However, Holmes' powers of observation would be worth nothing without his excellent reasoning and deduction abilities. An example of this is connected to the quote above (from The Speckled Band). After Holmes discovered that the bell pull (rope) was a dummy, and taking into account only facts that may be considered, by lesser men, insignificant he solved the mystery of a woman's death. "It would crawl down the rope.... sooner or later she must fall victim" (The Speckled Band).
It is by Holmes' use of reasoning and deduction that one of his most famous personal characteristics also comes to light. This is his characteristic of making people around him feel beneath him, in other words, Holmes has a high level of self-esteem. He astounds people with his intelligence. He pretends that he does not mean to do this "I do not wish to make a mystery" (A Scandal in Bohemia). There is but one case that I have come across in which Sherlock Holmes is outwitted by someone, and when he realises that he has been outwitted, he is amazed "Holmes staggered back, white with chagrin and surprise" (A Scandal in Bohemia). He is especially amazed that it is a woman that has outwitted him. This has some, but only a slight, effect on his belittling characteristic "He used to make merry over the cleverness of women, but I have not heard him do it of late" (A Scandal in Bohemia).
Holmes has a great store of knowledge that he has acquired over many years at his disposal, and this helps him greatly in his cases "my special knowledge of tobacco ashes enabled me to pronounce as an Indian cigar" (The Boscombe Valley Mystery). This yet again proves just how intelligent Sherlock Holmes is.
Holmes categorised and sub-categorised many pieces of information on almost every person and subject imaginable "Irene Adler...Kindly look her up in my index, Doctor" (A Scandal in Bohemia). This shows just how organised Holmes is; he not only possesses plenty of knowledge, but he knows how to have it organised to be accessed easily. This is an example of Holmes' logical and perfectionist approach to things.
Holmes has a very 'hands-on' approach to things "fell upon his knees upon the floor...began to examine minutely" (The Red-Headed League). This approach can also lead him to take direct action "sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar" (The Red-Headed League). As this quote also shows, Holmes can become very intense about things. Holmes can also become the subject of mood swings "The swing of his nature took him from extreme nature to devouring energy" (The Red-Headed League). This is no doubt contributed to, in no small part, by his drug taking "cocaine injections and all the other little weaknesses" (The Man with the Twisted Lip).
Holmes is assisted greatly in his cases by the fact that he is not only an expert in crime, but also in many other fields. Probably the most famous example of this is his ability to disguise himself "returned...in the character of an amiable Nonconformist clergyman" (A Scandal in Bohemia). Not only can he disguise himself, but he can act well, as well "The stage lost a fine actor" (A Scandal in Bohemia). He is also an expert in science "science lost an acute reasoner" (A Scandal in Bohemia).
Overall, I feel that the factor that contributes most to the fact that Sherlock Holmes is able to solve crimes so well is the fact that he can analyse things - reason with them, as well as observe them. Also, he does not allow emotion to cloud his reasoning "grit in a sensitive instrument...would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his" (A Scandal in Bohemia). Holmes was a misogynist, so there was not much, if any chance for emotion to enter his finely tuned brain. I feel that this quote best describes Sherlock Holmes "He was.... the most perfect reasoning machine that the world has ever seen" (A Scandal in Bohemia).
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