Both Silver Blaze and Finger Man are fictional Detective stories, but differ in many different ways from language and dialogue to cultural changes shown between both stories. This is because the stories were written at two different times, Silver Blaze is a pre 20th century piece of text where as Finger Man was created within the 20th century. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle a British author created Silver Blaze which featured one of the most renowned detective characters, Sherlock Holmes. His fictional character became so famous and loved by the public they actually embraced his identity and grew to believe that Sherlock Holmes was a real person and lived at 221b Baker Street.
Finger Man was created by an American author called Raymond Chandler and starred a private detective by the name of Philip Marlowe. This fictional character appealed to a wide audience and was in most of Raymond Chandlers stories, eventually Hollywood used these stories and the character Philip Marlowe to create motion pictures.
In Silver Blaze Sherlock Holmes and his partner Dr Watson travel to Devon to uncover the kidnapping of a prize-winning horse. In this detective novel any clue will help towards the case and anybody having some relevance with the horse will be a suspect. In Silver Blaze the plot mainly revolves around a few individuals such as…. Whereas in finger man the story includes many characters who each play some small yet important part within the story. In Finger Man we see a tale of false framing on the main character Philip Marlowe who is set up by gangsters. It starts happening when he takes a job for a friend, but his friend dies and Marlowe becomes the prime suspect.
When I read both stories there were many differences in character between Sherlock Holmes and Philip Marlowe. Sherlock Holmes is a more thoughtful and clue based detective where as Philip Marlowe relies on tip-offs and violence to resolve a situation. Sherlock Holmes is a methodical detective and relies in his wits to solve a case whereas PM uses his instincts. Within Silver Blaze Sherlock Holmes has a partner called Watson, the story itself is narrated by Watson and told through his view. PM is a one-man army and doesn’t depend on anybody for assistance unless in dire circumstances.
The change in text and dialogue is clearly shown once reading both stories. Pre 20th century text is very descriptive which is used as a feature of Holmes personality. In Finger Man the dialogue is very abrupt and direct, which also constructs an image of the stories setting and the characters persona.
The dialogue and narrative probably the clearest and most noticed contrast between both stories.
In the story Silver Blaze, the narrator is Dr. Watson who tells the events within the story as he interprets it. Although this story is written in first person, the first person isn’t the main character. Watson describes the moment tells the reader about the surroundings, the mood and anticipating thoughts from Watson. Due to Watson’s sideline he is always telling us Holmes’ expressions trying to give understand what he is thinking. It is because Holmes is not the narrator that we do not find out what he is thinking at the moment, the reader finds out when Watson finds out. This is because as Sherlock Holmes discovers information, or forms a theory, Dr. Watson only finds out what Holmes knows when Holmes tells Watson, consequently to this, you as a reader will always have restricted access to the thoughts of Holmes and what’s happening in the story.
In Finger Man the narrator is Phillip Marlow, the difference being that in this story he’s the main character of the story, so the reader experiences what he does and knows where his is going or what he is thinking. In a certain view you are interacting with the character and are told everything during the moment. It gives the reader a feeling of trust between you and the narrator (Phillip Marlow), this adds to the enjoyment of the story. Unlike Silver Blaze where the narrator isn’t the main character, where Holmes does most of the thinking, and the only purpose of Watson is to record what Holmes is doing. Finger man is in a completely different to Silver Blaze in terms of narrative style.
These two stories differ in plot as well. Silver blaze is much more straightforward; there’s an introduction, middle and end. It’s set out very simply you are given all the information “on a plate”, where as in Finger man, the action starts from the beginning. You start right in the middle of all the action when you start reading. Finger Man has many twist and turns, but Silver Blaze is just one straight line, where all the information comes together with an unpredictable ending.
Sherlock Holmes and Phillip Marlow are very different characters. Holmes is intelligent, analytical, methodical and private. Marlow also speaks his mind, but he’s more ruthless, independent, a risk taker, and very streetwise.
Holmes and Marlow are very intelligent, and always solve the case, but they solve them in very different ways. Holmes uses his mental/intellectual strength. He’s very calm, but tackles his problem with mental skills and will only resort to violence if it necessary. Marlow is an opposite. He takes risks that he has studied and thought about considerably before acting on it, but occasionally he acts on instinct making his behaviour unpredictable. Holmes is polite and sticks to the rules of the law. Holmes also can’t resist explaining things, and he only speaks when he’s ready, but when he speaks, he makes a long explanation. Marlow’s conversations are fast, brief, and to the point. He speaks what is on his mind and doesn’t care what other people think. Marlow seems more like a “tough guy”, than a calm, composed detective like Holmes. Bending the rules is one thing Marlow doesn’t really mind doing, he’ll do what he has to do, to solve the case. If it means hitting another person, or shooting someone, he’ll do it.
The setting within the stories suggest stereotypical views of the surroundings and atmosphere giving the reader a whereabouts and extra dimension to the story. In Silver Blaze I imagined a dreary setting in the countryside, where it rains often and there isn’t much form of transportation or communication. In Finger Man I in vision open top cars at daytime with the hot sun, but in the evening it is raining giving an eerie sense of things taking place.
“…our rate at present is fifty three and a half miles an hour. The telegraph posts upon this line are 60 yards apart, and the calculation is a simple one…”
