Valley of Fear Chapters 1-4
I haven't read many mystery novels before, and I have never read a Sherlock Holmes book prior to opening Valley of Fear. I've heard of Sherlock Holmes but don't know much about him other than the fact that he is a detective, and a good one at that. With that in mind, I was quite excited to jump into a relatively new genre for myself with this book.
Doyle begins the story in the midst of a conversation between the main characters, Holmes and Watson. It quickly becomes evident that Holmes is Watson's superior (given how he corrects him and answers his questions), however, the dynamic between the two isn't fleshed out until later in the chapter. We are then introduced to Porlock by way of a message that he has sent to Holmes. Porlock is important, however, Holmes makes it clear that his importance is related to what he represents, rather than who he is. Next, we learn of Professor Moriarty, who is an intriguing character given the fact that he is successful on two fronts, both academically and criminally (though his criminal side is unbeknownst to the public eye), as well as the fact that he is quite wealthy despite making little as a professor.
Doyle then introduces the idea of a chain, which he references several times in the first four chapters. A chain exists beneath Professor Moriarty, and so far, the only weak link in the chain Holmes has discovered is Porlock (which is promising as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link). Holmes then tells Watson that Porlock, "Led on by some rudimentary aspirations towards right and encouraged by the judicious stimulation of an occasional ten-pound note...has once or twice given [him] advance information which has been of value" (175). This passage further represents the idea that Porlock is an important character not because of who he is, but for the information that he can provide given the chain that he is a part of.
The next few pages explore the dynamic that exists between Holmes and Watson as they attempt to decrypt a message without its cipher. I found the relationship between the two to be interesting as it seems likely that Holmes already knows the answers to his questions, yet he asks Watson to answer them. In some cases it seems as though Holmes just needs someone to bounce his ideas off of or think out loud to, but in the first chapter it mostly seems as though he's trying to guide Watson to the answer. For instance, Watson will suggest something, and if he's wrong, Holmes might respond with something like "Hardly that Watson"(177) or "Surely you do yourself an injustice" (177). When Watson guesses correctly, Holmes says something encouraging, almost like a teacher putting a star or sticker on a student's paper.
In the coming chapters we meet McDonald, Douglas and those in his home. MacDonald is a Scottish detective who is characterized in the dialogue through his accent. Douglas is an American who was recently murdered in a peculiar way. We learn that Douglas' house has a moat and drawbridge, making entering and exiting quite difficult. To make matters more interesting, the weapon of choice was a double barreled shotgun, built to completely obliterate its target. I thought that it was cool how Doyle builds the mystery, from Moriarty and the chain underneath him, to the scene and details of the crime, to the four detectives involved in the case.
Doyle begins the story in the midst of a conversation between the main characters, Holmes and Watson. It quickly becomes evident that Holmes is Watson's superior (given how he corrects him and answers his questions), however, the dynamic between the two isn't fleshed out until later in the chapter. We are then introduced to Porlock by way of a message that he has sent to Holmes. Porlock is important, however, Holmes makes it clear that his importance is related to what he represents, rather than who he is. Next, we learn of Professor Moriarty, who is an intriguing character given the fact that he is successful on two fronts, both academically and criminally (though his criminal side is unbeknownst to the public eye), as well as the fact that he is quite wealthy despite making little as a professor.
Doyle then introduces the idea of a chain, which he references several times in the first four chapters. A chain exists beneath Professor Moriarty, and so far, the only weak link in the chain Holmes has discovered is Porlock (which is promising as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link). Holmes then tells Watson that Porlock, "Led on by some rudimentary aspirations towards right and encouraged by the judicious stimulation of an occasional ten-pound note...has once or twice given [him] advance information which has been of value" (175). This passage further represents the idea that Porlock is an important character not because of who he is, but for the information that he can provide given the chain that he is a part of.
The next few pages explore the dynamic that exists between Holmes and Watson as they attempt to decrypt a message without its cipher. I found the relationship between the two to be interesting as it seems likely that Holmes already knows the answers to his questions, yet he asks Watson to answer them. In some cases it seems as though Holmes just needs someone to bounce his ideas off of or think out loud to, but in the first chapter it mostly seems as though he's trying to guide Watson to the answer. For instance, Watson will suggest something, and if he's wrong, Holmes might respond with something like "Hardly that Watson"(177) or "Surely you do yourself an injustice" (177). When Watson guesses correctly, Holmes says something encouraging, almost like a teacher putting a star or sticker on a student's paper.
In the coming chapters we meet McDonald, Douglas and those in his home. MacDonald is a Scottish detective who is characterized in the dialogue through his accent. Douglas is an American who was recently murdered in a peculiar way. We learn that Douglas' house has a moat and drawbridge, making entering and exiting quite difficult. To make matters more interesting, the weapon of choice was a double barreled shotgun, built to completely obliterate its target. I thought that it was cool how Doyle builds the mystery, from Moriarty and the chain underneath him, to the scene and details of the crime, to the four detectives involved in the case.
I also thought the dynamic between Watson and Holmes is interesting! It will be cool to see how it develops as they start unravelling the mystery. This is such a well-organized response, I can't wait to see your next responses and further thoughts!
ReplyDeleteIt does seem that Holmes almost just uses those around him in sorts of "social experiments" by just bouncing ideas off them and that is all.
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