Cultural Effect of Sherlock Holmes
Cultural Impact of Sherlock Holmes
When someone mentions the occupation of detective, a single image usually comes to mind, a man wearing a cape and deerstalker, holding a magnifying glass and smoking a pipe. This entire image can be contributed to one character: Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is considered by many to be the greatest detective to ever exist, even if he only exists in the pages of books and on movie and television screens. It is impossible to escape the influence of Holmes. Countless references are made to him in all types of media and he is used as an inspiration to may more fictional characters we have all grown to love. The cultural impact of Sherlock Holmes has spread to more than just fiction; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes has influenced everything from scientific investigation, internet and pop culture, and the television shows and movies we all know and love. The background of the character is just as interesting as the character then the stories themselves. While Sherlock Holmes was not a real person, he was inspired by a real life doctor and master of deduction (Liebow). Holmes’ best know methods of detective work are his superhuman observation skills and deductions based on what he sees. Joseph Bell, a pioneer of pediatric medicine and surgery, who taught Doyle while he was at medical school was know to deduce his patients to help diagnose their ailments (Raffensperger). Bell also would help the police, but unlike Holmes, he only helped in analyzing forensic evidence not with the actual casework (Liebow). Holmes first appeared in an issue of Beeton’s Christmas Annual in 1887 (Bloomington). The first story, A Study in Scarlet, was one of only 4 full length novels about Holmes, the rest other 56 Holmes stories being published in short story form by Strand magazine (Bloomington). While Doyle received high praise and fame for his Holmes stories, he did not particularly enjoy writing them. Doyle killed off Holmes in the short story The
When someone mentions the occupation of detective, a single image usually comes to mind, a man wearing a cape and deerstalker, holding a magnifying glass and smoking a pipe. This entire image can be contributed to one character: Sherlock Holmes. Holmes is considered by many to be the greatest detective to ever exist, even if he only exists in the pages of books and on movie and television screens. It is impossible to escape the influence of Holmes. Countless references are made to him in all types of media and he is used as an inspiration to may more fictional characters we have all grown to love. The cultural impact of Sherlock Holmes has spread to more than just fiction; Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Holmes has influenced everything from scientific investigation, internet and pop culture, and the television shows and movies we all know and love. The background of the character is just as interesting as the character then the stories themselves. While Sherlock Holmes was not a real person, he was inspired by a real life doctor and master of deduction (Liebow). Holmes’ best know methods of detective work are his superhuman observation skills and deductions based on what he sees. Joseph Bell, a pioneer of pediatric medicine and surgery, who taught Doyle while he was at medical school was know to deduce his patients to help diagnose their ailments (Raffensperger). Bell also would help the police, but unlike Holmes, he only helped in analyzing forensic evidence not with the actual casework (Liebow). Holmes first appeared in an issue of Beeton’s Christmas Annual in 1887 (Bloomington). The first story, A Study in Scarlet, was one of only 4 full length novels about Holmes, the rest other 56 Holmes stories being published in short story form by Strand magazine (Bloomington). While Doyle received high praise and fame for his Holmes stories, he did not particularly enjoy writing them. Doyle killed off Holmes in the short story The