The Roles of Sherlock Holmes in The Speckled Band and The Cardboard Box

Examining the roles of Sherlock Holmes in two short stories. ‘The

Speckled Band’ and ‘The Cardboard Box.’

I am going to compare both ‘The Speckled Band’ and ‘ The Cardboard

Box’ which are Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle.

‘A Study in Scarlet’ was Arthur Conan Doyle’s first novel, introducing both characters Holmes and Watson and including how they met. ‘A study in Scarlet’ was written in three weeks in 1886 and published in 1887.

A.C. Doyle based Sherlock Holmes on Dr Joseph Bell, a surgeon and teacher he had studied with while attending Edinburgh University. Sir

Henry Littlejohn, who taught forensic medicine to Doyle also made a large impression and contributed to the development of Holmes’s character. Dr John Watson a fellow Southsea doctor who served time in

Manchuria received the honour of having Holmes’s partner named after him. The Strand Newspaper newly founded in 1890 published a series of short stories called ‘The adventures of Sherlock Holmes.’ From that point on the public could not get enough of Holmes and his always reliable, confident, John H Watson, a retired military doctor.

Sherlock Holmes was one of the first fictional detectives ever created. By 1893 Doyle had tired of Holmes in ‘The Final Problem.’ In the story Holmes meets Moriarty at the fall of the Reichenbach in

Switzerland and disappears. However public demand brought the return of Holmes with stories appearing until 1927. A C Doyle gave Sherlock

Holmes 221B Baker Street as his address in the stories which actually is a real address and is still visited by tourists today.

Sherlock Holmes has a unique way of solving the crimes. He seems to spot things that others miss “Brown paper with a distinct smell of coffee.” No one apart from Holmes has yet noticed this, not even

Watson. Holmes has excellent observation skills “You have been cruelly used said Holmes. The lady coloured deeply and covered her injured wrist.” Holmes is always looking for clues to unravel the mysteries.

“… A portrait group of three ladies upon the mantelpiece. …Others are so exceedingly like you that there could be no doubt of the relationship” here Holmes had observed that the people in the portrait could be family members making this Miss Cushing the wrong Cushing family member.

In these short stories about Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle tries to get across the fact that Holmes is better at solving hard mystery crimes. Holmes came to hear about the cases many ways one of which is through the Police. When the Police get a case they cannot solve they go to Holmes for help. “..Our friend Lestrade.