The Beekeeper's Apprentice (post 2)

Chapter 1
Yeah, like I said I'm going to break down my discussion.

"The discovery of a sign of true intellect outside ourselves procures us something of the emotion Robinson Crusoe felt when he saw the imprint of a human foot on the sandy beach of his island," (King).

Mary Russell describes her early encounter with Holmes at the age of fifteen. She was reading a book and she bumped into Holmes. As usual, Holmes still looks down on people. He still has his "singularly condescending and irritating manner," (6). What was funny was that Russell was ready to fight Holmes because of his response. It'll be interesting to see Holmes's conflict with a young and pugnacious girl. In there encounter, Holmes was challenged because Russell was able to figure out Holmes's reason for lying in the hillside. She figured out that he was watching for bees in order to replenish his stock. She did this using the same deduction methods that Holmes has. So Holmes has met his match at last? Yes and no because her deduction isn't as sharp as Holmes and I'll explain this in the next post. After Russell figured out Holmes's plans, he replied, "My God it can think," (8). Yes, Holmes is still not fond of the weak minded. But, Russell snaps back, "My God, it can recognise another human being when it's hit over the head with one. And to think that I was raised to believe that old people had decent manners," (8). It is amusing to see the clash between Holmes and Russell because Russell is much more rebellious.

What angers Russell even more was that Holmes's deduction fails him. He calls her "young man." This just enrages Russell. But Holmes's shows a side that he didn't show in the previous books I read. He laughs at this and it shows that he's still a regular human being despite having his gift. He never laughed in the previous books. I guess old age seems to make people nicer since they know their lives are coming to an end. Another example is that Holmes seems to want to enjoy life more as he gets older. When he escorted Russell to his house for tea, he ran down a hill with full speed almost like a child would. Maybe he isn't what he used to be, a hard and unbreakable man who doesn't trust women. Someone who always keeps his defenses up. But he's still hospitable as he offers an invitation to Russell for tea at his house.

What's also intriguing is that Holmes has declined a right to knighthood previously. In addition, why would Holmes become a beekeeper? He's even turned to writing books.