Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's - Sherlock HolmesEnglish Coursework

Daniel Alford 11FA

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s - Sherlock Holmes

English Coursework

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a writer in the 19th century. He was a medical doctor and an author.

He wrote several stories about a private amateur detective called Sherlock Holmes. The stories were very popular in Victorian Britain and still are today.

He was a very good detective and always saw that criminals were punished one way or another.

But Sherlock Holmes does have his own bad points, he does smoke and he does take a number of drugs, this is important because he is catching criminals who are doing the same thing.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories were published in magazines, The Victorians took a liking to these stories, the poor people could buy them, and what happened in them (the just and fair endings) were exactly what the audience want to happen. The audience are surrounded in crime, they don’t feel that justice is always served, but in these stories it is always.

The stories are still very popular today, they have been made into TV dramas and are still broadcasted quite frequently.

Even though a more modern audience still enjoy the stories, the same impact/effect does not take place on them, even though the justice carried out pleases them, the audience cannot relate to the time of place it is carried out.

This is because it is set over a hundred years ago, a lot has changed in 1 century, fashion, building and roads, these small things make the story how it is.

Because all theses things are so different now, the stories seem almost set in a different world.

The two main reasons that the stories are still popular today is because justice is carried out and Sherlock Holmes is an appealing character with appealing features. For instance he has this bad side (drugs etc), in modern society a bit of a bad boy is considered to be ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

This is because it is set over a hundred years ago, a lot has changed in 1 century, fashion, building and roads, these small things make the story how it is.

Because all theses things are so different now, the stories seem almost set in a different world.

Dr Watson is a medical doctor, He is an intelligent man although Sherlock Holmes intelligence seems superior in any case that needs solving. Dr Watson does not pick up on clues as quickly as Holmes, even though he too is an intelligent man.

Watson is also a caring character, he always makes sure victims are looked after and are ok. For instance he makes sure Helen Stoner is definitely ok at the end of The Speckled Band.

No matter what the situation, Dr Watson is always on the case, this is because he is bored of his medical practice.

He is willing to do as Holmes asks, for instance the long periods of silence. This is because he respects him, and he respects what he needs to do.

He is also very good friends with Holmes, he can have a laugh with him, talk about ‘old times’ confidently.

Besides all this, he looks up to Holmes, he wants to follow in his footsteps in a way, he wants to do as Holmes does. He wants this, even though he knows he is inferior and not as intelligent.

Another way Dr Watson pursues Holmes is when he talks to other people about him. He makes Holmes seem mysterious and great.

The way Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has made Dr Watson speak is also quite interesting. He makes Dr Watson the narrator, this is an interesting thing to do as he is very much part of the story he is telling.

Everything he sees/observes he describes to us with the details we need to know. He always describes everything in the order that they happened.

The other interesting point is that when he is describing a situation sometimes the story will jump to the situation it self, and Dr Watson would be asking a question. This is an interesting way to break up the narrative, and makes the story more interesting.

He also in general uses poetic and elevated language in the way that he converses with Holmes and describes places.

When people use the term ‘side-kick’, it is usually somebody’s assistant, they usually do the jobs the ‘main’ person does not want to do. They are also not as important. Dr Watson is Holmes’ side-kick.

We never realise the whole case or see every clue. This is because we only see/hear what Dr Watson does.

Holmes’ intelligence can be almost sarcastic at points, for instance asking Dr Watson a question which he knows he wont know the answer to, even though he knows the answer him self.

Or if something is mentioned, he will occasionally answer in a foran language, the phrase may not be difficult but it makes him look good.

Although it could also be said he asks Watson questions to open a conversation in which he can explain something or share his findings and theories.

Dr Watson does not approve of such things as drugs, he does not like the fact that Holmes takes drugs such as heroin, but when you look at their relationship it doesn’t seem to matter, also Dr Watson can see so many positive things about Holmes, such as intelligence it seems to make up for his bad habits/addictions.

He also wants women to be treated well and equally. He does all he can to make sure this happens to the women he meets/deals with.

Dr Watson lets the audience see the plastic (wealthy and healthy) Victorian Britain, with the posh people, posh housing and cushy life styles. But he also lets us see the regular life in Britain at the time, this includes poor people, drug addicts and murder. These things are set in the dark alleys, dens and dingy side-streets.

The conditions are not very good, and would have been a real eye-opener to many wealthy people.

All in all Dr Watson is a vital character to the Sherlock Holmes stories, he is the informer of the audience, he knows as much as we do so he is almost part of the audience through out the story. He makes Sherlock Holmes look good due to his inferior intelligence.

He is a fantastic character and has made Sherlock Holmes what he is today!