Gui 1

Burton Gui
Dr. Lynda Haas
Writing 39B
Aug18th, 14
Rhetorical Analysis
Dr. Watson The Time Epitome
As the years progressed, more acclaimed plays and classic literatures have been reinterpreted
and reproduced into films and network shows. The mix of visual impacts, powerful throwing,
and cinematography makes an encounter that cannot be matched by other media; consequently,
arousing a new round of explorations for twenty-one-century aesthetic needs and infusing vitality
into these classics. The incredible Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are not
special cases joining the trend. A convention of the relationship between the detective and the
sidekick has supported Doyles stories for over one century, in which Dr. Watson has been an
iconic character complementary for the eccentric and intelligent Holmes. The brilliant creation of
Dr. Watson, according to T.J. Binyon in Murder Will Out, provides readers with the authentic
and plausible adventures by his narratives through his prosaic, stolid personality (10). Dr.
Watson as the narrator not only helps Doyle develop the stories by hiding vital aspects of
mysteries from readers but also represents the majority of Victorian middle-class men, as Panek
supported in Beginning (80). His very averageness makes him the representative of societal
norm, added by April Toadvine in Watson Effect(52). Hence, observing and analyzing the
Commented [DJL1]: Literature (is the plural form as well)
Commented [DJL2]: has
Commented [DJL3]: perhaps television would be the better
term. Network channels are only NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, BBC and
CW. If you are truly only talking about network television, thats
fine.
Commented [DJL4]: What word do you mean here?
Commented [DJL5]: Go through and put spaces between
quotation marks and parenthesis.
Commented [DJL6]: I recommend proofreading carefully
aloud. Youll catch typos and other errors that you may not have
caught otherwise. You need a space between the quote and
parenthesis here.

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alterations of Dr. Watson within current Holmesian adaptations provide an insight into how
modern-texts continue to use Watson to represent and cater to its twenty-one-century audiences.
In BBCs TV series Sherlock, directed by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, John Watson is
portrayed as a former military doctor back from Afghanistan. Throughout Sherlock, John Watson
is still characterized as a loyal, professional, moral and ordinary partner of Sherlock Holmes but
with distinct age epitomes, where he reflects unique circumstances among twenty-one century,
compared to the original context. In addition, the relationship between Holmes and Watson
becomes a cure of Watsons mental distresses. Another TV adaptation of CBS, Elementary,
transforms Mr. John into Miss. Joan, a female former surgeon who has strong self-esteem, with
which she has impacted and rewritten the relationship between Watson and Holmes. Among
modern Holmesian adaptations, Watson is still a representative of ordinary people but endued
with new zeitgeist and adapts more modern values to accurately image the 21
st
century; also, his
relationship with Holmes has been reinterpreted into a new form, such as the new reversed
parent-child in Elementary, to fit contemporary viewing requirements.
Modern Watson in Sherlock still plays the role of reflecting issues faced within the social
context. According to Panek, when Doyle created Watson as narrator, he is fully considered the
new class of readers who were brought into being by universal education and the urge to
self-improvement(Beginning 9). Thus, Panek points out that Holmes takes a high hand with
the nabobs and robber baronsand concentrates on the problems of the modest
middle-class(Doyle 76). To catch the main audience, modern texts also considered the
Commented [DJL7]: Great line!
Commented [DJL8]: Word choice.
Commented [DJL9]: Delete a
Commented [DJL10]: Word choice. Characterize? Represent?
Commented [DJL11]: Rather than the specific example at the
end of thesis (see my next note), consider using a short adjective
or two here to more concisely describe how his new form has
been reinterpreted.
Commented [DJL12]: Mostly the thesis needs to be more
concise. Save the specifics of the new reinterpretation (the
reversed parent-child role in Elementary) for supporting
evidence in a body paragraph.

Just consider deleting this part: such as the new reversed
parent-child in Elementary,
Commented [DJL13]: You need spaces between your quotes
and parenthesis.

