Sherlock Holmes: Holmes at his Finest

7/27/2019 Sherlock Holmes: Holmes at his Finest

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Zelma Alarcon

Professor Matthew Harrison

Writing 39B

27 July 2014

Detective Character Traits: Holmes at his Finest

In a world where emerging human technology and social composition were rising, Doyle

created one of the most masterful characters of the era, and marked the real beginning of the

detective story [that] [presents] real difficulties of the time (Panek 79). The creation of such a

masterful character was due to the new configuration of experience [that] was shaped by a large

number of factors, which were clearly dependent on the change in production marked by the

Industrial Revolution (Gunning 15). This rapid change also brought transformation to daily life

due to the growth of capitalism, urban growth, and advances in technology during the Victorian

Era. By developing a detective that is always mathematically correct and precise, Doyle

presented the world with the first crime-solving machine,an actual instrument of detection

(Panek 81). All throughout Doyles stories, he demonstrates Holmes powers of observation and

analytical skills, -which are the driving forces of a great detective and role model; numerous

texts display that Holmescharacteristics are what make the detective genre (Panek 84). Holmes

constant outlandish and magical assertions, which he explains as a simple routine is nothing

more than the forwarding thinking of an emergent class, a symbol (Panek 84). In many of

Doyles stories Holmes is presented as anti-social and superior, which demonstrated the growth

of knowledge within the middle. Holmes is a common man that is intellectually superior to any


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authority figure within Doyles story, for example, when the police ask for Holmes help on a

case or collecting carcasses for experiments as presented in the story A Study in Scarlet.

As indicated in another excerpt of the Theory and Practice of Classic Detective,

Delamater, Jerome and Ruth Prigozy state that Holmes was a popular detective during his time

and was a great factor in the cultural significance as society was gradually changing (1). In the

Victorian Era, society and technology began to expand and new ideas were created; notions such

as one can create solutions to problems, that man can create new means of bettering himself and

their environment (Oshkosh 1). Holmes actually represented that change because the middle

class man was now shown as more than a mere factor in society. He [helped reassure [society]

in the belief that the universe, underneath it all is rational despite of the disordered world they

lived in (Prigozy 1). Unlike Binyon, the Prigozy excerpt states that Holmes is eccentric and is

even characterized by Watson as emotionless, unable to love, [and] [possesses] a cold and

detached mind which again indicates his characteristics as someone not easily swayed by

emotion. Holmess knowledge is also another factor that is considered eccentric because he

demonstrates vast knowledge of chemistry, poisons, and sensational literature, but he refuses

to attain insignificant knowledge of the world around him (Prigozy 22). By throwing away the

clutter in his brain attic he is creating space for what is needed and not over doing it with

useless information that doesnt pertain to him, (Prigozy 22). This idea of de-cluttering is what

makes him a great detective and brings about his unique style; Holmes provides the [perfect]

prototype for the British ratiocinative detectives approach (Prigozy 22). This approach is his

own style and characteristic of a detective; Holmes unique contribution to the ultimate detective

is well known, but like Holmes stated, once you eliminated theimpossible, whatever remains,

however improbable, must be true (Prigozy 22). His approach of deduction is by far the most


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distinct in history and as stated before he has broken the mold with his supernatural power of

detection [which] make him so extraordinary (Mc Bratney 161).

Through Conan Doyles many stories, he places distinctive character traits of a detective

such as in The Sign of Four. Sherlock Holmes was Conan Doyles creation of a perfective

authority figure because he was steadfast,honest, [and] trustworthy (Doyle 83). Holmes

always used logic and deduction to solve his mysteries which aided in his success as a detective;

it was thought that a detective should gain success through his knowledge and mind during this

time and not just by sheer luck, as mentioned by Leroy Panek (Panek 3). Holmes demonstrates

his skills of deduction in crime scenes such as in the story Sign of the Four, written by

Doyle, where he is with Watson inspecting the crime scene murder of Sholto. Holmes tells

Watson to sit in corner before his footprints complicate matters and the police arrive.Holmes

forward thinking that all must be captured before the evidence with tampered with reflects the

advancement in photography, or at least its importance. Doyle portrays Holmes as a man that is

constantly led by logic rather than by emotion, mainly because emotion would make his

judgment biased as opposed to fair (Doyle 2179). The path that led Doyle to create Sherlock

Holmess characteristics was mainly due to the time frame he was living in and the ideas

borrowed from Edgar A. Poes techniqueswhich brought on the thought as police versus the

amateur, the detectives conceit; who was a symbol of the common man and gain of power

through knowledge (Panek 80).

