The sign of four is a novel written by Arthur Conan Doyle. It was written in 1888. The plot of the novel talks about a number of topics such as murder, hidden treasure, a pact among four persons and corrupt prison guards. As a result, we can conclude that it is a detective novel. However, the novel tries to talk about India which was one of the British colonies. In this novel, there is much focus on the Indian Mutiny that happened in 1857. The sign of four is also a novel about the Victorian abroad. The strangest thing about this novel is that it was written by an author who had never been to India and was born after the events of the Indian Mutiny that happened in 1857. The author got his information and data about the Indian Mutiny …show more content…
In the following years that followed the mutiny, many novels were written and published carrying the same theme. Many histories, paintings and poems had traced this topic. The mutiny according to ( Chakravarty , 2005 . p.3 ) was the single favourite subject for Anglo-Indian novelists. This was very remarkable in magazines and newspapers which provided the British public with much information about the events in India. Some of the most famous newspapers and magazines that focused on the influences of the Mutiny were illustrated by London News, Punch and Household words and others. According to the critic Christopher Herbert , “ The epochal impact of the Mutiny on the Victorians can only be meaningfully studied by considering it not as a geopolitical event , but as a literary and in effect a fictive …show more content…
Some people may consider it as a mutiny story since it focuses in many on its events on the Indian mutiny taking place in 1857. The strangest thing about this story is that its author tries to talk about the events of the Mutiny despite the fact that he did not attend them. Although the Indian Mutiny facilitated the formation of societal anxieties within Britain, The Sign of Four suggests that late nineteenth-century British society continued to consider the colonies as attractive possessions. Doyle's portrayal of India as an alluring and exotic milieu is characteristic of popular nineteenth-century colonial conceptions, as many Western artists and poets often romanticized the behaviors and environments characteristic of "Oriental" nations. Evidence of the exotic and sensual appeal of the colonies can be found in The Sign of Four, as Miss Morstan's Indian accessories, including "a small turban of the small dull [grey] hue, relieved only by the suspicion of a white feather in the side", immediately capture the attention of Watson and inspires his original attraction to her
Throughout the novel, trees are symbolic of growth for Melinda. While Melinda struggles not only with being an outcast but having trouble with her assigned subject, she seeks help from Ivy, a new friend. Melinda claims “it was a mistake to sign up for art.” Ivy disagrees, and the girls “sit there trading pencils. [Melinda] draws a trunk, Ivy adds a branch. Melinda “starts to erase [her part]” but Ivy says “It is fine the way it is. It just needs some leaves, Layer the leaves and make them slightly different sizes and it will look great. [Melinda] has a great start. Melinda then says “She is right” (146). By working on her tree drawing together with Ivy, the tree is what strengthens and grows the girls’ bond as friends. Melinda’s confidence
The title of the movie “signs” is significant because before you even watch the movie it implies there is some sort of foreshadowing. “What are the signs?” and “Where do they come from?” are question you can immediately ponder. Just from viewing the movie poster alone you can see what appears to be “Signs” from Extraterrestrials.
In conclusion, as afore mentioned, these narratives are inspirational pieces which are of no doubt of the highest credibility and authenticity. They were meant to have some specific functions in the society; as to influence, motivate and inspire people. Indeed these narratives are good pieces of literature. These writers both existed during the same era and a time when the abolishment of slavery was a well discussed topic in the country. Their pieces were meant to be examples of good literature and also to influence people to fight against slavery and
In the novel The Great Gatsby, there is a lot of symbolism. There are huge, obvious and also small, hard to see symbolic messages. One of the small and hard to see symbolic messages is the green light at the end of Daisy’s dock. Depending on the things going on in the book, depends on the symbolism in my eyes. I believe that the green light in chapter 1 means that there is hope, when mentioned in chapter 5 it means fascination, and in chapter 9, I believe that the green light symbolizes sadness.
In the Photograph Album of Cashmere& Ladakh,1886, H.W.B depicts the age of imperialism through his photography of the 1st Batallion East Surrey Regiment of Great Britain. The photos allow one to make observations without any biased inputs such as writings. Using one’s own
Kim is based on the India that Kipling experiences during his five years of working there as a newspaper reporter. “His residence near the primary British Army base in Northwest India….enhanced his already intense admiration for the martial life” (Matin 359). Events in the novel are manipulated to formulate Kipling’s dream of dominated India. Being a product of his time, Kipling believes that the British empire has an obligation to bring “enlightenment” to inferior races and underdeveloped countries. His idea of the best way to rule the native India is expressed by creating Kim who is born in the country, resulting in Kim’s appreciation and favor of the Indian culture. Kipling constructs the native India consists of salvage people who are waiting to be civilized by British and limited by their races no matter how much they contribute to the imperialist system. He has people positively speak on empire’s behalf and recognize the work of British men. Moreover, all the characters exist in the story to help Kim going on the right track to become an imperialist boy and rise above everyone else. Kim’s ultimate choice of British empire’s interest over his loved lama and his being blessed for doing so successfully deliver Kipling’s imperialism message.
