 Ben Hank

 There is absolutely no series like Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes is the crime- mystery starring Mr. Sherlock Holmes; a London based detective, working out of Scotland Yard. Along with Holmes was Dr. John H. Watson. In all twenty three years of his practice as a detective, Watson was along for seventeen years. These two used a very original way of solving cases. Holmes was known for using what is known as adductive reasoning to solve his cases. When combined, their minds were like no other! Holmes and Watson were also known to go incognito on cases. The duo was known to do whatever it took to get the case solved! These two were featured in over fifty books, as well as narratives. Of all Sherlock Holmes stories, I found A Scandal in Bohemia and The Sign of the Four to be my favorite. I came to like these because of the ever twisting plot, and the puzzling characters. Without this series, there would be no foundations for shows like CSI and NCIS, who could imagine such a world!

 The outset of the story really intrigued me. It starts off with none other than Sherlock Holmes, injecting cocaine into his arm. Watson begins to explain how he has watched Holmes do cocaine for months on end. Eventually, Watson confronts him about it and Holmes claims that it is nothing but a mind stimulant! As the plot progresses a woman by the name of Mary Morstan comes to Holmes and Watson with a rather unusual case. Morstan has received a package of pearls at her place of work. The sender is anonymous. Morstan claimed that it could not be her father, since he had disappeared under unusual circumstances. Morstan reveals to Holmes that she got a letter asking to rendezvous.

 While on the way there, Morstan explains that her father, and his friend, Major Sholto, were convict guards at Andaman Islands. After that she pulls out a strange piece of paper with a map of sorts that has four crosses on it. The paper reads “The Sign of the Four”. Once they reach the rendezvous point, Holmes, Watson and Mortan are escorted to the home of Thaddeus Sholto. There they discover twin brothers, Thaddeus and Bartholomew Sholto. These were the only children of Major Sholto. Thaddeus explains that while in India, his father and Morstan’s father stumbled upon a large sum of treasure, which they contacted Ms. Morstan to split their share. After this, Mortan, Holmes, and Watson proceed to meet the twins at a lodge. Upon arrival, they find Bartholomew, shot dead. Along with his body was a note saying how the sign of the four was taken. After an investigation Holmes finds that it was a joint effort, comprised of a man with a wooden leg, and an agile individual. Soon after, Athenely Jones, a police officer arrives and arrests Bartholomew for the murder of his own brother. Holmes tries to give Jones a description of the real perpetrator (Jonothan Small), but he is dismissive. Jones comes to Baker Street for help on the case, for he is having trouble.

 That night, Holmes works with police in finding the Aurora, Jonothan Small’s boat. When spotted, the boat is ransacked and Jonothan Small is captured. Along with that, his aborigine accomplice is shot dead. We find that there was no treasure aboard the Aurora. It turns out that Small cooperated with Mr. Morstan and Major Sholto while they were his guards when he was in prison. If they would get Small and his three comrades out in prison, they were in store for a share of the treasure that they supposedly had. So Sholto took the map and cheated everyone out of the treasure. In order to get it back, small had his friend Tonga kill Bartholomew and obtain the map. The police eventually finish up the case, and Watson Marries Mary Morstan!

 There are several literary devices used in the Sherlock Holmes series. Doyle liked to use a lot of foreshadowing in his works. Foreshadowing is to “show or indicate beforehand” ( Just like in The Sign of the Four when Holmes said this about cocaine, “Would You Care to Try It?” (The Sign of the Four 2). This was foreshadowing Holmes’ remarks in the end of the book when he offered Watson some, and he once again turned it down! In some sense all of Holmes’ cases deal with some foreshadowing. Like when we were introduced to Major Sholto in The Sign of the Four. It turned out he was a guard at the same prison as Mr. Morstan, and he even swindled him for the treasure! Another example of foreshadowing is the clues that the perpetrators leave behind. Like the scent that Jonothan Small left behind that eventually lead to his capturing. Foreshadowing is very important to this series because it allows the plot to develop.

 Conflict, is “to come into collision or disagreement; be contradictory, at variance, or in opposition” ( Conflict is important to Sherlock Holmes in several ways. For example, without conflict, there would never be Sherlock Holmes. Holmes’ clients always come to him with a conflict in which he has to resolve. One direct example is when Watson finds Holmes in a drug den. “Holmes! What On Earth Are You Doing In This Den?” (The Man with the Twisted Lip 106). This slight remark creates a conflict between the two and they begin to have words with each other. My personal favorite example of conflict in Sherlock Holmes is between Major Sholto and Small. Sholto tried to cheat Small for his treasure! This conflict is the spark that ignites the plot! Even though the reader doesn’t know it until the end, this was the reason Bartholomew was murdered! The Speckled Band has lots of good examples as well. For example, the father in the story creates conflict by killing the first girl and attempting to kill the second one. Without conflict, these stories wouldn’t be near as interesting or addicting!

 Characterization is also used in Sherlock Holmes. It is defined as “the creation and convincing representation of fictitious characters” ( This is used when Doyle introduces the character who comes to Holmes and Watson with an intricate description of what they look like and a brief history of their life. Like in The Copper Beeches when Doyle described Miss Hunter as someone who was “Plainly but Neatly Dressed, With a Bright Face” (The Copper Beeches 235).Or like when he characterized Mrs. Rucastle in The Copper Beeches as someone who “Is Colorless in Mind As Well As feature” (The Copper Beeches 244). Without characterization, the reader would have no mental picture of the characters they are reading about.

 Murder Most  Oxford Books of Prose  Mammoth Anthologie  Isaac Asimov's Magical Worlds of Fantasy  Story Library  Professor Challenger  Fontana  Books of Great Horror Stories

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