Should Sherlock Holmes: a study in scarlet be in the canon

Sherlock Holmes: a study in scarlet is the first short story in which readers meet Holmes and Watson. The novel depicts the society at the time of publication; in a rich and vivid detail. Highlighting topical issues; such as religion, the authority and morality of the police, the introduction of forensic science, and its effect on society. The reader is first introduced to the protagonist while conducting a blood test in a chemical laboratory. "I've found it! I've found it," he shouted to my companion, running towards us with a test-tube in his hand.” With religion still the accepted paradigm and Darwin's theory of evolution recently published and controversial, this may have been a sensitive subject within society, as the introduction of serious scientific theory may have been a threat to the contemporary religious society at the time. The subject matter of valued texts such as Sherlock Holmes is generally considered to be serious, dealing with moral and philosophical topics of acknowledged importance such as murder and why it takes place. Therefore this text should be in the literary canon as it has many of the generally stressed characteristics for example complexity, aesthetic unity, literary language and subject matter.

The language in the text is elegant, witty, patterned and controlled; Conan- Doyle has taken care with his choice of words, and readers take pleasure in this skill that he displays. “In height he was rather over six feet, and so excessively lean that he seemed to be considerably taller… an air of alertness and decision.” The description of Sherlock Holmes is extremely vivid and creates explicit imagery, in comparison to Watson, who is described only when Holmes uses his deduction techniques to tell him abou...

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...nd use Sherlock Holmes to illustrate this.

Sherlock Holmes should be in the canon; it has value above other novels because it uses concepts and ideas that are different and engaging. It includes both simple and more complicated themes such as friendship and oppression due to the police which create more discussion points, which other novels in the canon do not. The novel involves not only a skilfully constructed main plot, but also the co-existence of this plot with sub-plots which mirror and highlight the events and themes in the main plot. The novel portrays Conan-Doyle’s religious and political standing for example Sherlock uses science to find answers to his questions, which shows that Conan-Doyle was not religious and his opinion of the police highlights his social standing. He uses Sherlock as a medium for which to reveal his views on society and its values.