The character of Sherlock Holmes is a strange one, who always manages to impress you with his great intelligence and ability to think out side the box. He is shown to be very observant by noticing small details about people:
“The left arm of your jacket is spattered with mud in no less than several places…There is no vehicle save a dog cart which throw up mud that way, and only when you sit on the left hand side of the driver.”
The way he takes in each small detail of a person or object shows to assist him in solving his difficult and extraordinary cases. Holmes attention to detail is used to amaze a reader as usually the things he points out are things that you would not usually even think about to take notice of, such as that the lady had sat on the left hand side of the dogcart.
Sherlock Holmes is also shown to be a strange man in the way that whenever he has a case to solve, he refuses to sleep but instead spends his night sitting smoking on the floor, going over and over the facts and evidence in his head until he eventually works out what has happened, usually at some early hour of the morning:
“He took off his coat and waist coat, put on a large blue dressing-gown,
and then wandered about the room collecting pillows from his bed,
and the cushions from the sofa and armchairs….upon which he perched
himself cross-legged, with an ounce of shag tobacco and a box of matches.”
In this scene Sherlock Holmes shows that he is a man who enjoys comfort and freedom, this is demonstrated by the fact he wears a large blue dressing gown, and sits himself up on a large pile of cushions and pillows. The fact he is shown to be very used to having the finer things in life shows that he is most likely to be a wealthy man, who grew up in a privileged family. For people who grew up in a not so privileged family they may enjoy reading these books, as to gain an idea of what it is like to live an upper class life.
In “The Man With The Twisted Lip” Sherlock Holmes is found in an opium den, this was a very strange place to find him, and when Watson, notices him, you begin to question in your mind, as to weather he really is a respectable character, or whether its Watson who has got it wrong, as traditionally an opium den was used by the lower class, rougher characters. It is the unexpected twists in the stories that have helped to grip readers and sustain the popularity of the stories over the many years.
“As it seemed to me at the time, though the future only
could show how strange it was to be.”
The majority of Sherlock Holmes stories are narrated by Dr Watson. Dr Watson aspires to become like Sherlock Holmes, and admires his great intelligence. The fact that Watson seems Sherlock as a hero means the audience sees Sherlock in the same way, thorough Watson’s eyes. Hero’s, villains and criminals have always interested readers and audiences because they are aspects of life that they do not personally experience. This means that Conan Doyle’s stories seem more appealing, as they venture in to the mystery and danger that you would never personally experience, such as:-
“We must sit without light….Do not go asleep;
your very life may depend upon it”
This quote shows the kinds of dangers Sherlock gets himself involved with. At this current point in time they have climbed through a window into a room in which a young girl died, and are waiting to see what happens. This in its self is a very strange act and something that most people would not dream of. At the time of reading this, it appears to be a completely irrational and unnecessary task to take out, but still keeps a great interest from any reader who becomes eager to find out what Sherlock and Watson discover from their strange activities.
Sherlock Holmes stories are all based in Victorian times, when living conditions were much different from current times, and therefore these stories also give an audience historical information, about items such as clothes, travel, food and interests. Just the historical information is enough to interest a lot of readers, and give them a valid reason to go ahead and seek out these stories.
“A good drive in a dogcart, along heavy roads.”
This gives evidence of travel and vehicles, which are no longer available to the public.
“A lady dressed in black and heavily veiled”
This gives us an idea of clothing that people may wear during everyday business, whereas in the current day, no women wear veils other than at weddings and possibly funerals.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories of Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson have managed to maintain an interest for readers for centuries and I believe that they will continue to do so, due to the fact that they include so much mystery and suspense, as well as historical evidence. This large mixture of qualities enables the stories to interest a wide range of readers, and undoubtedly the infamous name of Sherlock Holmes will also help the stories to be just as popular during the next century.
Emily Minett
