Sherlock Holmes- The Detective Character (INFLUENCES CASE STUDY)

  Within this project, I am being challenged by playing the family-friendly tour guide for the primary school exclusive show of this years ‘Ghost Light Tour’ project; named Ineda Clue- an expansion on the common caricature of classical detective characters. These style of characters, especially Clue’s inspiration, roots from the infamous Arthur Conan Doyle character Sherlock Holmes- arguably the most influential detective character of the past century; within this piece of writing, I would like to investigate Sherlock Holmes influence of modern culture, to further understand his influence on my character.

  Sherlock Holmes- the iconic literacy detective- was first written into the world through the medium of a short story published in a Christmas annual from the year 1887: ‘A Study In Scarlet’. This novella would set the tone of upcoming full length novels that Arthur Conan Doyle would go on to produce and write further based of the inclinations of Sherlock Holmes and his assistant, Dr John Watson; by using these, at the time, realistic characters who somehow also manage to mould a new, modernised view on the protagonists of all detective and murder mystery media, alongside this novella’s layout through writing structure, a new standard was created, through this singular work- despite this being popularised by later works within Arthur Conan Doyle’s career (the initial release of this novella was not popular, being poorly received, until republished into a traditional novella later in 1888). Arthur Conan Doyle, being 27 at the time, had already gained experience in writing short form stories fit to be digested by the typical magazine consumer, such as the renowned magazine of the time- London Society- at fought to get this novella published; after numerous rejections, ‘A Study In Scarlet’ was finally published, paying £25 to Arthur Conan Doyle for full rights (despite him upholding his offer on basis of royalties). Whilst public interest at the time wasn’t heightened, this novella is the predecessor to the infamous ‘The Sign of Four’, which would publish three years later, in 1890- ‘A Study In Scarlet’ is a necessity to implement the foundations of this influential literacy character.

  Events of ‘A Study In Scarlet’ are seemingly axed into two distinctive halves, however the main focus fixated on the journeys of both Holmes and Watson within the first act of the novella; the second act focused on the act of Mormonism and how that links to the wrongdoings that the criminal and villain of the story committed, with the last two chapters of the novella centring itself on the two protagonists once again to conclude their investigation; the first half being titled ‘Being A Reprint From the Reminisces of John Watson, M.D., Late of the Army Medical Department’. This novella, much like every book within the series of Holmes novels, is narrated by his associate and college, John Watson, which is done to utilise the humanity of Holmes himself; how someone can see the marvels of his methods, whilst also picking apart his flaws in intellectual ‘perfection’. Holmes and Watson are described to have met through the means of a mutual friend in 1881, as well as their partnership strengthening through the gruelling events within the beginning of the novella and onwards; a corpse was found in a derelict house within the outskirts of London- accompanied by a word, etched into the wall with blood: ‘RACHE’. This story sets the formula for Holmes’ methods- whilst no two are an exact carbon copy of another (each scenario is situational)- they outstretched a foundation to the seemingly obscure yet tactical investigation Holmes carries out. Within this issue, this includes planting an advertisement for a wedding ring, having somebody come forward for it, then essentially stalking the disguised criminal- as well as luring the criminal by using his taxi service, in order to reprimand him. Whilst Holmes takes no credit for his partaking within the solving of the crime, he successfully manages to amicably resolve the case when normal police forces could not- which may be the draw to the stereotype of the detective character; they’re seen as an all knowing charming force on both the civilian and legal side of the investigation- they make no enemies, and are seen as driven to the task at hand, even to a fault (especially Holmes himself), whilst also having humanity within them. On surface levels, the caricature that Holmes had created through his own personality seems like a blank slate, much like a monotonous robot with endless seeds of knowledge, yet once you look beneath the surface, it’s his more humane qualities that led him to be so successful and received well publicly- his refusal to stop his development on a task, his inability to socialise on a one to one level in intimate moments- all these traits make him human, a relatable figure in some aspects, yet not so relatable that he just seems common; he can still maintain his distance from non-fiction without becoming satirical. These characteristics are the fundamental essence on why Holmes works, and can always be developed upon- this being evident in over a century of relevance and influence.