The Sign of the Four

“The Sign of the Four”, which is about “a stolen treasure”, is one of the historical novels written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, one of the best-paid author of his time; it appeared in Lippincott’s Magazine in February 1890, under agreement with the Ward Lock company. A lady named Mary Morstan visited Sherlock Holmes to investigate a mystery treasure finest pearls she received as a gift every year and a map clue left by her father. Her father was a former officer in charge of a convict-guard, disappeared in December 1878 without trace. According to Miss. Morstan speech, the question about the death of Major Sholto who was also a convict-guard officer, seemed to have a link with Captain Morstan disappearing; she raised then another question about…

In The Sign of Four, Arthur Conan Doyle writes about non-European cultures with a negative connotation that is discriminatory towards cultures that are not of European decent. These views are dominantly expressed through either the character Sherlock Holmes or the character Jonathan Small. Jonathan Small’s description and treatment of Tonga, his companion, are the perfect example of how non-Europeans are viewed and treated during the time period in which this novel was written. Small also talks…

Sherlock Holmes is a detective hero of all times, a fictional character who is more famous than his creator Arthur Conan Doyle. The Scottish author Doyle wrote one of his well-known novel “The Sing of Four starring” the unique and detailed character Sherlock Holmes. Although Doyle has never been a colonist nor his character Holmes, the novel presents the idea of the British empire and its power along with the danger of colonized India and its people through Victorian perspective. I shall start…

writer for the Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine comes to England to interview Doyle, because he was better known in America than in England. A few years before Doyle was interviewed, he wrote two letters about his participation in the Spiritualist movement until 1916, he wrote 3 books about his participate in this movement, Beyond the City 1885, The Stark Munro Letters 1895 and A Duet with an occasional chorus 1889. After his writing career finally started to he decided to retire from his medical…

Pharmacy Drug Act recognized the science behind the dangers of drugs and restricted the sale of opium; despite this, few doctors actually warned patients of the consequences of drugs . In fact, cocaine was dubbed the, “divine drug,” by the mainstream media. The same doctors that were supposed to discourage drug use claimed that cocaine could cure toothache, labor pains, hay fever, and melancholy . This attitude towards drugs was not lost in the characterization of Sherlock Holmes. Conan Doyle…

You are a literary scholar and expert on the mystery genre. You have been asked to deliver a guest lecture for a college course in criminal justice; specifically, you must discuss the qualities of a good detective. Write a lecture that compares two popular detectives, one of whom must be Sherlock Holmes. The other detective can be from another work of literature, a film, or a television series. Evaluate the fictional detectives’ positive and negative qualities, their strategies, and their…

Sherlock Holmes, the greatest detective in the world, is one of the most recognizable literary characters. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's legacy has been immortalized many times throughout the years in various small and big screen adaptations. One of the more recent and positively reviewed is the 2009 mystery action flick simply titled Sherlock Holmes, directed by Guy Ritchie. Robert Downey Jr. steps into the shoes of the great detective and is set on the momentous task of hunting down Lord Henry…

In the late 1880’s of Victorian England, one of the most iconic and well-known duo’s was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.Throughout his book, The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson can be seen as two complete opposites. Their differences are revealed through the roles they play in the book, how they think, and how they change from the beginning to the end of the novel. Even through their hardships and disagreements, Watson and Holmes use their differences to make up the…

Written in 1939 and directed in 1941 respectively, The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler and The Maltese Falcon by John Huston are iconic in the detective genre for reinventing what it really means to be a detective in the world of literature. Their main characters are a far cry from the Sherlock Holmes and the Philo Vance type of private eye who never make any mistakes and always get the better of the villain. Instead, their detectives are gritty, hardened, and deeply flawed. However, one detective…

Sherlock Holmes has been featured in several stories by his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Traditionally, he has been highly regarded for his intellect, but many readers question if Holmes has emotions. We do not know Holmes' thoughts, but only those of his friend Dr. John Watson who narrates the stories Holmes is in. I am looking for evidence, however, that he has emotions based on his actions. Even though Holmes may appear to show a complete disregard of emotions at times, I have reason to…