Another significant feature off ‘Hound of the Baskervilles’ is the use of atmospheric settings. The imagery used for Baskerville hall helps the reader to gain a better understanding of this novel. The Baskerville is a very spooky place as you can understand from this quotation, ‘The lodge was a ruin of black granite and barred ribs of rafters, but facing it was a new building, half constructed.’
Sherlock Holmes also spent time travelling back and forth from London to Dartmoor, in the novel Dartmoor is described as, ‘In the distance a grey, melancholy hill with a jagged summit, dim and vague like some fantastic landscape in a dream,’ this quotation gives the reader a good understanding of the setting of Dartmoor. In the novel the different settings have been described very well and gives the reader a good idea of what is going on.
Another feature of this novel is stock characters which are stereotypical characters. An example of this is Sherlock Holmes himself who can be described as, ‘He now took the stick from my hands and examined it for a few minutes with his eyes,’ this shows us that what sort of detection he is doing and how he goes about it, this is also useful to the reader to learn about his techniques and follow what he is doing. The reader might enjoy this book because they feel like they are helping Sherlock as his sidekick.
Another example of a stock character is the ‘damsel is distress’ who happens to be Mrs Stapleton. She is described as, ‘Mrs Stapleton was darker than any brunette woman whom I ever seen in England, slim elegant and tall,’ this describes Mrs Stapleton’s appearance. Another quotation that describes Mrs Stapleton voice is, ‘She spoke in a low, eager voice with a curious lisp.’ These quotations are very good example of describing Mrs Stapleton.
The final stock character would be the villain who happens to be Mr Stapleton, who is described as, ‘The cunning rascal,’ he is very devious and snide.
The concluding feature of this mysterious novel is the use of clever language which has built up a lot of suspense and tension. This has been created by the clever use of imagery, repetition and intellectual use of description. Imagery has engaged the reader to create a detailed picture in their mind and visualise the characters, setting and so fourth. As there were no films in the 70’s this novel written by Arthur Conan Doyle was a big success and was a very enjoyable novel, it was made up of many twists and turns which made it very interesting, it was also very adventurous also very mysterious which made it very interesting.
The best part of any of novel is the ending and this is no exception as Mr Stapleton gets sucked in into the quicksand as described in this quotation, ‘Somewhere in the heart of the Great Grimpen Mire, down in the foul slime of the huge morass which had sucked him in, this cold and cruel-hearted man is forever buried.’ This is a very clever quotation which tells us what has happened and what sort of character Mr Stapleton is. This is very surprising for the reader as is does not tell the reader if Mr Stapleton survived or died. This is a very well thought of cliff hanger which frustrates the reader.
I think this novel is a great for all types of readers, it really appeals to readers who like to think and solve mysteries. You never know what is going to happen next and I would recommend this book to everyone.
