The Hound of the Baskervilles

The Truth About Sherlock Holmes

Many people have heard of Sherlock Holmes but do they really know who he is? Everybody sees him as a famous worldwide detective but in fact he is more than that. In the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Sherlock Holmes who is the protagonist, serves as a determined character always unfolding any kind of mystery and is a very complicated but yet fascinating man. During the whole book Sherlock shows us that he is bold, arrogant and intelligent.

Throughout the novel Holmes demonstrates that he is a brave person. The first way he showed his courage was when Sherlock and Watson hear a sound of terror and “had started running swiftly over the moor…blindly ran through the gloom, blundering against boulders” (Page185) A man ran off a cliff, trying to escape from the hound, the man’s name was Selden, the criminal of the story who had escaped from prison. Holmes and Watson find Selden’s body wearing Sir Henry’s clothes, who had a smell which attracted the hound. The second way he displayed this trait is when Sherlock and Watson were near the Stapleton’s house on the moor with their pistols ready. Sir Henry comes running through the fog, pursued by the hound. “all three, uncertain what horror was about to break from the heart of it…his eyes shining brightly in the moonlight…At the instant Lestrade gave a yell of terror and threw himself downward upon the ground” (Page 215-216) Sherlock proved this trait by running straight after the hound with absolutely no fear.

Not only was Sherlock brave, but also arrogant. He loves to see himself as the greatest detective of all time. In many parts of the novel Holmes is always telling Watson how he does everything wrong and he can do things so much better. A good illustration of this trait would be after Watson’s extensive explanation of Mortimer’s walking stick, when Sherlock insults Watson saying “some people without possession genius have a remarkable power of stimulating it” (Page 11) Holmes is being egocentric because he thinks he is a genius and Watson is an idiot. Another example of the protagonist’ arrogance is when Dr. Mortimer left his walking cane therefore Holmes tells Watson to find clues. Mortimer arrives to pick up his cane and explains to Holmes that he is doubt “the second highest expert in Europe” (Page 17) which offends him considering the fact he thinks of himself as the best sleuth in the universe.

Being the brave and arrogant detective he is. Holmes also showed his best natural skills. Through the whole book he showed that his intelligence comes in handy in some events of the book. For instance when Holmes examined the warning letter, he notices. “a faint smell of the scent known as white jessamine. There as seventy-five perfumes” (Page 235-236) His thoughts started to go towards the Stapleton’s. He uses this skill and memorises more than seventy five perfumes just to solve crimes on his own. The second example is when Dr. Mortimer reads an old document, about a hound who killed Sir Hugo Baskerville, and also had menaced the family Baskerville ever since. Holmes identifies the manuscript who can recognize that “the exact date is 1742”(Page 19) not 1730.He shows the reader that he is clever whereas he found the date in just a few seconds of looking an inch or two away from it.

After reading this essay on his main traits, you should know who Sherlock Holmes really is. He is always showing that he is fearless, way too contemptuous about himself and is a clever detective. Perhaps the next time you are looking for a pleasurable book to read, go find the Sherlock Holmes series for some of the best detective books out there. It would be an amazing idea!