Sherlock Holmes: A Timeless Victorian Creation Essay

“They tend to share certain key characteristics. They're manipulative, cold, and lack what we might call a moral compass--they know right from wrong but are not invested in that distinction. Their only concern with their ‘wrong’ behavior is getting caught, but because they are deceitful, callous and not subject to anxiety, they easily elude capture” (Spikol, 5). These sort of criminals were ones that the Chicago Police Department had never been introduced to before, causing them to change their entire perspective on cases once Holmes’ had passed. According to John Bartlow Martin, a writer for the “Harper’s Archive”, Holmes’ murder castle was filled with trapdoors, gas chambers, secret passageways, and even pits of acid used to get rid of bodies and other pieces of evidence. These were all things that the law enforcers had never even heard of in a story, much less seen or thought of in real life. It’s safe to say that Holmes drastically affected the police’s outlook on the cases in the near, and even far, future of criminals after his mystery; or at least part of his mystery had been

As shown in the quote “...It was becoming increasingly apparent that Holmes had not faked the death of Ben Pitezel, he had killed him and then arranged the scene to make the death seem accidental” (Larson, 340). Holmes manipulates his surroundings to obscure his crimes, skillfully avoiding certain details that would give him away. This is a quality that calls attention to Holmes’s lack of emotion, as any other criminal might’ve given themselves away by showing too much emotion. Another quote highlights Holmes’s flair for exaggeration in his lies, as he is described as “greatly given to lying with a sort of florid ornamentation,” (Larson, 340). It’s evident that lying is something that Holmes has been doing his whole life, and he feels no obligation to provide the truth, even when he’s about to be caught.

The sole purpose of the “prison diary,” was to supplement Holmes’s memoir in a last effort to prove his innocence. Remarkably, even after committing a string of tragic crimes including fraud and murder, Holmes still attempts to use his charming personality and deceiving ways to present himself as a, “man of warmth and piety,” in order to once again avoid being persecuted. However, explains Larson, it is actually sad how painfully easy it is to see through the lies of Holmes’s memoir and diary- they’re so sentimental that it is evident that they serve as a cover up of his actual evil and perversive nature. All in all, these details of Holmes’s actions in prison truly demonstrate the fact that he is insane- he believes that the police is completely incompetent and that he can easily trick them with his deceptive memoir and prison diary. However, little does he know that his tactics are becoming less and less effective and are actually beginning to expose his mental instability as the investigation against him proceeds. After reading this passage I was felt a combination of disgust and

Holmes wrote a history of himself, which he wrote, “ I could not help the fact that I was a murderer, no more than the poet can help the inspiration to sing.”

When H.H. Holmes arrives in Chicago, he looks like any other ambitious young doctor braving the journey to the Windy City to start a new life. “He walked with confidence and dressed well, conjuring an impression of wealth and achievement. He was twenty-six years old… He had dark hair and striking blue eyes, once likened to the eyes of a Mesmerist,” describes the author. Larson cites a physician, John L. Capen, “‘Great murderers, like great men in other walks of activity, have blue eyes’” (35). In including this citation, Larson clues the reader in on Holmes’ true nature in addition to eliciting a feeling of unease through his diction. With this first impression, the reader is already wary of Holmes and his actions. Larson further solidifies this distrust with the following passages. “The city had impressed [Holmes], he said later, which was surprising because as a rule nothing impressed him, nothing moved him. Events and people captured his attention the way moving objects caught the notice of an amphibian: first a machinelike registration of proximity, next to calculation of worth, and last is a decision to act or remain motionless.” (37) With this quotation, Larson explains how Holmes chose

In Conan Doyle’s short story “A Scandal in Bohemia” (1888), Sherlock Holmes can tell that the stranger possess great wealth before he speaks a single word. Sherlock Holmes analyzes everything when it comes to people. He uses their appearance, how they carry themselves, and what kind of objects they have on them. The author uses descriptive words to describe the way the stranger looked. This essay will prove that Sherlock Holmes is so observant of everyone, that he can tell who you are before speaking to you.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle utilizes literary elements such as dialogue, tone, vocabulary, a different format of narration and perspective, along with chronology to construct the adventures of the eminent fictional detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner, Dr. John Watson. The creative use of dialogue assists in telling the story fluently and vividly, while a suspenseful and occasionally humorous tone maintains interest from case to case. Long winded descriptions and complex vocabulary are infused into Doyle’s writing to fit his knowledgeable characters as well as fuse them into the setting of traditional Britain. Lastly, these features are accompanied by both Holmes and Watson’s different perspectives alongside each other. the tales of

