“He chuckled and wriggled in his seat as was
his habit in high spirits.”
This was his reaction in the ‘Red-Headed League’ to the case, as he knows it will be interesting and shows an almost child-like excitement.
He uses his own method whenever he has the opportunity and uses his brain as often as he can.
“Our Rate is presently 53½ mph”
He works this out just to pass the time; it has no affect on the case and it purely for fun. Also in the ‘Red-Headed League’ He gives Jabez Wilson a very in-depth biography of him that he deduces by observation. He does not miss anything when solving cases because he has this quality.
As well as being a very logical and numerical man he has a passion for the arts. Watson described his as being an “enthusiastic musician, himself being not only a very capable performer, but a composer of no ordinary merit” So we know that he is not just intelligent but artistic as well. In ‘Violinland’ as he calls it, his dual personality comes into play. He is no longer the clue-hunting sleuth, he is calm and collected and moves along with music.
His intellectual and detective abilities outmatch those of Scotland Yard. For example in ‘The Silver Blaze’ the inspector believed Fitzroy Simpson guilty of killing John Straker, yet Sherlock Holmes manages to prove them wrong but solving that it was actually ‘Silver Blaze’ itself.
Holmes lives with Watson alone. This is unusual for a man in Victorian times, as they would usually have been married. It is believed that he chose to live like that so he can fulfil what he wants without the distraction of a wife. Also, as Watson is his only companion he probably lives him so he doesn’t have to live alone.
Holmes follows a certain set of rules, those in which he thinks are morally sound, which may or may not run in accordance with the law. For example, he does not report Dr. Roylott’s killing of his Stepdaughter and attempted murder of the other. He does not report this as he is dead and cannot now get punished, also it meant Helen Stoner was safe from him now and all reporting it would do would give Helen publicity that she didn’t want or need. Also in ‘Silver Blaze’ he does not report the concealment of the horse as it was returned as promised. He makes his own judgement and believes in natural justice.
Watson is Holmes’s only friend and is his chronicler to his weird and wonderful deeds. He is a doctor, and so he also must be very intelligent. His intelligence though is overshadowed each time by Holmes though. This is to show how much more intelligent Holmes of over the average man. He is also the stereotype of a gentleman of the age. So he is a representation of all gentlemen to compare Holmes too.
He is modest and brave and also goes to crimes with Holmes.
‘I shall want you help tonight’ ‘At what time?’
‘Ten will be early enough’ ‘I’ll be at Baker street at 10’
‘Very well. And, I say, Doctor! There may be some little
danger, so kindly bring you army revolver in you pocket.’
This conversation between Holmes and Watson shows that as he goes to all the crime scenes Holmes now expects him to go and Watson doesn’t object even if it sounds as if it is going to be dangerous. This shows he is loyal to Holmes and will go out of his way to help him, which shows he is kind-natured.
In the Sherlock Holmes stories there isn’t really stereotype of a villain or victim. They are as varied in manner and personality as the cases themselves.
In the ‘Red-Headed League,’ the villain in and infamous evil genius called John Clay. A very well educated son of a Duke, having attended the greatest English schools and has even caught Sherlock Holmes out. He is also very snobby, even after he was arrested.
Jabez Wilson was the victim in this story seems quite clueless and not all that bright and easily fooled. It does not seem as though he understands what he helped to uncover by him checking up on where the ‘Red-Headed League’ went. He is also very impressed.
In the ‘Speckled Band.’ The villain is Dr Grimsby Roylott, a burley man who had aggressive, violent and even murderous tendencies. His appearance was very stereotypical of a criminal in the Victorian period. He killed his servant whilst living in India. He killed one of his Stepdaughters and attempted to kill his other just to get more money.
The victim in this story is Helen Stoner, whose twin sister was murdered and was nearly murdered herself. She came to Holmes and she started to hear the same low him as her sister had told her about before she died. She is still in mourning from her sister’s death and so dressed all in black with a black veil.
In the ‘Silver Blaze’ there was not a villain as such, the horse itself committed the murder. The horse only killed John Straker as self-defence as he tried to put him out of play. So John Straker, although was killed was still the villain. We know that he is sneaky and untrustworthy.
The victims were both John Straker as he was killed and Colonel Ross as his horse was stolen. He only went to see Holmes as a last resort and believed, as he was not in the police, he was therefore not as capable or reliable.
The structure of the stories stays very constant. You are introduced to the crime and new characters, this is the exposition, and Holmes then has a ‘thinking period’. We are then given clues and Red Herrings. Finally, all is revealed in the denouement.
