing. I was born with the evil one standing as my sponsor beside the bed where I was ushered into the world, and he has been with me since” (Lukacs, 2017, n.p.). H. H. Holmes is notorious for being a well known serial killer during the late 1800s. Interestingly, he is also considered by many individuals to be the first American serial killer. Today, researchers still struggle to find a cause as to why he committed the crimes he did. It is difficult to explain his reasoning and choices – therefore, because of this, many researchers and criminologists have dabbled in attempting to create an accurate explanation for his actions. In order to do this, it is essential to first consider Holmes’ childhood, upbringing, and crimes in
... expected to see, said Holmes.’ All throughout the story the Red-headed League, Watson cannot grasp the concept of what Holmes is thinking. This is what creates the suspense.
...mes’ lifestyle. Holmes, throughout his life was a criminal. Holmes desire to murder people was believed to come from from his desensitized feeling about dead bodies. This was due to his medical career. As mentioned earlier, when Holmes was in medical school, he had many dealings with cadavers and was very familiar with them. Later, when he began killing he did not look at the bodies as human beings, but as material or later, cash money. This relationship between crime and deviance is mainly why I choose this book. I feel that H. H. Holmes, although Holmes was a strange and demented man, was very successful. This success questions what makes people successful: is it your status, education, or was it his determination?
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.
In the story, “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author portrayed multiple conflicts between various characters. Some of the characters include the outgoing detective, Sherlock Holmes, the helpful medical doctor, Dr. Watson, the murderous step-father, Dr. Roylott and his timid step-daughter, Helen Stoner. The setting of the story was during April 1883 in England at the Roylott, Stoke Manor. The story began when Helen Stoner met with Sherlock Holmes and his loyal partner, Dr. Watson. She explained the main conflict; she feared for her life and was suspicious about her sister, Julia’s, death on the eve of Julia’s wedding. With the concern of Helen’s
Sherlock Holmes used his observations skills to come to the conclusion that Dr. Roylott was attempting to kill his daughters with a foreign snake, the swamp adder in “The Adventure of the Speckled Band” written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes was able to make conclusions from the background that Helen Stoner informed him of. Through the intense investigation of the rooms in Stoke Moran he was able to observe even more clues. Additionally, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle included several red herrings as a way to mislead the readers. Sherlock Holmes, being the perceptive detective that he is, was able to use the clues provided in the story resolve the mystery of the death of Helen’s sister, Julia. Ultimately, the
This interaction is an example of an extremely non-normal conversation between two people, which proves how Holmes lacks the social skills to have an ordinary conversation due to his high intellect. During Holmes’s best man speech he talks for an exceptionally long time talking about solving a murder case which, generally, is not the topic of discussion during a wedding. Both of these examples contribute to the dominant ideology of Holmes being the socially inept nerd because of his extremely high level of smarts by reinforcing the common examples of social awkwardness which usually are speaking quickly and off
as in many detective fictions we have a common theme that is good vs evil. This theme is also present in The Adventure Of The Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes as the protagonist is represented as the good of this story, and the antagonist Dr Roylott is the evil. Roylott and Sherlock both have a something major in common, their intelligence. The two use this to their advantage but in contrasting ways, The question becomes what was it that drove Roylott to be a villain, and what are the key elements that separates Holmes from Roylott?
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.
In the movie Holmes, in the beginning, was much more prideful and rude to Watson and people in general, but later on, Holmes was a lot nicer and somewhat humble at least compared to the book. This difference made the viewer feel less liking of the character of Holmes and it almost seemed that the director tried to save Holmes’s character by making him nicer at the ending. The difference had a big impact on the feeling of the movie because it felt that he was so stuck up he was rather unapproachable. ...