Abby Zampi A6 English 11.26.13 The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.
~Sherlock Holmes, The Hound of the Baskervilles
Fictional detectives, such as Sherlock Holmes portrayed in The Hound of The Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Steve McGarrett, the detective portrayed in the television series, Hawaii Five-0 created by Leonard Freeman, share many skills and abilities as well as personality traits, however many of their qualities differ. There are certain skills which a good detective needs. Sherlock Holmes and Steve McGarrett have some of these skills and are lacking others. Sherlock Holmes and Steve McGarrett can be analyzed to determine whether they are good detectives through their positive and negative qualities, their strategies for solving crime, and their successes and failures. Sherlock Holmes possesses some of the qualities of a good detective but has yet to learn others. His worthiness as a good detective can be proven through his skills and qualities, tactics, and outcomes of his mysteries. In The Hound of the Baskervilles Sherlock Holmes has many positive qualities including his keen observation skills. An example of this is when he observed that the words in the warning message to Sir Henry corresponded to the words in the previous days Times (Doyle 46). He is also always one-step ahead of the game; he knows the opponents next move before he makes it. This is displayed when Sherlock Holmes knows that Watson is the one who had entered the hut, I [knew] that my friend Watson was in the neighborhood. [Watson] will see it there beside the path. [He] threw it down, no doubt, at that supreme moment when [Watson] charged into the empty hut (166). Although Sherlock Holmes has good qualities he also possesses some negative qualities, such as his superior attitude and competitiveness towards Watson. In most cases being competitive is good but Holmes takes his competitiveness to a different level, which can be very insulting to Watson. For instance when Watson does something that most people think is outstanding, Holmes almost always finds a way to make him seem less educated and not as brilliant as he actually is, saying things such as Interesting, though elementarymost of [Watsons] conclusions were erroneous. When [Holmes] said that [Watson] stimulated [Holmes], to be frank, that in nothing your fallacies [Holmes] was occasionally guided toward the truth. Not that [Watson] is entirely wrong in this instance (11). Sometimes Holmes doesnt trust Watson and feels as if he needs to recheck Watsons work to make sure it was done correctly. In addition
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to analyzing Sherlock Holmess qualities, his strategies for solving crime can be evaluated as well. Sherlock Holmes appears to have an attitude towards solving mysteries such that he will do anything he can to solve a mystery. He shows this trait in The Hound of the Baskervilles, when he risked the relationship between him and Watson, his partner and dear friend. He does this by going behind Watsons back and staying by Baskerville Hall without telling Watson (191). Another strategy Sherlock Holmes demonstrates, is asking for information that has not been presented or may not even be available, This article has all the public facts? Then let me have the private ones. (28) Not only can Sherlock Holmes be examined by qualities and strategies but also by successes and failures. Sherlock Holmes was ecstatic to the closure of the mystery. He had worked so hard and sacrificed so much to solve the case and was glad for it all to be over. It was a big deal for Holmes and Watson to solve this mystery, it went down in the books as the greatest mystery ever solved. Holmes was then able to return to Baker Street and continue his normal life, which actually wasnt so normal. In a similar manner Steve McGarrett can also analyzed through his qualities (both positive and negative), his strategies for solving crime, and his successes and failures. Steve McGarretts positive qualities include his ability to separate his personal life from his work; to make him focused on the task at hand or in this case a crime. In Hawaii Five-O, McGarrett has family issues including the circumstances behind his fathers death and the unknown location of his mother, but somehow he is able to put that aside and focus all of his energy into a case. Another one of his good qualities is his resourcefulness; he is able to use what he has around him to get his work done. For example in one episode, McGarrett manages to get fingerprints off a bag using dust from a vacuum cleaner and a feather duster. Furthermore, Steve McGarrett, in the same way as Sherlock Holmes is able to focus on the small details and observe things other may not be able to. Steve McGarrett possesses a great quality of being loyal to his task force and his country. In the episode, Hana aa Makehewa, Steve is willing to go against protocol to protect and aid a friend who is in danger with a bomb collar around his neck. This makes McGarrett loyal and a good team mate/task force leader to have. Despite McGarretts many positive qualities he also obtains negative ones. Steve McGarrett is very stubborn; he wants things to be done his way and his way only. There are several consequences to this, in a recent episode Steve didnt want to
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wait for the authorities to arrive at the scene, so he opened fire on a house and it almost got him and his partner killed. He is also known to be so focused on his job and the case he is working on that he ends up being cruel to his partner and in some cases unpleasant to be around. Additionally McGarrett uses very effective tactics and strategies to solve mysteries and crime. He has a mentality that he is willing to risk his life and the lives of those he loves to save the lives of others. He puts his life on the line every time he solves a mystery just to put the bad people in jail. He gets this mentality from being a US Navy Seal. During interrogations McGarrett is very inquisitive; asking questions he knows will break the suspect causing them to give up information. He uses his intimidation to get information out of suspects to help solve a crime. In addition to his qualities and strategies, McGarretts successes and failures must also be evaluated. For Steve McGarrett, being a detective is more than a job its a lifestyle. When his strategy fails he fails, when he doesnt solve a crime he counts it as a failure in his life. But on the other hand when he succeeds while solving a crime he adds it to his life successes. This makes him a very dedicated detective and along with his other qualities proves his worthiness as an outstanding detective. Sherlock Holmes and Steve McGarrett have many similar traits that make them good detectives. They are both very hard working; they do everything they can to solve a mystery. They are both also very observant seeing things that most people would just pass over. They are able to think ahead of the game and be one-step ahead of their opponents, allowing them to get closer to solving the crime or mystery. There are some known qualities and traits of a good detective such as logical reasoning: the ability to think critically and logically. Being persistent and doing everything they can to solve the mystery. They must have good intuition; the feeling of whether or not something feels right. Good detectives must also be able to read peoples emotions to know what they are thinking or what their next move might be. And in some cases even detect a lie. A good detective will need to be physically fit if they need to chase down the suspect. This is one thing that Steve McGarrett has as a trained Seal that Sherlock Holmes doesnt have. Finally something that separates good detectives from the great ones is the ability to be clever and outsmart the suspect. When a detective is able to do this along with possessing the other qualities of a good detective they will become great detectives.
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Sherlock Holmes and Steve McGarrett have acquired most of the qualities of a good detective. This was determined through the analysis of detectives negative and positive qualities, strategies, and the successes and failure. Sherlock Holmes is one of the best fictional detectives of an older era whereas Steve McGarrett is an amazing detective from this era. Steve McGarrett has some advantages over Sherlock Holmes in terms of technology. Considering that Sherlock Holmes wasnt able to use the technology we use today to solve crimes, its pretty surprising that he was as successful as he was. Detectives from every era can be analyzed and examined through their skills and abilities, tactics, and successes and failures. These are the things that differentiate good detectives from the bad ones. Next time you read a mystery novel or see a crime show on TV analyze whether or not they are a good detective by their qualities, strategies, and successes and failures. References Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Hound of the Baskervilles. New York: Bantam Doubleday Bell Books for Young Readers, 1959. Print. Hawaii Five-O. CBS. CBS, Hawaii. 2010-Present. Television.