Sir Arthur Conan Doyle takes Mr. Holmes and Dr. Watson on yet another wild ride of murder, greed, and consequences in The Hound of the Baskervilles. They will test their limits and face their fears by tracking down a legendary killer. The men will push themselves to the limits to try and spare Sir Henry’s life. Throughout the book, the theme of greed as a powerful motivator is explored by showing it's horrid consequences in the character's painful repercussions. Due to Hugo Baskerville's uncontrollable cupidity, it cost both him and his maiden's lives. Sir Hugo was known for being wild, profane, and uncontrollable. One night, he became greedy and kidnapped a maiden, then locked her up in a cage. He had a party to celebrate getting the maiden, and he was heavily intoxicated. Naturally, he decided to show off his maiden to his friends. Hugo found that she has escaped from her holding spot, and he decided to go look for her. One of his more inebriated acquaintances had the bright idea …show more content…
to set the deadly Hellhound on the gruesome mission to find herm because Hugo was determined to have his maiden killed. His avarice for the maiden is heavily portrayed in the quote, "-to his captive. And so [Sir Hugo] found the cage [holding the kidnapped maiden] empty and the bird escaped. Then, as it would seem, he became as one that hath a devil… A while the revellers stood...at the fury of the man, one...more drunken than the rest, cried out that they should put the hounds upon her." (8). When Sir Hugo realized his kidnapped maiden had fled, he made a deal with the devil and set his hounds loose on her. cost him both he and his maiden's lives. The hellhound killed both Sir Hugo and his maiden on it's grotesque commission. This shows just how horrific the ramifications of expansive greed can be. To add on, Barrymore greedily kept crucial information about Sir Charles’ death so he could later manipulate Holmes and Watson in his favor.
When Holmes and Watson first came to Dartmoor, England, to keep an eye on Sir Henry, they asked Mr. Barrymore what he knew about why Sir Charles was out walking that late. Mr. Barrymore simply said that he was just on his nightly stroll, much the same as every other day in the quote "...should've said it before... I [Barrymore] know why he [Sir Charles] was at the gate at that hour," (75-76) makes the Holmes suspicious of Barrymore because earlier in the book, he said Sir Charles was at the gate because he was on his nightly excursion, just like every other night. However, Barrymore lied, by omission, about the letter he found burned.He never told Holmes and Watson why Sir Charles was out that late. Afterwards, Mr. Barrymore asked them for help, so it became obvious that he kept the information so he could use the investigators at a later
date. Beyond that, Stapleton's greed made him willing to murder someone for money and real estate. Stapleton wrongly believed he was the next inherent of Baskerville Hall and Sir Charles's wealth. Stapleton mistook Sir Charles for the last of the Baskerville kin and knew about his weak heart, so he sacred him to death. However, his plan backfired; "...Stapleton's attempt [of murder] upon Sir Henry... which ended in the death of a... convict did not help us [Watson and Holmes] in proving murder..." (123). In the end, Stapleton’s overwhelming edacity caused him to have the feeling that he must take someone else’s life to get what he wanted. Altogether, the idea that covetousness is a powerful motivator is displayed in the book by showing the character's repercussions and just how painful they can be. Sometimes, the consequences never seem to cease, as in both Sir Hugo and Stapleton’s experiences. Just as Erich Fromm said, "Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction."
Sources exhibit examples of greed that result in impoverished conditions for all circumstances of life. Greed is evident through the actions of social groups, and at the individual level. Selfishness would not benefit the good in life if it is expected to gain and not be expected to lose. Gluttony is evident in today's social environment just as much as it was years ago, whether it be using someone for self purpose, exploitation, damaging relationships, creating wars and oppression, destroying nature, countless other evils and many live without the necessities that we take for granted.
And even though Candide is the main character, Voltaire uses more than him to show the faults of human beings by using Lady Cunegonde and other people to visualize the chaos of lust. Throughout the entire story, lust raises its disgusting head again and again, driven by man’s desire for woman. Lady Cunegonde is a symbol of beauty within this book who by the end, becomes ruined and twisted by man’s flaws. A “six-foot Bulgar” (Voltaire 34) rapes her, she is sought after by “the Inquisitor, who loves [her] dearly” (Voltaire 35) and “Don Issachar” (Voltaire 34). These men all see her as an object to appease their lust. Voltaire use of these scenes, especially Lady Cunegonde’s, show the lust of man and how it damages the people that come into contact with it. Unfortunately, lust brought about another trouble to the world, syphilis. Voltaire mentions this downfall to expand upon the point that lust is a terrible flaw of Humanity that causes suffering where ever it is. This suffering is shown in Pangloss, who gets the disease from the maid and “[loses] only an eye and an ear” (Voltaire 27). If Pangloss had not lusted after a woman, he would not have ended up another victim to syphilis, one of lust’s many hard consequences. Even Lady Cunegonde’s old maid is treated like an item and ruined by the lust of man. She was the “daughter of Pope Urban X and the Princess of Palestrina” (Voltaire 42), the most beautiful
The aspect of greed shows itself as the heart of the many immoral acts committed by fictional characters and real people. From Adam and Eve’s betrayal to Macbeth’s collapse portrays what greed can produce as a result: destruction. Whether it destroys one’s health, it inherently portrays as a force to the path of corruption. The Pardoner, from The Canterbury Tales, defines greed’s purpose. This includes how greed pulls them to degeneration. No matter how subtle the fall, it still brings to distasteful events for the characters from The Importance of Being Earnest. Although the characters differ, their obsessions with their immoral acts decline their personalities. Thus, the authors portray the characters’ greed, as a pernicious force that drives
This paper will explore the relationship between Sherlock Holmes and his companion and friend Dr. John Watson. What is the relationship between Holmes and Watson? Are they compatible or are their differences to great for them to overcome. Looking at how they work together will also be a key factor in how well the relationship works between the two of them. Do their own interests and abilities get in the way? Does the time period in which they live factor into the environment of their communication styles?
