One of the predominant reasons why I believe that Doyle can capture and maintain the reader’s interest, not only in the time period it was wrote, but now is because of the structure. Each story has a set structure, which the stories follow, although Doyle has tended to adapt some of them as he feels necessary. The structure is effective because the way that all of the stories are set out, they still leave us with many inquiries in out head, such as how Holmes worked out the case. For example, in “The Speckled Band”, Holmes discusses to Watson how he figured all of the traps out, how he figured out about the snake, and what he found out about certain features of the bedroom to make him come to certain conclusions. He says “I had come to these conclusions before ever I had entered the room. An inspection of his chair showed me…”. What this illustrates is that the questions that the audience had developed whilst reading the book are answered by Holmes in his description of the events that occurred and the discoveries he made. It also indicated to us some of the points that we may have missed out in the book, or some of he points that we didn’t seem to think were important. For example when Helen Stoner in “The Speckled Band” says that she has a ventilator in her room, we make nothing of it. We eventually find out though, that it is essential to the case.
The structure is very important part of the stories, and I think that this makes the book appeal to a modern audience, in a number of ways. For one, this technique has been adopted in many modernised detective television series, so the structure will not be new to the reader, so it will not be hard to understand. For another, the structure always leaves something, and always creates suspense right to the denouement, when the case is solved and explained. This will urge the reader to read on.
The structure also helps to creates something else; the atmosphere. The atmosphere in the stories would need to be very tense, exhilarating and also very emotional to have a major impact on the reader. Conan Doyle tries to do this to his atmosphere by having certain elements in his book. For me, the key component of the stories’ atmosphere is the suspense. There is a great deal of it in these novels, as you are always pushed to read on, because of the level of curiosity in the reader’s mind. I found a great deal of suspense in the story “A Scandal in Bohemia”, mainly due to the fact that Sherlock Holmes was unable to acquire the photograph.
The descriptive language used in the stories is used to good effect. The way that the locations, characters and thoughts and feelings are described gives the reader a fantastic image of what is being described. For example, in the story “The Red-Headed League”, when Watson is describing Mr. Jabez Wilson, he says “…with a very stout, florid-faced, elderly gentleman, with fiery red hair.” Straight away you get a detailed picture in your imagination, and you can tell who Sherlock Holmes is dealing with. The detailed description of the locations, characters and thoughts and feelings adds to the atmosphere by allowing the reader to a sense of opinion; that opinion being about Mr. Jabez Wilson.
The detailed description is also included in the denouement of the story, where Sherlock Holmes describes to Watson how he solved the case. This part of the story always has suspense in it, because it answers the questions that the reader may have about the case and the overall story. The denouement basically outlined the whole story, in Sherlock Holmes’ eyes, with a few reasons for things along the way. The denouement is always an excellent way to conclude the short stories, as they clear up all queries that the reader may have, and they would also make the reader want to read another story as they can understand what is happening.
Realism is, in addition, used to convey reality, and make the story more exciting. One way realism is used is by using dates (for example when Watson and Holmes refer to different cases that happened at a certain date). These dates relate to the time when the books were wrote, and because of this may not interest a modern day reader. Another source of realism is the actual description and background of the characters. Although few may appear slightly strange in their disposition, many seem ordinary in their appearance (although their mental state did change that somewhat), and make the stories practical and down to Earth. This would want to make the reader read on, because he or she would know that they are not making things up. The only problem here is that because the story was written in the 19th century, elements of the story, including the realism, were made to fit this time period. This would make it difficult for the modern day reader to relate itself to the stories, and to have interest in the story. It was always lose some of its realism, because the modern day reader would not expect some of the things that were written to actually be true, or they may not understand some of the terms used for certain objects. This may make the stories out-dated and uninteresting for some readers.
There are various techniques used in this story, and there is no doubt that they worked exceedingly well in the time that they were written, but the question is do they still work today? I believe that they do, because, although the terminology and sentence lengths are unusual, the techniques that are used make up for this as they make the reader interested in the story by gripping story lines, suspense and tension. Character realism is always used to fine effect, and the atmosphere that is built gives the reader a superb image of the locations and people.
The characters in Conan Doyle’s stories vary from story to story. The two main personas, Holmes and Watson, appear in all of the stories. Doyle crafts these two characters in such a way they are made to seem absolutely fascinating, Holmes more than Watson, but they are also made to seem real. This balance of realism and imagination really brings out the best of both characters, as they can react and perform particular tasks with a certain degree of realism, but also with enough imagination to keep the reader astounded. Holmes is made to be the more intellectual person, with knowledge beyond that of the “common folk”, and Watson is considered to merely be the sidekick of Holmes, and a good friend. Watson does serve a purpose though; he is Holmes’ safeguard, as he always carries a revolver with him when requested to.
