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Zelma Alarcon
Professor Matthew Harrison
Writing 39B
27 July 2014
Detective Character Traits: Holmes at his Finest
In a world where emerging human technology and social composition were rising, Doyle
created one of the most masterful characters of the era, and marked the real beginning of the
detective story [that] [presents] real difficulties of the time (Panek 79). The creation of such a
masterful character was due to the new configuration of experience [that] was shaped by a large
number of factors, which were clearly dependent on the change in production marked by the
Industrial Revolution (Gunning 15). This rapid change also brought transformation to daily life
due to the growth of capitalism, urban growth, and advances in technology during the Victorian
Era. By developing a detective that is always mathematically correct and precise, Doyle
presented the world with the first crime-solving machine, an actual instrument of detection
(Panek 81). All throughout Doyles stories, he demonstrates Holmes powers of observation and
analytical skills, -which are the driving forces of a great detective and role model; numerous
texts display that Holmes characteristics are what make the detective genre (Panek 84). Holmes
constant outlandish and magical assertions, which he explains as a simple routine is nothing
more than the forwarding thinking of an emergent class, a symbol (Panek 84). In many of
Doyles stories Holmes is presented as anti-social and superior, which demonstrated the growth
of knowledge within the middle. Holmes is a common man that is intellectually superior to any
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authority figure within Doyles story, for example, when the police ask for Holmes help on a
case or collecting carcasses for experiments as presented in the story A Study in Scarlet.
As indicated in another excerpt of the Theory and Practice of Classic Detective,
Delamater, Jerome and Ruth Prigozy state that Holmes was a popular detective during his time
and was a great factor in the cultural significance as society was gradually changing (1). In the
Victorian Era, society and technology began to expand and new ideas were created; notions such
as one can create solutions to problems, that man can create new means of bettering himself and
their environment (Oshkosh 1). Holmes actually represented that change because the middle
class man was now shown as more than a mere factor in society. He [helped reassure [society]
in the belief that the universe, underneath it all is rational despite of the disordered world they
lived in (Prigozy 1). Unlike Binyon, the Prigozy excerpt states that Holmes is eccentric and is
even characterized by Watson as emotionless, unable to love, [and] [possesses] a cold and
detached mind which again indicates his characteristics as someone not easily swayed by
emotion. Holmess knowledge is also another factor that is considered eccentric because he
demonstrates vast knowledge of chemistry, poisons, and sensational literature, but he refuses
to attain insignificant knowledge of the world around him (Prigozy 22). By throwing away the
clutter in his brain attic he is creating space for what is needed and not over doing it with
useless information that doesnt pertain to him, (Prigozy 22). This idea of de-cluttering is what
makes him a great detective and brings about his unique style; Holmes provides the [perfect]
prototype for the British ratiocinative detectives approach (Prigozy 22). This approach is his
own style and characteristic of a detective; Holmes unique contribution to the ultimate detective
is well known, but like Holmes stated, once you eliminated the impossible, whatever remains,
however improbable, must be true (Prigozy 22). His approach of deduction is by far the most
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distinct in history and as stated before he has broken the mold with his supernatural power of
detection [which] make him so extraordinary (Mc Bratney 161).
Through Conan Doyles many stories, he places distinctive character traits of a detective
such as in The Sign of Four. Sherlock Holmes was Conan Doyles creation of a perfective
authority figure because he was steadfast, honest, [and] trustworthy (Doyle 83). Holmes
always used logic and deduction to solve his mysteries which aided in his success as a detective;
it was thought that a detective should gain success through his knowledge and mind during this
time and not just by sheer luck, as mentioned by Leroy Panek (Panek 3). Holmes demonstrates
his skills of deduction in crime scenes such as in the story Sign of the Four, written by
Doyle, where he is with Watson inspecting the crime scene murder of Sholto. Holmes tells
Watson to sit in corner before his footprints complicate matters and the police arrive. Holmes
forward thinking that all must be captured before the evidence with tampered with reflects the
advancement in photography, or at least its importance. Doyle portrays Holmes as a man that is
constantly led by logic rather than by emotion, mainly because emotion would make his
judgment biased as opposed to fair (Doyle 2179). The path that led Doyle to create Sherlock
Holmess characteristics was mainly due to the time frame he was living in and the ideas
borrowed from Edgar A. Poes techniques which brought on the thought as police versus the
amateur, the detectives conceit; who was a symbol of the common man and gain of power
through knowledge (Panek 80).