InHow to Think Like Sherlock Holmes,Maria Konnikova explains Holmess character in

a way that standardizes him as a common man that has tapped into his full potential of logic and

mindfulness (Konnikova 4). Holmes, a common man with stupendous knowledge, is human and


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has felt emotions such as, annoyance, anger, chagrins and hes a person able to admire a worthy

adversary (Binyon 10). Sherlock Holmes unique character allows him to see beyond the

average mind. Konnikova makes a contrast between seeing and observing, which is something

that Holmes is automated to do unconsciously (Konnikova 2). The major factor that makes

Sherlock Holmes a great detective is his unprecedented way of thinking, and if used in common

day, he would make a great role model for how we can think better than we do as a matter of

course (Konnikova 12). One way that Maria Konnikova, as mentioned in her article,

characterizes Holmes thinking is his skepticism and his inquisitiveness toward the world

(Konnikova 17). This in an overall summation leads to the many great qualities of Holmes as

model.

In a different article called "Murder Will Out: The Detective in Fiction,"written by T.J.

Binyon, Binyon explains furthermore that Doyle [had] taken the abstract idea of the detective

provided by Poe, and [had] fleshed out both the main figure and his surroundings(9). He goes

more into detail, stating that without Watson in Holmes' adventures, there would be no

credibility because Watson is the bridge between the average man and Holmes (Binyon 10). Yet

even though Doyle hadnt wanted to make Holmes an emotional character because it would

make his judgment biased, he gradually did include certain traits to make him more human

(Binyon 10). Yet what Doyle hadnt realized is that he had contradicted his original idea of

Holmes. He created a Holmes that was proud, [an] alienated hero, superior to and isolated from

the rest of humanity; who alleviates the deadly boredom of existence with injections of cocaine

and morphine (Binyon 10). Not only does he demonstrate Sherlock Holmes isolation from the

rest of the world so that his judgmentmay not be biased, but by doing so he has made Holmes

vulnerable to human faults. This of course is not the emblematic figure that is considered a role


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model for society, but it does make him appear more real to the reader just like how Watson

helps him bridge a connection as well. See, by creating Holmes to be more in touch with his

feelings, he can connect more with the reader and his character traits are more approachable and

empathetic. Like T.J. Binyon stated in his articleMurder Will Out: The Detective in Fiction,

Holmes is the greatest of them all, and certainly the best known. He has given society its

popular image of a detectiveyet, paradoxically, he is at the same time unique; his creation

broke the mold (Binyon 11). His creation did indeed break the mold and it also led to different

views about the topic.

Sherlock Holmes has proven to be the last and highest court of appeal in detection

during his time (Doyle 787). All through Doyles numerous stories about Sherlock Holmes,

Doyle constantly displays Holmes as the ultimate establishment figure (Amazon Digital

Services 87) as mentioned before. In the Holmes timeline, it is clear to see the gradual change

that he has taken in and exerted. In Doyles short stories such as A Scandal in Bohemia

Holmes reiterates that theorizing before one has data can be a grave mistake because then one

can twist fact to fit what one thinks instead of the theories fitting into the facts that are displayed

in the case (Doyle 3). Holmes demonstrates to society that in order to apply deduction one must

observe and not just see because there is an obvious distinction between the two (Doyle 3). With

a role model like Holmes, it is easily to understand that anyone can try to achieve such

perfection because it is like any other [art], the Science of Deduction and Analysis [can] only

be acquired by long and patient study; unfortunately life is not long enough to reach the highest

perfection, as stated in A Study In Scarlet (Doyle 11). Even with his human faults, Holmes is a

symbol for striving perfection and continues to mold our society today.


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Work Cited:

Binyon, T.J. "Murder Will Out": The Detective in Fiction. Oxford: Oxford

University Press, 1989. Print.

Conan Doyle, Arthur. The Sign of the Four. Seattle: Amazon Digital Services,

2013. Kindle eBook. Online.

Delamater, Jerome and Ruth Prigozy, eds. Theory and Practice of Classic

Detective Fiction.New York: Praeger, 1997. Print.

Doyle, Arthur Conan. "Lit2Go."Adventure 6: "The Man with the Twisted

LipFlorida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education,

University of South Florida, 2006. Web. 24 July 2014.

Doyle, Arthur Conan. "A Study In Scarlet." The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Study In Scarlet,

by Arthur Conan Doyle. Roger Squires, and David Widger, 12 July 2008. Web. 27 July

2014.

Konnikova, Maria.Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes.New York:

Viking, 2013. Print.


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McBratney, John. Racial and Criminal Types: Indian Ethnography and Sir

Arthur Conan DoylesThe Sign of Four.Victorian Literature and

Culture 33:1 (2005): 149-167. JSTOR. Web. 01/15/2014.

Oshkosh. "Victorian England." Victorian England. University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, n.d. Web.

26 July 2014.

Panek, Leroy.An Introduction to the Detective Story. Bowling Green, OH:

Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1987. Print.

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Sherlock Holmes: Holmes at his Finest