Valley of Fear Chapters 1-4
Sherlock Holmes is known by many as being the world's greatest detective and this illustrate in the brief reading in the Valley of Fear. Holmes is a very meticulous thinker who also thinks of a secondary option and even third option before submitting his opinion. This "second-guessing" allows Holmes to make an informed decision based on what evidence has been presented to him in the crime scene. The decision making that Holmes is known for is illustrated in the first chapter in The Warning. Holmes is sent a mysterious letter by someone named Fred Porlock. At first Holmes is unsure of what the letter is trying to tell him and lets Watson give ideas until Holmes and Watson both realize the solution. This happens when Watson suggests that the code on the note is from the Almanac and immediately they grab the most recent copy of the Almanac. While Watson is stumped by the information that the new almanac provided was not helpful and couldn't move beyond that thought. Holmes though is able to think beyond the box and realize that even though is not screaming at him, he has think about the situation from different possible angles. Sherlock surprises Watson by retrieving the second-newest edition of the Almanac and is able to garner the information necessary to kick start their investigation.
The dynamic between Holmes and people surrounding him is a very peculiar way to interact with people trying to help him. He constantly forces Watson to ascertain the information himself which can be demonstrated as either being a good or bad teaching method. While on the on hand, it allows Watson to become an independent thinker who can collect information vital to the case and allow Holmes to not have a heavy-burden of solving the case on his own. But the other side cold side that Holmes is annoying Dr. Watson by constantly burdening him with figuring out a problem that Holmes could figure out himself. While Holmes is challenging to Watson and MacDonald, he is a good listener who gives his whole attention to the person's story so he can ascertain the information needed to come up with a conclusion.
The best part of the book so far is the way that information is presented. There is long stretches within the chapters where expository information is laid out for the reader and Holmes to simultaneously reach a solution to the problem. Doyle was masterful this as he would present information that would be hard to explain how the characters received it without explicitly stating in the passages, but instead he uses it as witness testimony while White Mason is talking to Holmes and how the servants of the house perceived the events.
I definitely agree with you about the importance of the expository sections, especially since the minute details of the location are becoming more and more important as Holmes progresses through this case. Those sections read like a case report, allowing the reader to be in a detective's shoes as they sift through what details are important and what aren't. Overall, Doyle does an amazing job incorporating the reader into the mystery: the deductions made in real-time with conversational dialogue give the reader be unique opportunity to follow the logic themselves and create their own theories. Furthermore, the conversations between Holmes and the inspectors exposes readers to the pros and cons of each potential theory, giving them the opportunity to revise their assumptions and 'play the detective'.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what you said about Holmes' characterization. I never noticed that Holmes consistently asks other people for their opinions before coming up with his own. I think this makes him a little more likable, since he's not the kind of person who always has to butt in with something in order to sound like he's trying to be smart; Holmes is the real deal. I think the presentation of several different opinions is also a way for Doyle to add more mystery to the novel. It presents the readers with situations that they can consider, then reveals what's wrong or what's right with each theory, allowing us to go through the deduction process step by step alongside the characters.
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