Sherlock Essay
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Explore A.C.Doyles use of setting in at least three of his Sherlock Holmes mystery stories.
This essay will be exploring setting used in the speckled band, silver blaze and The Final problem. These three detective stories are all Sherlock Homes novels.
In the speckled band setting is first used at Sherlock homes house to make it feel relaxed and a safe atmosphere. Then it moves out to a big house stoke Moran which is in the countryside which is away from London and Sherlocks house which makes it uneasy and dangerous.
The silver blaze uses setting in the countryside again with a big house and a dark night to increase tension and suspense. “Especially in so sparsely inhabited a place as the north of Dartmoor.” This is saying how Dartmoor is desolate and people could get away with murder or other crimes out in the wilderness. This setting is linked to the speckled band as they are both set at a big house in the middle of no-where.
In the final problem it is first set in the house of Dr Watson but Sherlock is scared which makes the whole of London in fear. Then later on it moves to a train on the way to Switzerland. They are travelling away as Professor Moriarty a criminal mastermind knows that Sherlock has got evidence to send him to prison so he wants Sherlock dead. The setting in this is completely different from the other two as it shows London as unsafe. This will be because Sherlock is scared for his life so he wont be able to solve any more crimes I London. Towards the end it sets at a waterfall which is supposed to be peaceful but isnt as it is where Sherlock dies.
The history of when Sherlock was published is very important because the cities were seen as false and thief ridden, whereas in Arthur Conan Doyle stories London is shown as safe and secure, this is where Sherlock lives. The countryside is shown in the novels as insecure and a fearful place. Sherlock makes the people feel welcome and warm when they enter his house “I am glad to see that Mrs Hudson has had the sense to light a fire” this shows a sense of security and warmth in his house. The countryside in the books is where all the murders are because Sherlock doesnt live there to solve the crimes. In 1886 Prostitution, drug abuse and murder were common on the slums of London streets. Smog caused by the factories covered the cities like a blanket causing darkness.
In Speckled band Sherlock gets woken up early one morning with a case on his hands. A lady thinks that someone is trying to kill her, after her sister died a few years. Sherlock goes to her house and looks in her room for clues, later that night the lady signals to him to go over, they go into the step fathers room and find him dead with the snake on his lap. They realise the step father let the snake kill the sister and was planning to kill her to get the inheritance. “He had died within seconds of being bitten.” this is the point when they find Dr Roylott dead, then they realise what happened and Sherlock now explains what happened.
Medias res is used this is where a crime or incident has happened in the past. When the sister died a few years before she went to see Sherlock homes, this is Medias res.
Also Denouement is used in most of Sherlocks stories as well as this one – speckled band. Denouement is when Sherlock homes tells the reader how he came to his conclusion and how he solved the crime. This is linked to setting as it takes place when they are travelling back to London and is show as safe. “I had come to an entirely erroneous conclusion which showsД This is at the end of the story when the crime has been solved and Sherlock tells the reader and Dr Watson how he came to solving the crime.
There are other devices that are used, Red herrings this is something that puts you of the scent of the crime. Ones that are used in speckled band are the gypsies Setting is used here as the gypsies are set into the setting because it says that the gypsies are always in the bottom of the garden. ” Ðwere gypsies in the plantation at the time? ÐYes there are always some there. ” The title Speckled band is linked to gypsies which makes you suspect them as they are always there.
Another one that is used is the animals that Dr Roylott collected when he went on his travels around the Africa this is linked to setting because the animals are a part of the setting and make the whole place seem Creepy.
In this story the country side is shown as a dark place where bad things happen and London is safe and fright free.
One of Arthur Conan Doyle books that is about Sherlock is the sliver Blaze in it he gets called up to some stables where he finds out an award winning horse has been kidnapped. Late one night when the house maid was taking supper to the stable boy, a man wanted to see the horse. The stable boy got angry and went to get the dogs but the man had gone. “He sprang up and rushed across the stable to unloose the dog.” The next day they found out that the trainer of the horse dead on the moors, the horse was