Sherlock Holmes Research Paper

Sherlock Holmes, a fictional character that created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is arguably the most famous detective among the history of crime fictions. Appearing in the book Adventure of Sherlock Holmes first, Sherlock had moved to the screen since the 1920s. As the era changes, different actors revealed different Sherlock Holmes in the movies. Jeremy Brett’s Sherlock in Sherlock Holmes, 1984 TV Series, remains popular after years. Robert Downey Jr. brings a more entertainment version of Sherlock in Sherlock Holmes, by Guy Ritchie. However, none of them were as popular as Benedict Cumberbatch in Sherlock by Mark Gatiss. Benedict portrayed a contemporary Sherlock Holmes who lives in the digital world, and he brings many new elements to Sherlock. Benedict’s Holmes is an exaggerated version, either from the perspective of being intelligent, or from the perspective of being indifferent about human emotions. In particular, Benedict’s acting skill successfully illustrated such a difference in the interpretation of Sherlock Holmes.

Compare to the previous version of Sherlock, Benedict’s Sherlock seems to be more intelligent and energetic.

For example, Jeremy’s Sherlock usually speaks slowly, walks with a stick and thinks twice before speaking. In general, Robert brings a more composed and steady Sherlock to the audience. In contrast to Jeremy, Benedict’s Sherlock is more active and his acting style greatly contributed to this result. In A study in pink, there was a conversation like this:

The content of conversation reveals Sherlock’s unparalleled ability of deduction. Meanwhile, Benedict speaks in an extreme speed and illustrates how quickly Sherlock thinks. By doing so, Benedict’s Sherlock leaves the impression of being more intelligent, energetic and

deductive.
Secondly, compare to the traditional definition of Holmes, Benedict’s Sherlock is less sensitive to human emotions and feelings. In Conan Doyle’s original book, even though Sherlock Holmes is not interested in tasting human emotions, Sherlock still has an emotional side and Jeremy exhibits the emotional Sherlock from The Abbey Grange: Croker is sailor who had always been in love with Mary, but Mary did not react the same way and got married with Sir Eustace. When Croker found out Mary was abused by Sir Eustace, he decided to confront Sir Eustace while Eustace is abusing Mary. Out of self-defense, Croker accidentally killed Sir Eustace. After hearing about the truth, Sherlock gives Croker time to escape instead of taking him to the police. In the end of the story, Sherlock Holmes believes in humanity instead of the English law. However, Benedict’s Sherlock did not express the original Sherlock’s emotional side very much (Many viewers believe compare to the original, Benedict’s Sherlock has a stronger love feeling towards Miss Alder, and his moving speech to Dr. Watson at the wedding shows he is not insensitive to human feelings. But there’s no direct evidence to show that Sherlock is in love with Miss Alder instead of respecting Miss Alder, and his speech is moving somewhat because he does not understand human emotions.). In particular, Benedict’s Sherlock’s lacking of human emotions is sometimes dramatically expressed and addressed by Sherlock’s high intelligence and energy. In A Scandal of Belgravia, there is a moment when Molly brings Charisma gift to Sherlock and Sherlock does his deduction and embarrassed Molly：
While Sherlock is giving this deduction of Molly’s gift, Benedict speaks quickly as he usually does and speaks without any facial expressions. This would deepen the impression of Sherlock being emotionally ignorance. Not only Benedict’s Sherlock is insensitive to human feelings, his blooming energy and intelligence further addresses his ignorance of emotions. Just like he evaluates himself in The Sign of Three, Benedict’s Sherlock is a “high-functioning sociopath.”
In summary, Benedict’s Sherlock has an exaggerated character and personality compare to the original book and the 20th century Sherlock Holmes on screen. Benedict’s Sherlock is more intelligent than ever, and more insensitive to human emotions and feelings than ever. Overall, Benedict’s interpretation of Sherlock gives audience what they want and gains great popularity. Benedict’s acting skill unquestionably promoted such a character. No matter what, the very existence of Sherlock Holmes brings us extraordinary stories and constantly reminds us the power of logic and science, and we should always cherish the different interpretation of Sherlock Holmes.