In How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes, Maria Konnikova explains Holmess character in
a way that standardizes him as a common man that has tapped into his full potential of logic and
mindfulness (Konnikova 4). Holmes, a common man with stupendous knowledge, is human and
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has felt emotions such as, annoyance, anger, chagrins and hes a person able to admire a worthy
adversary (Binyon 10). Sherlock Holmes unique character allows him to see beyond the
average mind. Konnikova makes a contrast between seeing and observing, which is something
that Holmes is automated to do unconsciously (Konnikova 2). The major factor that makes
Sherlock Holmes a great detective is his unprecedented way of thinking, and if used in common
day, he would make a great role model for how we can think better than we do as a matter of
course (Konnikova 12). One way that Maria Konnikova, as mentioned in her article,
characterizes Holmes thinking is his skepticism and his inquisitiveness toward the world
(Konnikova 17). This in an overall summation leads to the many great qualities of Holmes as
model.
In a different article called "Murder Will Out: The Detective in Fiction," written by T.J.
Binyon, Binyon explains furthermore that Doyle [had] taken the abstract idea of the detective
provided by Poe, and [had] fleshed out both the main figure and his surroundings (9). He goes
more into detail, stating that without Watson in Holmes' adventures, there would be no
credibility because Watson is the bridge between the average man and Holmes (Binyon 10). Yet
even though Doyle hadnt wanted to make Holmes an emotional character because it would
make his judgment biased, he gradually did include certain traits to make him more human
(Binyon 10). Yet what Doyle hadnt realized is that he had contradicted his original idea of
Holmes. He created a Holmes that was proud, [an] alienated hero, superior to and isolated from
the rest of humanity; who alleviates the deadly boredom of existence with injections of cocaine
and morphine (Binyon 10). Not only does he demonstrate Sherlock Holmes isolation from the
rest of the world so that his judgment may not be biased, but by doing so he has made Holmes
vulnerable to human faults. This of course is not the emblematic figure that is considered a role
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model for society, but it does make him appear more real to the reader just like how Watson
helps him bridge a connection as well. See, by creating Holmes to be more in touch with his
feelings, he can connect more with the reader and his character traits are more approachable and
empathetic. Like T.J. Binyon stated in his article Murder Will Out: The Detective in Fiction,
Holmes is the greatest of them all, and certainly the best known. He has given society its
popular image of a detectiveyet, paradoxically, he is at the same time unique; his creation
broke the mold (Binyon 11). His creation did indeed break the mold and it also led to different
views about the topic.
Sherlock Holmes has proven to be the last and highest court of appeal in detection
during his time (Doyle 787). All through Doyles numerous stories about Sherlock Holmes,
Doyle constantly displays Holmes as the ultimate establishment figure (Amazon Digital
Services 87) as mentioned before. In the Holmes timeline, it is clear to see the gradual change
that he has taken in and exerted. In Doyles short stories such as A Scandal in Bohemia
Holmes reiterates that theorizing before one has data can be a grave mistake because then one
can twist fact to fit what one thinks instead of the theories fitting into the facts that are displayed
in the case (Doyle 3). Holmes demonstrates to society that in order to apply deduction one must
observe and not just see because there is an obvious distinction between the two (Doyle 3). With
a role model like Holmes, it is easily to understand that anyone can try to achieve such
perfection because it is like any other [art], the Science of Deduction and Analysis [can] only
be acquired by long and patient study; unfortunately life is not long enough to reach the highest
perfection, as stated in A Study In Scarlet (Doyle 11). Even with his human faults, Holmes is a
symbol for striving perfection and continues to mold our society today.
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Work Cited:
Binyon, T.J. "Murder Will Out": The Detective in Fiction. Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1989. Print.
Conan Doyle, Arthur. The Sign of the Four. Seattle: Amazon Digital Services,
2013. Kindle eBook. Online.
Delamater, Jerome and Ruth Prigozy, eds. Theory and Practice of Classic
Detective Fiction. New York: Praeger, 1997. Print.
Doyle, Arthur Conan. "Lit2Go." Adventure 6: "The Man with the Twisted
Lip Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education,
University of South Florida, 2006. Web. 24 July 2014.
Doyle, Arthur Conan. "A Study In Scarlet." The Project Gutenberg EBook of A Study In Scarlet,
by Arthur Conan Doyle. Roger Squires, and David Widger, 12 July 2008. Web. 27 July
2014.
Konnikova, Maria. Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes. New York:
Viking, 2013. Print.
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McBratney, John. Racial and Criminal Types: Indian Ethnography and Sir
Arthur Conan Doyles The Sign of Four. Victorian Literature and
Culture 33:1 (2005): 149-167. JSTOR. Web. 01/15/2014.
Oshkosh. "Victorian England." Victorian England. University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, n.d. Web.
26 July 2014.
Panek, Leroy. An Introduction to the Detective Story. Bowling Green, OH:
Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1987. Print.