Holmes is brought to life more in the time that the books were wrote, compared to the present time because in those days the public really needed somebody who could solve crimes, as the police force was corrupt and unsuccessful. Although in a story, Sherlock Holmes was the person they had been dreaming of, and it gave the people then hope and belief that somebody could come along and stamp down the authority, and solves many crimes. Although this may have seemed a reality in the past, I do not believe that the same level of practicality can be assumed in the modern era.
Watson is the narrator of the stories, and he can be describes as the “witness” to the Sherlock Holmes cases, although he is used to a certain degree in some of them. For example, in “A Scandal in Bohemia”, Sherlock asks Watson to perform a certain activity to id Holmes in the solving of the case. Furthermore in “The Speckled Band”, Holmes uses Watson as some sort of a bodyguard, as he asks him to take his revolver as a precaution.
Throughout the stories we are presented with some strong characters, some more physically strong with a commanding nature, and some who are unexpected to be strong, and have a good knowledge and understanding. One person who matches this description perfectly is a woman called Irene Adler, in the story “A Scandal in Bohemia”. A woman in these times was considered weak, and not up to the level of an average male. Straight away, when you find out that she has something that threatens an entire kingdom, you get the perception that she doesn’t fit the stereotype of the day. Now though, the stereotypes have changed and women have a stronger, more commanding stereotype in some cases, so the story and character may be somewhat deluded and may not be as effectual as what it once was. The main reason why Irene Adler would come across as being strong is because of what we find out towards the end of the story. She out-smarts Sherlock Holmes. At the time these were wrote this was considered unthinkable, and Irene Adler must have had to of been some woman to conquer Holmes. The same effect will not be as strong today, because the scrutiny of women has changed.
One character that is physically strong and commanding, also with some knowledge, is Dr. Grimesby Roylett, who appears in the story “The Speckled Band”. Unlike Irene Adler, he doesn’t outwit Sherlock Holmes in the end, but he does make life difficult for him to actually solve the case. For one, he has some strange pets that he keeps, and he is made out to be the bully. For another, he makes Holmes go to the extremes to solve the case.
The characters that are introduced in these stories have different characteristics, and they all have different strengths and weaknesses, but deciding if they appeal to the modern day reader could be down to a matter of opinion. I think that if somebody who was interested in all the high-tech gadgets and latest technology would not find the characters in this very appealing and attention-grabbing, as they, especially Holmes, do not use any gadgets to do things or solve the case. Likewise, the characters may also not appeal to a modern audience because they would not be considered “cool” by the public. This may be the case, but I believe that a great deal of people would find these characters appealing; because of the way they do things. For example Sherlock Holmes would definitely be appealing because he doesn’t use any gadgets to solve his cases, he uses his brain power.
London at the time of Sherlock Holmes was made out to be a rough, crime riddled place, where men where more superior than women. The description of London that is anticipated by the reader makes Sherlock Holmes stands out, as he is a successful person who doesn’t resort to crime; he fights against it. This was unlike any other detective in those days, as they were known to be unintelligent and ineffective with cases, most predominant being the police force.
Detectives in the past didn’t have any technology to solve crime, so they had to rely on two main concepts: The brain power and the will power. In the time many considered that the police force were failing because they didn’t have either. Sherlock Holmes used both to solve his crimes, and he always prevailed, excluding “A Scandal in Bohemia”.
These factors may have an impact on today’s reader, because as people are becoming consumed with the usage of modern technology, I believe that many people would adore somebody who does not need such equipment; only his brain.
In conclusion, to the question “Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories were written over a hundred years ago. They are antiquated and out dated and have nothing to offer a modern day reader.” I think that for some aspects of the story it is true, but for some aspects it isn’t true. The stereotypes that are used in the stories have changed as time has gone by so the same effect cannot be created, and also because of the lack of technology a modern day reader may not be interested. Despite of all this, many still believe, including myself, that the Sherlock Holmes stories can still be relevant to a modern day audience. The techniques that are really the foundations of the techniques that are used in today’s detective stories, arguably even better. One thing that many people ask to themselves is” would a modern Sherlock Holmes story be better than the original one?” My answer to that: No.