For Sherlock Holmes, his partner in crime is Dr. John H. Watson. Not only is he a trusted friend, but also he is Holmes’ associate and the first person narrator of the Sherlock tales. The stories of Sherlock Holmes are a collection of short stories and fictional novels created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. These stories are based on a famous and most notorious detective all throughout London, Sherlock Holmes. Along his side, Dr. Watson narrates his and Holmes’ detective cases and reveals Sherlock’s abilities and knowledge of solving cases and fighting deadly crimes. For the duration of the stories, Watson and Holmes share a particular relationship where Holmes verbally dominates Watson, “You see, but you do not observe. The distinction is very clear” (Doyle 241). When he isn’t insulting Dr. Watson he talks about how much he relies on his partner, “I am lost without my Boswell” (Doyle 243).
The aim of this somewhat ambitiously titled paper is to use Marxist literary criticism to understand the literary merits of the Sherlock Holmes series, given its historical location and specificity. The idea is to analyse Holmes’ ‘Victorian-ness’ and place it in the socio-economic framework of that era. Special attention has been paid to character interaction and Holmes’ reaction to the dominant class and vocational ideologies (the word is used here in its Marxist sense) of his day.
In the novel, The Hound of the Baskervilles, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick, Dr. Watson, is confronted with an eerie mystery situated around the fabled Hound of the Baskervilles. They are challenged with many risks and in the end must unearth the mystery before it is too late. Throughout the enigma, Sir Arthur explores the theme of what can happen when one does or does not let themselves be ruled and dominated by fear.
Comment on the way Conan Doyle uses the character of Watson in The Hound of the Baskervilles.
In Hound of the Baskervilles written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes and Watson have a special type of relationship.In the beginning the reader is shown that Dr.Watson is a foil to Sherlock Holmes.The meaning of “Foil”s a character who contrasts with another character (usually the protagonist) in order to highlight particular qualities of the other character.In the book the reader see’s 3 thing that are always memorable.Watson is seen as smart but Holmes will always be seen as a genius,Watson is very open while Holmes is very secretive,and both of them trust each other but as seen that Watson is the one that trust more.Over time the reader can tell that Watson and Holmes are alike but very different which makes them great partners.
Sherlock Holmes, one of the most famous fictional characters in literary history is a detective capable of solving the most complex mysteries. The author behind the character, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a very successful British writer. The majority of his literary success is due to his crime-fiction tales such as the Sherlock Holmes series. However, Mr. Doyle and Mr. Holmes himself must not take all the credit because there is another character that plays a major role in the stories success. He goes by the name of Dr. Watson, Holmes’ sidekick. The importance of Dr. Watson is evident in many of Doyle’s stories such as A Scandal in Bohemia and A Study in Scarlett.
The Night of the Hunter, directed by Charles Laughton, tells the story of Harry Powell and the trouble he causes when he goes to a town after discovering that there is money hidden there. The main focus of the movie are his interactions with John and Pearl, the children who know where the money is hidden. Harry Powell is motivated by greed.
In The Hound of the Baskervilles, various factors of Arthur Conan Doyle’s early life, popularity, perspective, and status were all expressed in multiple ways. Spiritualism played an crucial role in his life, greatly impacting his work, specifically “The Hound.” Additionally, his birthplace and upbringing, along with the time period, inveigled his writing. Furthermore, Doyle characterized the people in the story in along with real life scenarios.
The Arthur illustrates when Sherlock Holmes is asking questions to Watson and asked him after sir Charles death. ‘“Did Barrymore profit at all by Sir Charles will… He and his wife had 500 pounds each... Did they know they would receive this... yes”’(29). They knew that they would receive the money, so they could have killed Sir Charles for the money.
Conan Doyle’s detective Sherlock Holmes emerges from “The Hounds of Baskerville", through which the Holmesian ratiocination is denoted by an admiring narrator and establishes the intellectual fascination exercised by the sleuth. Operating outside of the mainstream constabulary, the eccentric detective whose methods can be expressed verbosely as:” and in admiring the rapid deductions, as swift as intuitions, and yet always founded on a logical basis,” in which the contrasting similies serves as a reflection of late Victorian ideals that valued science and rational deductions of problems that arose. This acts as a beacon of Holmes’ clear superiority in a time of revolution and critical thought.
The iconic image of Sherlock Holmes as a suave English gentleman wearing a Deerstalker cap and a cape was portrayed in most of the feature films. He was created in the 19th century and was the prime figure in four novels and more than 50 short stories. For this reason of the continued popularity, the novels, comic books, television shows, theater movies and the newest T.V productions, Sherlock and his broad shoulders will continue to credit the writings of Arthur Conan Doyle. Holmes has recently shifted from a Victorian image to a 21st century super hero. The star role continues to be inspiring and irresistible.