Patel 1

Yesha Patel
Professor Lynda Hass
Writing 39B
27

July 2014
Sherlock Holmes: A Paradigm of Victorian Ideas for Growth and Development
During the late Victorian Era, the stories of Sherlock Holmes were a popular fiction
as it was abecame extremely popular; readers appreciated their concoction of blithe, witty,
and frisky moments combined along with the severe, dreadful, and human consequences of
crime. According to literary scholar Leroy Panek<<<good place to introduce the scholars,
and also the idea in this sentence came from him, not you, so you need to mention that, and
you need citation too<< Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created Sherlock Holmes as a fusion of
ideas from Poe, Gaboriau, and Collins but was mainly inspired by his professor Joseph Bell
(page number from Panek). Other scholars, such as George Dove and Jonathan McBratney
point out that the Holmes His stories arewere a reflection of the ideas of colonialism as well
as the ideas of power of observation and science of deduction, which were treasured by the
Victorians. The detective stories comprised of escapades, emotions, excellence, and glory as
mentioned in scholarly texts like Doyle, Racial and Criminal Types, and How To Think
Like Sherlock Holmes. <<take this sentence out (you should intro the titles as you start to
work with them instead) and replace it with a controlling idea statementsomething like:
Although the scholars focus on different aspects of the Holmes canon when explaining the
reason for their enduring popularity, they agree that Doyle created the foundational
conventions of the genre, and every writer since then has in some way followed his lead.
Patel 2
Holmes is a demonstration of the scientists of the Victorian era, as withespecially his
ability of deductions and scientific methods, he is able to solve mysteries.<<your topic
sentence here needs to again mention the scholars (keep making it clear that you are doing
a literature reviewyou are reviewing what the scholars have to say about your point
(which I think has something to do with the enduring popularity of the genre, right?) As
observed in The Sign of Four, Sherlock smells creosote and notices the footprint of the
killer. He uses the smell of creosote to locate the residence of the killers with the help of the
dog Toby. Holmes uses new scientific methods like in The Scandal of Bohemia, he uses a
method to decrease the rate of his pulse in order to be assisted by Irene Adler. Sherlock
uses his extensive knowledge of science by observing the area of the crime and deducing
possibilities to come to a conclusion and identify the killer. Also, we can infer that Sherlock
uses his observational skills to link crimes like that of Major Sholto and his son. He arrives
at a conclusion that the thorn was tipped with poison used in a blowpipe, which was the
reason for their death. There have been many observations like these, which represent the
ideas of progress and power of the Victorians. These scientific theories and equipment used
in Sherlocks stories represent the traits possessed by the real scientists and their methods
evident during the Victorian era and even today. <<this paragraph is all about examples
from the stories that illustrate Holmes use of science and scientific methods---how does it
tie in with what one of the scholars has written? That needs to be the leading idea in each
point, and then this kind of information from CD needs to be an example that illustrates
what the scholars say
The Victorian era readers were fascinated byis suffused with mysteries and crimes;
the to be solved by the inefficient police force within the stories is also a reflection of the
Patel 3
Victorian eras, which brings theleads the way for a brilliant consulting detectives as a
consultant to clarify theto solve the investigations. Panek illustrates Sherlock as an
assortment of the detective stories. He integrates his characterization of plots and
assistance from a narrator from Poe. Holmes is not romantically involved with females
which was a charming quality making him a serious detective. Detectives were exemplified
as Heroes as they rescued the investigations, which needed further attention. <<these
sentences dont really match up with the topic (Paneks point about ineffective police lead
to the need for a genius detective) Another unique quality of Holmes was that he was a
cogent genius. With hisHis massive knowledge based on science and human behavior
extends<<use present tense when referring to literary characters or ploted his crime
solving abilities. His power of observation, which is strongly reflected in all of Conan
Doyles works created Sherlock to deal with masterminds. According to Panek, th This
quality was inspired by Gaboriaus works (page number from Panek). Sherlock<<use last
name to refer to him, Holmes is described as a crime solving machine and bloodhound