The exposition is the beginning of a story. Characters are introduced and you find out what has happened up until that point. In these stories the case is presented to Holmes, he then follows by making a hypothesis using what he has found out from his interview. His hypothesis isn’t actually revealed, encase his suspicions are false. Arthur Conan Doyle doesn’t reveal his hypothesis as it lets the reader think of their own ideas and also keep them interested. As if you knew who did the crime at the beginning then it would make the whole ‘who dunnit’ aspect void. Instead it is revealed slowly throughout the book.
He requires thinking about it.
“This is quite a three pipe problem”
This shows him working at his hypothesis by thinking over the facts and trying to draw some conclusions from them.
The next stage of the stories is always the development of plot. This is the part where he goes to the place where it happened in order to test out what he suspects and also to look for new clues. In the ‘Red-Headed League’ he goes to Jabez Wilson’s pawnbrokers to try and see what he thinks should be there, is there. Also to look for more eventualities for the facts he knows and the new clues he discovers.
In the ‘Speckled Band’ he goes to the Roylott house and looks around Helens room in order to discover how she could have been in danger. The difference with this story is that his hypothesis was incorrect and he discovers this when he there. We know this as he suspects that gypsies broke in and killed her, but when he is there he discovers that this would be impossible. This is why this section is vital to Holmes exploration.
In the ‘Silver Blaze’ he goes to the stables where Silver Blaze was kept. He, by this time has suspicion of what has happened so he looks out for things.
“I cannot think how I came to overlook that.” “It was invisible,
buried in the sand, I only found it because I was looking for it.”
This shows he already has a good idea about what is going on in the beginning. He was looking for it, as he needed to see whether his suspicions were correct. He had to look for something to confirm his ideas in his hypothesis.
All three of the books that I read and also the others are all littered with clues and hints for both Holmes to pick up and the reader to have a go themselves. Some clues are obvious and others are subtler.
For example, in the ‘Speckled Band’ you get a few clues to suspect Dr. Grimsby Roylott as not only is his manner criminal, we know that he will loose money if the Stoner women get married and as soon as Helen’s sister gets engaged she is killed.
“The total income, which at the time of the wife’s death was
little short of £1100, is now through fall of agricultural prices
not more that £750. Each daughter can claim an income of
£250 when they marry, reducing this beauty to a mere pittance,
while even one of them would cripple him to a certain extent.”
This shows that he really would not want them to get married. So this makes him suspicious as we know that Helen has just got engaged and she is hearing the noises that he sister did just before she died. But there are less subtle clues as to how he proposes on doing so. We know that the bell-pull isn’t attached to anything and is just a hole in the ceiling. Also, that there is a vent between the rooms and a saucer of milk outside a locked safe, and the Dr. has a habit of collecting exotic animals. In retrospect, you can see that they are clues that a snake is killing them. To solve this as you are reading though would require Holmes-like deductive skills.
As well as clues there are Red Herrings also. A Red Herring is a misleading clue. It seem as though it is helping you forward in discovering it, but actually it is leading you in a completely wrong direction.
The largest Red Herring is probably the ‘Red-Headed League’. When we don’t know anything about it we believe it to have deep and sinister ulterior motives. But it is actually just a made-up company to cover up for John Clay and his friends to dig the tunnel to the bank.
Also throughout many Sherlock Holmes books there are many Red Herrings that are gypsies. In the ‘Silver Blaze’ Colonel Ross believes them responsible for stealing Silver Blaze. Also in the ‘Speckled Band’ even Sherlock Holmes suspects them. This shows that there was much prejudice against gypsies at that time to enable so much unjustified suspicion in so many different stories.
The last part of every one of the Sherlock Holmes books is the denouement. This is where everything is tied up and is made sense from; it is when the person who is responsible is named and Holmes unveils how he solved it. Everything is explained and all the little clues that are put in fit together.
In the denouement of the ‘Speckled Band’ we discover how the horse actually murdered John Straker.
“The real murderer is right behind you!” “The horse!”
We also learn why the horse did it. We discover that John Straker attempted to put him out of play by making a non-noticeable incision into the muscle making it unable for it to run. This explains why there was a surgical knife at the scene of the crime, and the candle, as he needed light to conduct the operation. We learn this in the denouement.
Also in the ‘Red-Headed League’, we learn at the end that the league was only there to get Jabez Wilson out of the pawnbrokers so John Clay could dig a tunnel to the bank to steal the French gold that was worth millions. We discovered that John Clay had everyday gone into the cellar and dug a tunnel under the pretence that he was developing photos. When we discover this we know that he had dirty knees that would have been a result of digging, also that the bank is opposite.
