Analysis Of John Clay League

In “The Red headed League,” John Clay is known to be a “murderer, thief, smasher, and forger.” People find clues of John Clay's criminal doings, but no one has ever known about his whereabouts or his appearance. “His grandfather was a royal duke, and he himself has been to Eton and Oxford. His brain is as cunning as his fingers..” This states that John Clay has a lot of knowledge that he can use for his benefit as a criminal. People believe that because John Clay comes from royal blood, and has went to the most prestigious schools, he is a mastermind in all of his crimes. However, Holmes discovers that John Clay has been pretending to go by the name of Vincent Spaulding. Holmes finds out about his scheming and efforts, that lead to his plan
of robbing the Suburban Bank; he is able to lead him into a trap. John Clay’s reputation and background does not stop Holmes from discovering the truth, and interfering in his crime. Furthermore, this compares with the King of Bohemia in “A Scandal in Bohemia” because since the King is royalty, people would not dare to defy him. However, his royal status, does not mean anything to Irene Adler when she blackmails him.