Arthur Conan Doyle created a very unique character when he invented Sherlock Holmes. He has a remarkably high intelligence level, which makes him bored of everyday life. This leads him to be addicted to drugs, such as cocaine and heroin, and how he has very few friends other than Dr. Watson. However, it is because of this high intelligence level that he is a great detective – one of the best ever created.
What makes Sherlock Holmes so great are his observation skills. They are so remarkable that he can deduce a man’s life story with only the smallest details to go off. He uses these details to help solve many of the mysteries he is presented with, often times by talking through them with Dr. Watson. Sherlock even tells Watson, “The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.” (28)
In this one sentence, Sherlock’s whole personality is given. He is seen as a man of wisdom, as what he says is very true. However, he uses the word “nobody”, which separates him from the rest of the world. This one word shows that he thinks of himself better than anyone else and that he is alone in being smart enough to figure out the most “obvious things”.
The word “things” is also an interesting word. He did not say details, which would imply his acute observation skills, but by saying “things” he shows that he believes himself to be superior in many different areas. Another interesting phrase that he says is “by any chance”. This shows that there is not any question to him that there is anybody out in the world that is smarter or better than him.
This sentence is about how Sherlock knows that he is better than anybody else. It also shows that he is very disappointed in the world that such “obvious things” are never notices other than himself. I think this sentence also explains why Sherlock is bored with society and turns to drugs for relief. However, this sentence also makes me question if it is foreshadowing Sherlock meeting someone who is just as smart, if not smarter, than himself later in the novel.
This seems to me to be Arthur Conan Doyle creating the archetypal genius character. Sherlock Holmes, when not under the influence of mind altering substances, is unable to interact with his associates. In turn, this leads him to experience extreme boredom. To stave off boredom, he turns to cocaine and heroin. However, this may be an essential part of his character, as it allows him to think outside the box, thus giving him his almost supernatural detective abilities., thus making Sherlock Holme’s drug habit quintessential to his nature.
Another sentence that also sums up Homes and his investigations is the line “But we hold several threads in our hands, and the odds are that one or other of them guides us to the truth,” (page 49). Homes find all the “things” that “nobody” else sees in the world. He works through all of “by chance” observes. And by chance or “the odds” Homes sorts his way through all the information that is overlooked. He sees what other do not, and that’s what makes him the great detective he is.
The first part of the book definitely seems to be building some sort of confrontation between Sherlock and a person or being that is at least as smart as himself. It is sentences like this one that seem imply a certain arrogance about Sherlock that the only interesting event that could occur to Sherlock is something that he does not understand in the first place. By making Sherlock such an invincible character, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is effectively creating suspense and stoking a desire in the reader for Sherlock to finally meet his match. When this confrontation is to be had, readers will certainly be on their seats because of how little other problems have affected Sherlock Holmes.
The analysis of this quote is very interesting and thought provoking. I took a completely different view of what Homes meant when he said it. While he is no doubt incredibly intelligent and does give off the feeling of being “bored with life” I read this quote in a completely different way. While the phrase “obvious things” does show Holmes’s intelligence and how observant he is, the words “by any chance” seem to suggest that people could notice the same things he does, and almost is questioning why they do not. As Carlin suggests in this blog post, the quote really is telling of Holmes’s character. I believe that it demonstrates another side to him, where he, wonders about his observance and intelligence. In this he is almost telling Watson, you too could notice and observe these obvious things as well, but it is by a chance that you don’t. He is still solving the mystery of why they do not notice and uses chance as the temporary answer. I think the phrase also points at a central idea of mystery novels, that all the clues are there, and people often know one of them and have no idea it’s of importance. It takes one brilliant and special person to do that, and that is where the somewhat bored Homes comes in.
Interesting post. This connects well with the post “Best Friends Forever?” because you both highlight Sherlock Holmes’ observant, yet egotistic (and somewhat pretentious) personality.
The word choice here is incredibly important, as you have noted. Especially the word “nobody” which says that, in all of the world, nobody is as intelligent as Sherlock Holmes of 221b Baker Street. He is being completely separated from the rest of society because no one else can live up to his intelligence.
As I began to think about this post, I noticed something. Throughout the novel, Watson is arguably more involved than Holmes because he is seen throughout much more of the novel (and he is the narrator!). In spite of this, Holmes’ presence is always felt by the reader, emphasizing that even readers recognize how supreme of a character Holmes is in comparison to Watson. It doesn’t matter if Watson is doing all the dirty work at Baskerville Hall whiles Holmes is out in the moor – readers still acknowledge that Holmes is the brains to the investigation. This post, even though said at the beginning of the novel, is a nice summary of Holmes’ character throughout: he is supreme.
Despite his narcissism, I (for one) can’t help but be impressed by Holmes’ impressive observation skills. In addition, I always want him to be right. I guess that’s what Doyle wanted to accomplish when creating Holmes: an intelligent man, yet rude.