The denouement of a crime-fiction story is one of the most important as it rounds off the entire story. We get to see how Sherlock solved it, it lets the reader see how it’s done. Also it gives a sense of satisfaction as the case is solved and over. If the entire of the plot weren’t resolved then readers would become irritated and want to read how it ended.
The Sherlock Holmes books were set in the Victorian period. The Victorian times were very strict. A time of law obeying and anything less was seen as immoral and disgraceful. It was a time when nothing was allowed and ‘stiff upper lip’ was very much in play.
Even though the current monarch was a women, there was still a great gender gap, women were seen as having lesser intelligence and vulnerable. This is seen in the Sherlock Holmes stories. For example in the ‘Speckled Band’ Helen is the victim in the story. She comes to Sherlock although does not seem to suspect her Stepfather at all even though there is lots of evidence pointing to him. She is very much seen as vulnerable as someone is going to try and kill her.
The clothes worn at the time were very different to what they are now. In the ‘Red-Headed League’ we are described what Jabez Wilson is wearing in depth.
“He wore rather baggy grey shepherd’s check trousers, a not
over-clean black frock coat, unbuttoned at the top , and a drab
waistcoat with a heavy brassy Albert chain, and a square pierced
bit of metal dangling down as an ornament. A frayed top-hat, and a
faded brown overcoat with a wrinkled velvet collar lay on the chair
beside him.’
There are various items of clothes in this quote that show clothes of the age. For example, frock coat, this is a suit style coat with tails. These are not worn everyday now and are usually reserved for special occasions such as weddings. Also he wore an Albert chain, which would have been attached to a fob watch, which many people don’t wear any more as there are wristwatches. He also has a top hat, which are rarely just worn out. And an overcoat is quite self-explanatory, it is a thicker coat to wear over your suit when you go outside.
Another character that shows the dress of the time is Helen Stoner. She wears all black, which was traditional at the time, except with a veil. At the time when a woman was in mourning she wore a veil, Helen was wearing one, as she was still mourning from her sister’s death. The Victorians were in mourning for a long time, we know that Helen’s sister died 2 years ago, although this isn’t that long as the Queen Victoria was in mourning for 50 years!
Another reference to the time is the type of transport that they take. They didn’t have cars back then so they travelled by either horse-drawn carriages, in the form of Hanson cabs and dogcarts, the other alternative was the train. We don’t have the first two any more in wide circulation, a Hanson cab was more enclosed and a dogcart had no roof and was more open.
There are many references to historical events throughout all of the books. When the stories were written and set, Britain was still in charge of a very vast commonwealth, the largest in the world. We owned Canada, Australia, India, Mongolia, Shanghai region of China, Hong Kong, also a vast majority of Africa, to name a few. Britain owned the most land across the world at that time so on an Atlas the majority of it would have been coloured in red, Britain’s representing colour. By being in control of so many places did, in accordance, take in a lot of the culture that land had to offer. If anyone wanted to take up a job in one of the countries in the commonwealth, no extra checks would have to be made as they were regarded as an extension of Britain. It was equivalent to someone who lived in Cardiff getting a job in Manchester.
We see this in the ‘Speckled Band’ as we know that Dr. Grimsby Roylott used to have a job in India. He used to be a doctor in India until he murdered his native servant and so had to return to escape punishment for it. We also learn that when he was over there he developed an obsession with Indian animals. We know that he has a cheetah and a baboon that he lets run around his large estate.
The language used through the stories is very archaic. It is very of the period to speak formally to everyone, even your closest friends. They all spoke the Queen’s English. They also always addressed others as Sir and Madam at all occasions in respect of the other person.
“I am all attention, madam”
This shows the manners of the time and the constant showing of your credibility. The archaic language used is, in some cases not used anymore, and other used for different purposes.
“Very sorry to knock you up, Watson”
This is an example of words not used. This is almost a current version of colloquialism. He has said knock you up instead of wake. This could also be because he did physically knock the door. This expression is not used anymore and so it is archaic.
In conclusion I have explained what the key features that are in the early crime fiction genre. There is always an exposition, a development of plot, clues, red herrings, and a denouement. Also how Conan Doyle has all of these present in each of his Sherlock Holmes stories. We are always first presented with a case and also Holmes thinks it over. In each story he goes the scene and searches for proof and more clues. There are always clue and also red herrings. And each of the stories is rounded off in the denouement and offers closure to the books.