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problems that can make resonance with current viewers. According to Watson Effect, Toadvine
precisely notes: whereas Sherlocks John is as professionally skilled as his literary
predecessor, he is nondescript (54). As a doctor, he still has problems on obtaining jobs and
adapting into civic life. Toadvine points out that Watson is a representative of modern concerns,
including unemployment and social identity for returning soldiers, those of social problems that
are familiar to the modern viewers (55). Also, Sherlocks Watson haunted by PTSD manifests
current concerns about psychological health, which were not drawn much attention in Victorian
era. In the episode 1, A Study in Pink, the story begins with Dr. Watsons nightmare in which
he flashbacks to the battlefield in Afghanistan, and he is suddenly awakened in a cold sweat. The
director uses bird-view angle combined with medium shot to depict Watsons panic and horror in
his eyes. With low-key lighting, audience barely can picture his appearance, and the effect
heightens the sense of pain and depression. During the therapy session, his psychiatrist suggests
him to write his daily life into blogs to help him step out of the post-war trauma. Within the scene,
the director makes use of an unusual composition to create some extent of aesthetic discomfort
by framing main characters inclined closely to the one side, and the frame emphasizes Watsons
inner torment, standing at the edge of the mainstream civic life. The adaptation begins with a
modern broken man who needs regeneration to seek for life purpose by setting up the modern
injured person both mentally and physically. Sherlocks Watson attracts more audiences to
experience a rehabilitative journey shared with the common audiences.
In Elementary, Joan Watson stands for values treasured by most American viewers: respect,

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equality and independence, which execute another Watson Effect, according to criticisms from
Emily Asher-Perrin and the review, An Ode to Joan Watson. In Battling Super Sleuths: The
Awkward Case of Elementary, Sherlock, and Building the Better Adaptation, Asher-Perrin
notices, Rather than playfully belittling his partner the way that Cumberbatchs version is
frequently known for, Johnny Lee Millers Sherlock holds Watson in an esteem that is expressed
outwardly to her, and to their colleagues They are played as equals according to the shows
premise. She is not inferior to Holmes; instead, she is much equal as a counterpart. Furthermore,
An Ode to Joan Watson addresses that the success of Elementary is that Watson fights for her
respect and her independence when Holmes hurts her feelings or oversteps the boundary between
their friendship. In Pilot, Elementary, Holmes infers the murder is still alive after the suspects
body is found. Joan Watson tries to soothe his anxiety from Holmess outburst. However, Holmes
discloses Watsons miserable memory about a surgery accident causing her lose aspiration in life
to flaunt his accurate deductive skills. The director takes a handheld camera to portray the
argument, in which Watson keeps silent and calm. The camera slightly shakes when capturing
Watsons reaction, which pictures disturbances of her emotional instability and depicts the
chaotic situation. Listening to Holmess great deduction, Watson stands stiffly and stares forward,
and a close-up shot along with shallow focus pictures her tolerance of the affront. However, she
does not been defeated by her superior sober companion. The shot is suddenly fixed, and
Watson with sharp eyesight fights back. She indifferently replies, I noticed you dont have any
mirrors around here (their apartment)It means I think you know a lost because when you see

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one. She criticizes Holmess apathy about others feelings even though Holmes has higher
intelligence. Joan Watson needs respect instead of insults and emotional attacks from the friend
who is merely smarter than her. Then, Watson chooses to leave behind Holmes who is full of
regret. From the scene, Watson is depicted as a strong American female, who is independent from
Holmes. She is not a mocking target; instead, she is an individual as equal as Holmes, which the
relationship is a standard among 21
st
century.
Another update in Elementary is the parent-child relationship between Watson and Holmes has
been reversed. According to Heroism, Culture, and Dread in The Sign of Four, Kirby Farrell
suggests an interesting perspective to view the relationship between Holmes and Watson, as a
parent and a child (42). While facing the dread of death, Holmes usually reacts in calmness and
composure; in contrast, Watson, as an ordinary man, usually feels panic and shocked by the
mystery. For example, in The Sign of Four, as they approach to the Sholtos murder, the main
characters act as little children who are threatened by horrible situations, feeling helpless, [and]
appealing the expression of a terrified child (Doyle loc 735). Sherlock acts as a parent, giving
instructions and orders to lead them to solve the myth. However, the relationship lasting for one
century has been rewritten in Elementary. In the TV series, Watson becomes more like a guardian
of Holmes, educating him ordinary social manners and teaching him how to get along with others.
Even, Watson reproaches Holmes misbehaviors on inappropriately treating people. In the Pilot",
Season 1 and Episode 1, Holmes has found a survivor from a serial murder, Eileen Renfro, who
might provide crucial clues to help them track down the murder. When they inquiry several

