Final Post of Blog

In this post, I'm going to organize the topics that I want to talk about in my paper.
So my essential question was "Why is the character of Sherlock Holmes so compelling? Why has it stood the test of time? How have more contemporary authors changed the character and why?"

I now understand why Holmes is so compelling. First of all, he is very intelligent and can solve any case that he attempts. From what I've read, he's never not finished a case. He uses deductive reasoning and he can interpret situations with only a small amount of evidence. In addition, he can be a ruthless interrogator, but he can also be a humble and benevolent host. He seems to dislike people with inferior minds. In Beekeeper's Apprentice, the author put Holmes up against a female who had the same intuitive mind as he did. The author showed that Holmes can also be a fatherly figure when many readers thought he couldn't be one. Holmes is also a man of duty and adheres to his job at all costs. Another contemporary author, such as Donald Thomas, reveals other qualities of Holmes. Holmes can decode messages and he was almost executed. In addition, the author incorporates new technological advances into Holmes's story. I might add more later, but this is it for now.

The Case of the Peasenhall Murder (post 2)

The investigation begins with the questioning of the people were near the scene of the crime. There's a little competition between Lestrade and Holmes. Lestrade and the Scotland Yard have already interrogated everyone, but Holmes believes that everyone has more to say. So, in the end Holmes does all the work and this shows how devoted he is to solving a crime. He says, "You see, my dear fellow? It seems they have not said all they have to say. I believe, Lestrade, this is another of our cases in which you and Scotland Yard will live to thank me for my assistance," (208). I guess Holmes does believe he is better than a group of detectives and it also shows his determination. He doesn't give and believes there is more evidence.

When Holmes and Watson examine the kitchen where Rose was murdered, Holmes like literally yells at Watson to get him to see the point. It seems like Watson is a burden to Holmes. Probably without Watson, Holmes might be quicker in solving a case. He seems to hold Holmes back.

The Case of the Greek Key/The Case of the Peasenhall Murder (Post 1)

The Case of the Greek Key ends with the start of the war. The criminal behind the messages is tried and we see Holmes show a little sympathy. For example, he acts as a mediator and advises that Mr. Henshaw choose prison instead of death. He advises him that serving time in prison will eventually allow him to be free whereas being hanged is the end of one's life. It was just surprising to see Holmes show some sympathy for his enemy. Holmes has been in the situation before (his execution) and he doesn't like the idea of being hanged.

In the Case of the Peasenhall Murder, a woman is murdered. The person who is accused is named Mr. Gardiner. In the beginning, we see that Holmes is again a man who's one hundred percent devoted to his work. Watson asks him to take a vacation, but Holmes refuses. He says taht some things are worth seeing, but not worth going to see because he says life is too short to do such things. We also see that Holmes despises religion. He knows that Mr. Gardiner is a man of religion and he emphasizes it. He knows that he is suspicious because of this fact. He is so suspicious because he claims that too many men of religion have committed murder.

A Look at Holmes's Image

Holmes is always seen as a man in a poncho almost cloak like apparel. He also wears a funny hat and has a pipe in his mouth and holds onto a magnifying glass. I don't see how this image seems to be associated with Holmes. From what I've read so far, he's only used a magnifying glass in two cases. I would imagine him to have more class and dress more elegantly, but then again he does get his hands dirty in his cases, so the fancy clothing wouldn't suit him. I can imagine him looking more like this:In this picture, he looks like a man of high class and one who has many connections. Here's another picture of him:

This is how he is usually portrayed when he's solving cases. Maybe it's the style of the 19th century. But all in all he's always holding the pipe. I guess that makes someone more intelligent looking than if he/she were to put on glasses. So whenever movie characters hold a pipe, such as an evil villain or something, I'd say they're refering to Holmes because Holmes always smokes a pipe while mulling over a case.

The Case of the Greek Key (Post 5)

So, WWI finally begins with the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The government keeps sending messages and documents to Holmes to decode. So, Holmes is basically just another weapon for the war. He's the only one who can break the code. Furthermore, Holmes actually has a master. Well, his master is one of the only people in the world who know the code of Linear B. Holmes finds out that a man named Dr. Gross also knows the code and is the one who is feeding the plans to the Germans. Here, we see that a war that takes place brings Holmes a case. I'm surprised that the government doesn't seek out Holmes's master, Strachan-Davidson, to break the naval code. So Holmes, stays up all night and studies Linear B from a book written by Sir Arthur Evans (he is another person who knows Linear B). The code is written in Linear B and Holmes is able to figure out what the messages say. To comment on Holmes's work rate, I kind of feel sorry for him because he always exerts so much of his mind and heart into a case, but he never gets any reward for it. Maybe the reason Holmes is so popular is because he doesn't work for money, he works because he loves the thrill of coming face to face with danger and finally figuring out a very difficult problem.

The Case of the Greek Key (Post 4)

I would also like to comment on how the development of technology is affecting Holmes. Since the war started, electricity is starting to be used. Holmes uses sulfuric acid to create a battery that powers a transmission device that jots down the signals that are intercepted from the naval code. He takes the print-outs and tries to decode them. But Holmes's enemies are also benefiting from technological advances. England has built a powerful warship and Germany has stolen the plans. Pretty soon, automobiles are going to be used more and Holmes might be involved in car chases. I'm pretty sure the machine gun has already been developed in this time period, so Holmes might come face to face with an enemy who does have one. In the previous books, Holmes had to rely on different methods to help him solve his cases. For example, Holmes employs the Baker Street Irregulars and uses a dog named Toby to obtain more evidence and track down crooks. Now technology is being advanced and it'll only further benefit Holmes as he'll probably track down his enemies much faster.

Also, I looked up Sherlock Holmes on Wikipedia. He isn't a real person, but he was based off of a man named Dr. Joseph Bell, whom Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had worked as a clerk at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Bell was able to make conclusions based on little evidence. He was also interested in crime and even helped the police solve some cases. What was funny is that many of the British believe that Holmes is an actual historical figure. Wikipedia claims that 58% of teens actually believe that he really did live at 221B Baker Street. Of course there is an actual musem in London on Baker Street, so maybe that confuses people. I just found this amusing and figured I share it.

The Case of the Greek Key (Post 3)

I would like to comment on the direction that the Holmes story is taking. Holmes is helping out the war effort instead of receiving cases to solve like in the first two books. It seems like the government is using Holmes as another weapon in the war (WWI, I think). Well, I learned from the Beekeeper's Apprentice that Holmes was a spy. But I didn't learn much about what he was spying on and for whom. Even in that book he received cases to solve. Now he is portrayed as a man leading the war effort, perhaps. Once Holmes breaks the code, England has a much better chance against the Germans.

In addition, Holmes seems to resemble Robert Langdon from The Davinci Code now. The First Sea Lord came back to Holmes with another type of code and Holmes says that the type of code dates back many centuries. Now he is like Langdon and has the knowledge of scripts and symbols. This just shows that Holmes has many abilities. All of which help him solve mysteries.