So the mystery part if the novel was almost juvenile. It explains why Doyle's name and books aren't near as famous as his character. He wasn't the greatest mystery writer, he just happened to create the greatest mystery solver of all time.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Elementary, My Dear Watson
I found the Sherlock Holmes novel interesting in the fact that the methods used to create mystery were somewhat undeveloped. As opposed to slipping in small clues in order for the reader to figure out what the mystery is, the Mr. Doyle just straight up doesn't tell us things. There is no possible way we could have figured out the mystery based on the clues he gave us. One thing the that wasn't forgotten, however, was Sherlock's brilliance in regards to the case. Holmes is clearly established as the impossibly smart and observant king of detectives.
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I agree with Batman (Manu?) that the Sherlock Holmes piece was a bit frustrating. Mystery stories such as Encyclopedia Brown, where facts are presented and a clever and observant reader can solve the case, are far more appealing. As Batman pointed out, the "clues" that led up to Holmes' conclusion and the fact that Sherlock was able to figure it all out establishes him as an icon and a genius. However, Doyle angers his readers (including me) by presenting them with a case that they have no hope of solving. This fact makes the tale less immersive and addictive, since you know that you stand no chance of cracking the case on your own.
ReplyDeletethe way that the neccessary clues were left out of the story stood out to me as well. without the proper evidence, there was no way, we as the readers would be able to make a valid assumption. im not sure if this was intentionally done, but it certainly made Holmes appear that much smarter for figuring out the mystery. also his style of detective was contrastingly different from that of what we saw in a jury of her peers, where the women seeemed to more or less stumble across clues. this was signficant in my opinion because i dont get the feeling that they were particularly concerned with solving a mystery, but more so with the fact of just wanting to help out in any way possible.
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