Arthur Conan Doyle reveals Holmes Essay

Examine how Arthur Conan Doyle reveals Holmes character and his relationship with the police. Sherlock Holmes was created by Conan-Doyle in 1887. When Arthur Conan-Doyle’s character, Sherlock Holmes surfaced, London in the era of Queen Victoria was an intriguing place to live. At this time, Victorian people feared crime greatly due to the prostitution, drug abuse but mainly an infamous murderer, Jack the ripper. This brutal murderer was loose on the streets of London attacking vulnerable women savagely with a sharp, long-bladed weapon, this panicked many women due to the fact that the police’s methods were seen as inefficient; therefore would rarely solve the cases by catching the ruthless villains. Many Victorians had little if no faith for the police in London, as they did not appear to be protecting the public. On the other hand, Holmes, who is an excellent detective, is well known for his use of logic and observational understanding to unravel complicated cases. He described himself as a ‘consulting detective’ an expert who is brought in to cases that have proven too difficult for other investigators; we are told that he is often able to solve a problem without leaving his home. This is prodigious as Holmes was actually an amateur detective, not a member of the London police force. The purpose of this essay is therefore to show Holmes character and his relationship with the police. In some cases Holmes breaks the law, in others he does not. One example of when he doesn’t is in Silver Blaze; Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson pay a visit to their old friends the Baskervilles and find themselves in the middle of a mystery involving a missing horse and its dead trainer. Doyle reveals through his writing that Holmes’s character is very egotistical. This is shown many times throughout the story:† I follow my own methods and tell as much or as little as I choose. † Here, Holmes is being very demanding showing that he does not have much respect for other people; this is very shocking as Watson is not only a companion but most importantly a friend too. I think Doyle does this to ensure Holmes is referred to as a very dominant character in addition to being arrogant and making people feel small and unimportant. Doyle through his use of language creates Holmes’s character to have a greater intelligence over the police. Doyle uses sarcasm to show this: â€Å"Inspector Gregory, to whom the case has been committed, is a very competent officer, were he but gifted with the imagination he might rise to great heights during his profession. † This also shows that Holmes has no faith in the inspector in solving the case as Doyle uses the word ‘might’ to show the sarcasm therefore implying that he has no hope for the police in cracking the mystery. This same egotistical behavior towards the police is also repeated later on when Holme’s says â€Å"See the value of imagination; it is the one quality which Gregory lacks. † As this is repeated in his writing it reveals that Doyle is trying to emphasize Holmes’s views of the police as being incompetent. Furthermore, Holmes relationship with the police is very argumentative. Holmes is always mocking the police by acting witty. This is shown when Holmes says† The inspector here has done all that he could possibly be suggested; but I wish to leave no stone unturned in trying to avenge poor Straker, and in recovering my horse. † Doyle uses this sarcastic language to reveal Holmes true disrespectful manner and arrogance towards the police. In addition to that Holmes finds great pleasure in finding the clues way before the police are anywhere near. When the inspector says â€Å"I cannot think how I came to overlook it,† Holmes replies â€Å"I only saw it because I was looking for it! † Doyle, with the use of that language implies that Holmes was actually observing the murder scene, whereas the inspector did not think to do that. To Holmes, using his logic and observational understanding is general common sense, this is one of the reasons how Holmes makes the detectives feel incapable of their job in which they specialize in.