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questions related to the case, the victim avoids directly answering Sherlocks questions and
denying her experience. To obtain the name of the murder, Holmes expatiates the happening of
the case and forces the victim to recall her miserable memory by using aggressive words in an
impolite manner. In the scene, Holmes is standing higher than the victim, acting as the controller
of the conversation. The director utilizes a high angle and close-up shot to portray Holmes.
Within the frame, Holmes is like a naughty boy who keeping providing unreasonable requests,
and the shot gives him more aggressiveness. When depicting Watson, the shot is as the same as
the victim, a low angle and close-up shot. It seems that Watson is also enduring Holmess
rudeness, like the parent of the bad-mannered child. When the victim begins to release what she
is holding, Holmes appears to be more bellicose. Watson sits ahead and leans forward, and those
actions display the signs that a mother wants to stop the disturbance of the child. Finally, after
she throws him three warnings, Watson stands up and shouts at Holmes to ask him leaving. The
scene completes the twist of the relationship. Then, Holmes angrily leaves the room like a child
who receives a punishment. Within the adaptation, the parent-child relationship has been
reversed.
As a loyal and faithful sidekick, Dr. Watson has been serving as a foil for Sherlock Holmes
for over one century; as a narrator in Doyles detective stories, Watson opens a path letting
readers follow the greatest detective to experiences exciting adventures but more importantly, as
an ordinary Victorian middle class, Watson is labeled with conspicuous time marks, which
provide adequate materials to examine time spirits beneath his role. Stepping into 21
st
century, Dr.

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Watson in modern adaptations still reflects his society; he presents modern concerns about
unemployment, self-identification and psychological health; he also absorbs modern morality and
values to require respect, equality and independence in the relationship with Holmes; finally, Dr.
Watson re-establishes his role within a long parent-child relationship, as a moral parent of
Holmes. Now, Dr. Watson has been transformed in a zeitgeist, continuing extend his adventures
with the greatest detective in 21
st
century.















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Work Cited
An Ode to Joan Watson. Feminist Fiction. Feminist.com. 2013 Web. 10
th

Sep. 2013. http://feministfiction.com/2013/09/10/an-ode-to-joan-watson/
Asher-Perrin, Emily. "Battling Super-Sleuths: The Awkward Case of Sherlock, Elementary, and
Building the Better Adaptation." Tor.com, Macmillan, 24 Feb. 2014. Web. 11 Aug. 2014.
Binyon, T.J. "Murder Will Out": The Detective in Fiction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989.
9-12. Print.
Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Sign of the Four. Seattle: Amazon Digital Services, 2013. Kindle
eBook. Online.
Farrell, Kirby. "Heroism, Culture and Dread in The Sign of the Four." Studies in the Novel 16.1
(1984): 32-51. Print.
Panek, Leroy. An Introduction to the Detective Story. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State
University Popular Press, 1987. Print.
Toadvine, April. "The Watson Effect: Civilizing the Sociopath." Sherlock Holmes for the 21st
Century. ed. Lynette Porter. Jefferson, NC: Macfarlane & Company, 2012, 47-62. Print.

Commented [DJL14]: Works (plural)
Commented [DJL15]: Some of your publications are missing
italics. Review MLA carefully.