When someone mentions the occupation of detective, a single image usually comes to mind, a man wearing a cape and deerstalker, holding a magnifying glass and smoking a pipe. This entire image can be contributed to one character: Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is considered by many to be the greatest detective to ever exist, even if he only exists in the pages of books and on movie and television screens. It is impossible to escape the influence of Holmes. Countless references are made to him in all types of media and he is used as an inspiration to may more fictional characters we have all grown to love. The cultural impact of Sherlock Holmes has spread to more than just fiction; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s

The classic mystery novel, Sherlock Holmes, features a murder-mystery detective Sherlock Holmes, and his army doctor colleague Dr. John Watson. The story revolves around the main character, Sherlock Holmes, and his unique method to solving crimes. The story is mainly all about Sherlock and his abilities, which then rises the question about the importance of the character of Dr.Watson, both to the chaarcter of Sherlock Holmes, and towards the readers.

Moriarty is also occasionally mentioned in five different stories, but he does not make a direct appearance in any of them. This rather oblique and vague portrayal of Holmes’ arch rival has resulted in a plethora of theories concerning the real identity of Moriarty. In this paper we shall return to one of them, but the main goal of this essay is to examine the relationship between Holmes and Watson basing on social psychology. I will refer to some concepts of this particular branch of psychology in order to explain Watson’s lack of trustworthiness in connection with the idea of hierarchy in groups. In this paper I will also try to outline the instances in the story when Watson and his narration are deeply flawed as far as objectivity is

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle utilizes many detail-oriented literary elements to develop the many adventures of the famous fictional British detective Sherlock Holmes and his partner, John Watson. Long winded description and complex vocabulary are infused into Doyle’s writing to accentuate Holmes’s great intelligence. By incorporating such a heavy, educated tone upon the mysteries, the tales of Sherlock Holmes are expressed as very complicated stories that challenge readers in comprehension as well as encourage curiosity through puzzling cases.

In “A Scandal in Bohemia” by Arthur Conan Doyle, social classes took a big influence on who avoided punishments. Irene Adler, a strong and intelligent women accused Sherlock Holmes and the King of Bohemia with serious charges. Sherlock Holmes is a man who loathes being apart of society and keeps to himself. He is a detective well known with intelligent skills. The King of Bohemia is Holmes client, and former lover of Irene Adler. In attempt to recover a photograph that is crucial to the king of bohemias reputation, Sherlock Holmes as well as the King of bohemia are both charged with stalking and attempted robbery. In addition to this, further investigations take action and deduce charges of possession and the use of drugs against Sherlock Holmes, as well as plotting to throw a smoke bomb through Irene Adler’s window. As for the King of Bohemia, he is also charged with treason.

The main character in the story is Sherlock Holmes; he is the hero of the book, a very important factor in a mystery book. The Victorians would have loved this character because he was not a part of the police force; he was a character that could be relied on, when the police force was so corrupt. Holmes’s life was his job, as the reader gets further into the story; they see that Holmes works for personal satisfaction, ’my profession is its own

In the Sherlock Holmes stories “The Red-Headed League” and “A Scandal in Bohemia” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle explores mysteries through the eyes of Dr. Watson, Sherlock Holmes’s assistant. Holmes is able to amaze the people around him with his deductive abilities and can quickly determine aspects of a person’s life by just looking at them. This allows him to solve mysteries that others cannot wrap their heads around. He uses his skill to first help the King of Bohemia recover a picture of him with a former lover. Next, he investigates the disappearance of the Red-Headed League. In both of these mysteries he experiences a unique challenge due to the intelligence of his opponents and the unusual situation surrounding the case. The cunning and cleverness of Holmes, Irene Adler and the conspirators of the Red-Headed League are shown in the stories “The Red-Headed League” and “A Scandal in Bohemia”.

To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. I have seldom heard him mention her under any other name. In his eyes she eclipses and predominates the whole of her sex. It was not that he felt any emotion akin to love for Irene Adler. All emotions, and that one particularly, were abhorrent to his cold, precise but admirably balanced mind. He was, I take it, the most perfect reasoning and observing machine that the world has seen, but as a lover he would have placed himself in a false position. He never spoke of the softer passions, save with a gibe and a sneer. They were admirable things for the observer—excellent for drawing the veil from men’s motives and actions. But for the trained reasoner to admit such intrusions into his own delicate and finely adjusted temperament was to introduce a distracting factor which