Essay on "Study in Scarlet"

Essay 6 pages (1864 words) Sources: 4

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Scarlet

At the time it was published, "A Study in Scarlet" did not actually caught the public's attention, although it had made it clear that the character of Sherlock Holmes would become a hallmark in the world of crime fiction in the years to follow. The novel is the first from the Scottish writer's Arthur Conan Doyle list of books to address this new character. It had not come as a novelty that the author got involved in writing novels, as he had previously proved his talent when writing short stories for a series of magazines from the nineteenth century.

Doyle is one of the most celebrated British authors as he rapidly become successful with the series of books with Sherlock Holmes as their central character. A great deal of films, books, and articles have later been written with regard to this character and the world of fiction had embraced its image for eternity. When thinking of the British writer, and of his title as "Sir," a great deal of people would most probably believe that Doyle was a conservative, rather than being a man devoted to modernity. Of course, the fact that he created Sherlock Holmes proves that he was indeed one that did not enjoy subjecting himself to ideals contemporary to him.

Apparently, he had not been very different from Holmes when concerning the controversies which he generated. Several of his theories contradicted each-other because he could not make up his mind in regard to certain concepts. While he had been a famous advocate for those oppressed, he claimed that British colonialism had not been a negative fact and that it had been beneficial for both the colonizers and for those colonized.

Doyle's family had had a successful background in writing articles, cartoons, and caricatures for various notable magazines. His father, however, did not take the family traditions further and because he did not accomplish his goals, he turned to alcoholism, living the last days of his life in an asylum, suffering from depression. As a single parent, his mother had a beneficial effect on Arthur Conan Doyle introducing him to his family's genealogy and to concepts related to chivalry, romance, and the English code of honor.

During his early years of adulthood, Doyle was determined to devote his writing skills to historical literature associated with English history. His family encouraged him to follow several educational institutes, in spite of the fact that he did not express any inclination for learning. He appeared to be more interested in the eccentricity manifested by some of his teachers rather than in the matters they taught.

It is during his university years that Doyle came across the man who inspired him to create Sherlock Holmes. Doctor Joseph Bell was the person who left Doyle speechless. The professor's methods of teaching and the concepts that he promoted were impressive, even for an open-minded young man such as Doyle. The doctor paid great attention to observation, and he did not hesitate from urging his students to do the same thing, since he believed this feature to be one of the most important necessary for one to thrive. Bell did not only impress his students through his teachings, but also by proving how he took advantage of his power of observation to guess one's profession with the help of a small amount of hints. His methods involved a mixture of deductive and inductive analysis, quite similar to how Holmes did in his missions.

Bell's extracurricular activities have a profound effect on Doyle, but his severe behavior during class had influenced the young man in being deterred from the medical school. Doyle made full advantage of his former teacher's nature when he wrote his series of books dedicated to Sherlock Holmes and Bell's hostility was actually visible the former's fictional character.

His medical degree came as a joy to his family, but concomitantly, they were saddened because he came forward, claiming that he had no attraction to the religion that the family had been following. Their response came quickly, and they refused to offer him support throughout his life, leaving him with nothing but his own capacity to succeed.

He took advantage of any opportunity of making money, including one that implied getting a job as a ship's doctor and another as a short-story writer for various magazines. His initial book on Holmes had little to no success, as he was forced to sell it for a mere 25 pounds. As his writing progressed, he began to appeal to the public, and to the end of the nineteenth century he had already became famous.

Immediately after the first books on Holmes had been issued, people had become fond of the character, and had actually created an image of Holmes in their heads, given the fact that DH Friston and Charles Doyle (Arthur's father) himself had created a few drawings that were used in "A Study in Scarlet."

Consequent to several failed attempts of getting publishers interested in his novel, Doyle had eventually succeeded to present the public with his book on account of Beeton Christmas Annual 1887, a publication owned by Ward Lock & Co. Albeit the device had not have anything to do with the world of detectives at the time, Doyle presented the magnifying glass as an indispensable tool for detectives in "A Study in Scarlet," making it possible for it to be later associated with the domain and with Sherlock Holmes in particular. The book is not the best novels involving Sherlock Holmes, but because of its revolutionary character and for having set new trends in the world of detective fiction.

In addition to the critiques that he received because his book did not address some of the concepts that the public of his times wanted to read, Doyle had been harshly criticized for the way in which he dealt with the Mormon population in his book. However, these Mormon-related critiques did not surface for several decades, when the group had finally come forward, claiming that Doyle had intentionally harmed them through his novel. This had truly been correct, as people from the nineteenth century had been much easier to influence, with the books that they read being more than enough to help them make up their minds concerning a particular matter. To a certain degree, Doyle's first novel is responsible for the nineteenth century stereotypes linked to the Mormon community, especially among the people who read and wrote popular fiction.

It is not certain whether Doyle himself considered the Mormons to be a threat to the well-being of society, but his novel had surely did so. It is possible that he had not been ill-intended when writing the novel, and that the notions concerning the Mormons had merely been a reflection of renowned concepts from the book's contemporary times. The novel was very popular among Russians, who unlike the rest of the world, had become fond of Sherlock Holmes at the first chance that they got. "When one asks an educated Russian what he or she knows about the Mormons, two frequent answers are polygamy and a Study in Scarlet" (Eric a. Eliason, and Gary Browning). Unfortunately, Doyle's preconceived notions related to Mormons had also reached Russia, bringing harm to the general image of the religious group across the country.

The masses did not initially express any sympathy in Sherlock Holmes, thus the reason for the failure experienced with "A Study in Scarlet." As described in this book, Holmes had been nothing like the character it is today. People like to think of him as a handsome and tall man. However, Doyle's first book portrayed it as one that had been extremely skinny, tall, and with a big nose. According to critics, Holmes also disappoints through his mysterious behavior, and while a fiction detective should keep suspense and eventually present evidence of his case to the audience, the character in "A Study in Scarlet" does no such thing.

Realizing his mistake, Doyle corrected it in the next stories on Holmes and consequently, the character became the ideal of manliness that it is today.

Doyle virtually associated Holmes with the world of the supernatural by not allowing the public to see his methods. One cannot simply resolve a crime case without showing the audience how he reached a verdict. In the face of the weakness that it had, the novel had been extremely significant for the detective genre in the years which followed it.

Certain individuals (and even Doyle himself) have found similarities between "A Study in Scarlet" and various works written by Edgar Allan Poe. Regardless of this fact, Doyle's book is much more complex than earlier detective fiction writings and one might actually believe that the British writer perfected the genre.

There is no question about the theory that Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson have contributed to the overall image of Englishness. The twentieth century identified their behavior as being distinctively English. Critics agree to these conclusions, but… READ MORE

How to Reference "Study in Scarlet" Essay in a Bibliography

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