Sherlock Holmes In The Speckled Band

Sherlock Holmes is a character who has been known throughout generations. He is famous due to the way he processes and solves complicated mysteries based on small, seemingly insignificant clues. One short story where this characteristic of Holmes is displayed is in the short story “The Speckled Band.” This story is about a women named Helen Stoner who comes to Sherlock Holmes for help since she is afraid that she might die soon, because her hair has turned grey. This assumption she made was due to her sister Julia’s untimely death, along with the fact that Julia’s hair had turned grey before she died. There was also the matter of her suspicious stepfather who had a dark past. It was made pretty clear to me that the stepfather had committed
the murder because he would have to pay Julia £250 every year if she got married and he did not want to bestow that money upon her, because he was once struck with poverty and he did not want to be stuck in that predicament once again. However, the thought that their stepfather had committed this murder dispersed in my mind when I learned that when Julia’s door was locked from the inside during this occurrence. However, as the story progressed my suspicion slowly started to return once more. I was very shocked about how Sherlock Holmes took the smallest of details such as the plate with milk in it, the non useful rope in Julia’s bedroom, and the air vent between Julia and her stepfather's room to decipher that a snake was the reason for death. This incident truly showed me how we can really take the smallest of things and use them as our greatest benefit. This thought process that Holmes displayed really worked for me, but the problematic side of the story was when Holmes said that the snake went through the vent many times before it killed Julia. This was problematic since I did not understand why the snake could not kill its victim in one trip. Also, how the snake did not end up biting Dr. Roylott until the night Holmes and Watson came, since it was released multiple times from Holmes’s claim. Overall, I felt like the story was very intellectual as it showed me the way Sherlock Holmes was thinking even with the smallest clues.

2. The episode from the series Sherlock, helped me to see a different Holmes then that presented in the writing. The character of Sherlock Holmes in the episode was more psychopathic in that he enjoys playing with murderers to see how and why they did the murder and he enjoys solving some crimes more than others. In addition, Sherlock Holmes presents an egoistic characteristic constantly saying how others have tiny brains. This is different in the writing since Sherlock Holmes seems like a regular talented man who is just helping others who are in danger. Also, even though Holmes is a very intellectual human being he does not seem to think that he is superior to others like he does in the episode. I think that the change does fit Sherlock Holmes, because his whole life is based on solving mysteries and figuring out how and why something happened, so if he needs to converse with the murder before he brings them in or if he likes solving some crimes more than others he should be able to because that is his profession. Overall, I believe the change works because he is allowed to think and do whatever he needs to for his unique profession.

3.
Throughout time many discourse communities have sprouted up about Sherlock Holmes. I believe that Sherlock Holmes is a very intellectually powerful man who many people see as their role model. He is a role model to these people because he has a totally different approach on situations than other people and he always follows his own mind and not that of others. From these few characteristics that Holmes possesses many people become inspired and they start thinking in a different way and they start following their own mind. This is one of the biggest reasons why these communities exist, since they want to express how Holmes’s characteristics can lead to a more positive and distinctive lifestyle. The traditional fan-club is a group that is devoted or dedicated to a person, idea or group. In this example the Holmes traditional fan-club differs from Holmes discourse communities, since the discourse communities have a specific goal they want to achieve through communication, whether it may be showing Holmes as an independent, strong willed man, or showing Holmes’s different method of thinking. I think that Holmes would be shocked and fascinated seeing how many people care for his thoughts and how many people want to replicate him in a positive
way.

4. After reading the Writing Analytically packet I realized that much of the work Sherlock does in the story really lines up with the techniques which are displayed in the packet. One of the similarities between the story and the packet is that they both state that the first step in solving a problem or examining something is to gather data or observations on the small pieces and then analyze them to eventually see the bigger image. Another similarity between both is that they state that you should not judge too quickly because something that seems right sometimes is not. Not judging too quickly and the process of collecting data and analyzing it piece by piece can help us decipher the rights and wrongs in our life just as Sherlock Holmes did.

5.
The chapter in Maria Konnikova’s, Mastermind: How To Think Like Sherlock Holmes, was very intriguing and captivating. I felt that it showed me another way to think about day to day situations and how this way could benefit me in a very positive way. The ideas which are expressed in this chapter are very similar to the ones presented in Writing Analytically. One of the greatest similarities between these two writings was the concept of not judging. They both went through how a nonjudgemental process works, in that they stated to first observe every small piece of evidence, then to analyze each piece, and finally to connect the pieces and conclude your process. This kind of thinking was difficult for me in that it required me to get rid of the first solution I came up with in a situation. I had to process all the different solutions that circled around that one situation and I had to break each one down until one of them made the most sense. Even though it was difficult, I feel as if this process is much more beneficial than judging from the first glimpse. I have been mildly successful in “seeing in new ways,” because I have been trying harder not to judge when I see something or someone for the first time, but sometimes it does not work and I let my judgemental side get the best of me. What I liked about the work was how beneficial it was in many different situations such as murder cases, hostage situations, suicides and much more. Yes I would love to explore more about
Sherlock Holmes because he is a very fascinating character in my view. I would like to watch more of his episodes and analyze his process of deduction in the crimes committed in the episodes, because this would help me better understand how I can implement the process of deduction in my own life. In addition, I would like to discuss more about the short stories that are based on Sherlock Holmes, because they are very interesting and are very informative.