The Man with the Twisted Lip, The Speckled Band, and The Six Napoleons by Sherlock Holmes

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The man with the twisted lip, The Speckled Band and The Six Napoleons

are three stories that show their popularity.

Sherlock Holmes Essay

Sherlock Holmes stories are still popular, “The man with the twisted

lip”,” The Speckled Band” and “The Six Napoleons” are three stories

that show their popularity. They are popular because there is an

element of competition between Sherlock Holmes and the reader. The

clues in the three stories are presented for the readers benefit.

Another reason why they are so popular is that the crimes are unusual

and challenging for both the reader and Sherlock Holmes.

The stories clearly show the bond and relationship between Holmes and

Watson, they show something of society and they challenge our

intelligence. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle writes the stories in a way that

challenges the reader’s intelligence and wills them to solve the clues

before Sherlock Holmes does. Dr Watson is there to ask the questions

that the reader cannot. The clues that Sherlock Holmes finds are not

ordinary clues; they are complex in the way that they are given to the

reader to make them think. A lot of red herrings are given to throw

the reader off the scent, which just makes them even more determined

to solve the crimes. Even when the clues are given, the reader cannot

determine the outcome. For example, in the “Speckled band”, Sherlock

Holmes finds a bell pull, which doesn’t work, and a ventilation hole

that goes through to the next bedroom (Lord Roylett’s).

The relationship between Holmes and Watson is another reason why they

are so popular. The two main characters compliment each other. In

the way that if Watson wasn’t there, there would be no Holmes, because

Watson asks the questions that don’t lead anywhere. In doing this

Sherlock Holmes is set out to be brilliant and very intelligent. This

is one of the key points about this relationship, that Watson is only

there to ask questions that the reader wants to know, but he is also

there to act like a responsible, ordinary, dependable person. This is

why it is such a good relationship. They are opposite to each other.

Society in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stories is very important. There is

a lot to learn about society in the “Speckled Band” and “The Man With

The Twisted Lip”.eg. The way the class system works including

importance amongst people and how technology was basic and limited.

In the “Speckled Band” the Roylett family had no money and yet their

status in society had stayed the same for years. Because of the

‘Royletts’ name, the people of the lower-class look up to them and the

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