The book was published in 1788 -- substantially after the events described took place. The time gap did not seriously affect the main content of the material because the events he describes were very serious and unforgettable ones. He wrote the material at the time he had already been a member of the Anti- Slavery Society leaving room for a little suspicion of his tendency to exaggerate some descriptions in his narrative. This been said, it is pertinent to note that it is unequivocally clear that the events he describes in this book are those he witnessed firsthand and they made a lasting impression on him. Consequently, this impression
Montag discovers new things after meeting Clarisse. Things like the fact that fire fighters used to actually fight fires. He also comes to discover that he doesn't really love his wife. As well as he's not entirely happy. Clarisse's attitude and outlook let's him discover that his view of life is grim and jaded. He begins to realize that things aren’t how he wants them to be, that he doesn't really know much about history - or the truth of it, he becomes curious and attempts to find real happiness.
why this book became so popular within the working class. It united people under a cause to try
Considering the fact that this was written during the height of the abolition movement the novel had to be effective in order to advance the success of the movement.
In the United States alone, Muslims make up at least 1% of the population; which is 3.3 million people (Pew Research,2015). Since America is noted as a free and accepting country, any individual from outside the U.S, would easily come to the conclusion that all Muslims in every corner of the United States are being treated the same as everyone else. That is, unfortunately, not true; Attacks and discriminatory actions have become common in the lives of some Muslim adolescents that are currently living in the United States. Since the 9/11 terror attacks, discrimination against Muslims (predominantly adolescents) have wildly increased, and more Americans (typically older) are becoming anti-Muslim. Anyone can simply view this as normal since
The latter half of the nineteenth century brought about the introduction of detective fiction into popular culture, the stronghold of British colonialism in India, and the characterization of one of the most celebrated detectives in literature, Sherlock Holmes. While the British East India Company occupied Indian territories far before the Crown in the seventeenth century, the extent to which brutal and divisive colonial practices took place, increased substantially after the British government annexed the Indian subcontinent. The British government officially expanded the Empire into India after the Mutiny of 1857, which was purposefully misconstrued as an open invitation for the British to unsheath the white man’s burden into action. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sign of Four is written within the context of this particular rebellion and its aftermath. The novel becomes mirror for the functions of aristocratic and Victorian society at large, and their perspective of the exoticity of the East as a commodity to be kept as a trophy, shattered whenever deemed fit, but never as anything more.
“Symbols and Signs,” a short story written by Vladimir Nabokov, revolves around a Jewish couple from Minsk, Russia, who has a son with a mental disability called “referential mania.” It was their son’s birthday when several unfortunate events, including their son’s recent suicide attempt, prevented them from visiting him and from giving him the birthday present that they prepared for him. As they got back home, they eventually decided to bring him home and the story ended with three telephone calls, the first two being wrong numbers and the third phone call remained unanswered. This close reading would focus on the plot, the characters, and the symbols used, in showing how people have different perceptions of reality.
The video clip talked about the voting rights of all citizens of the United States. Yet, it also showed how senators have imposed laws in certain states which have prohibit many voters from casting their vote. These laws mandate that the individual present a photo id before being allowed to vote. It also described the hard process that people face when trying to obtain their photo id. For example, government offices within the states that require and id to vote are only open during certain times through the year. Yet, when senators have been told regarding the dilemma the strict laws have created they have responded that by imposing these laws they will prevent fraud from occurring. The senators believe that these laws will prohibit all individual
E.M. Forster’s classic novel “A Passage to India” tells the story of a young doctor, Dr. Aziz, and his interactions with the British citizens who are residing in India during the time of the British Raj. Throughout the novel, the reader gets many different viewpoints on the people and the culture of India during this point in history. The reader sees through the eyes of the Indian people primarily through the character of Dr. Aziz, and the perceptions of the British through the characters of Mr. Fielding, Adela Quested, and Mrs. Moore. Through the different characters, and their differing viewpoints, the reader can see that Forster was creating a work that expressed a criticism that he held of the behavior of the British towards their Indian subjects.