or tracker due to his accuracy in mathematical derivations and logic. Holmes method of
taking disguises to investigate crimes was a hike to his skill. The theme of mastermind
criminals like professor Moriarty was inherited from Collins. Sherlock is depicted as hero,
who stakes his life to bring about a revolution in criminal world, to the Victorians, like that
noticed in The Final Problem. Doyles exclusive contribution derived from Joe Bell, who
used observation and deductions to understand his patients by glancing at them was a
fascinating skill instilled in the character of Sherlock Holmes. This skill separated him from
other fictional detectives, which is one of the major reasons for his success. This paragraph
was making sense at firstI thought you were going to develop the point about Holmes as
Patel 4
a genius, but then it went in many other directions and I became confused. I dont know
which scholars you are using here (Panek, but who else?) and there is no conversation or
synthesis in your review
Another Victorian perception manifested in Conan Doyles works was the concept of
Colonialism over Indians. In The Sign of Four, we observe that the Indians were not given
a high rank in the army, which constituted power. They were denigrated as shallow by
involving them in crimes like burglary. In the scholarly text, Racial and Criminal Types:
Indian Ethnography and Sir Arthur Conan Doyles The Sign Of Four, McBratney draws our
attention towards the extreme ideas of the Andaman tribe, as stated fierce, morose and
intractable while they were merry, talkative, petulant, inquisitive, and restless. He
mentioned that Tonga used the pipe to blow a thorn tipped with poison even though they
didnt possess poison. Conan Doyle considers that they were born to be hostile but the
actual reason for their hostility was due to the invasion of the Victorian intruders. In the
story The Sign of Four, Major Sholto is characterized as a selfish man, who betrays his
fellow mates to acquire the treasure. This acts as a mirror image of the ideas of Victorians
by the Indians.<<again, this point needs to have more than one scholar, and they need to
then be put into conversation
Sherlock Holmes thought process was a provoking epiphany, which captivated the
middle class of Victorians. The difference in the systems of judgment are described by
Maria Konnikova provides a further insight on his character. She reveals them as two
systems: Watson system and Sherlock System. . Watson system is the normal human
psychological thinking, which lacks curiosity, motivation, limited knowledge, and simple
ignorance to observations while Sherlock system is an analytical, conscious, and
Patel 5
relatively rational. The difference in the two systems is not only an additional effort of
being observant and aware of the surroundings, but also staying ignorant towards the
daily inspections of our lives with no sense of motivation. The incompetent police forces
of Victorians are represented by Watson system as they lack the abilities, which are
advertised by Sherlock. These indications help the readers construct an image of the
government and their extent of accuracy. <Not sure how this fits into what you are
writing aboutconsider deleting
The stories of Sherlock Holmes did not only represent an appearance of the
Victorian authorities but also constructed an inspiration for the audience to bring about a
revolutionary change in the method and system of their rule. It validates the immense
power withhold during the Victorian era and the system of organization. Sherlock
Holmes is not only a character but a vision, for an effective functioning of the human
mind, which can be acquired by additional effort to achieve greater power and command
in order for success, growth and development.
Hi Yesha,
I think you have a good start here, but its a little confused and needs some work as far as
main idea and structure. I think you should stick with the two sub-points you introduce in
the first paragraph: some scholars (like Panek) focus on how the Holmes stories were
based on the literature that came before them (Poe, etc) and others focus on how the
stories reflect the imperial attitudes of Victorian England, but they all agree that the
combination of elements Doyle put together created a lasting foundation for the detective
Patel 6
genre. Then you have those two main points to develop---in each one, you need to have at
least 2 scholars in the point, and have them converse
Works Cited:
Konnikova, Maria. Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes. New York:
Viking, 2013. Print.

Conan Doyle, Arthur. The Sign of the Four. Seattle: Amazon Digital Services, 2013.
Kindle eBook. Online.

Panek, Leroy. An Introduction to the Detective Story. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling
Green State University Popular Press, 1987. Print.

McBratney, John, Racial and Criminal Types: Indian Ethnography and Sir Arthur Conan
Doyles The Sign Of Four.