Sherlock Holmes

Reasoning methods for any situation:

1. Gather the facts (ask questions about patients' symptoms and how they might have been acquired) 2. Sort the facts (eliminate useless or crazy stuff) 3. Create some hypothesis about the case 4. Arrive at the conclusion by putting together the pieces of the puzzle

Year of first published appearance

1887

Many people believed Holmes was real and sent mail to him at this address:

221 B Baker Street, London

Conan Doyle wrote _____ novels and ______ short stories featuring Holmes

4, 56

Population exploded from

850,000 to 6 million

Why do you think that Conan Doyle introduced the presence of the gypsies? What do you think about that?

Conan Doyle introduced the presence of gypsies so that we as the readers can make a deduction and infer that they might have had something to do with the murder of Julia. Also, it was to distract the audience in order for them to become more suspicious of who really murdered Julia. I believe it is a genius tactic since it pulls the audience more into the mystery and visually understanding the evidence presented in the story, such as the gypsies, (to be a detective)

Clue: Julia's dying words and actions were: "'"O, my God! Helen! It was the band! The speckled band!' ... and she stabbed with her finger into the air in the direction of the Doctor's room...'"

Deduction: At first Holmes misunderstands this clue. He thinks that it is a reference to the speckled handkerchiefs which the gypsies wear. He later understands that it was a very accurate description of the snake which killed Helen.

Clue: Helen heard a whistle: "'As I opened my door, I seemed to hear a low whistle, such as my sister described...'" Immediately afterwards, Helen heard: "'a clanging sound, as if a mass of metal had fallen.'"

Deduction: Holmes deduced that the low whistle and metallic sound made have been coming from something else. He even questioned Ms.s Helen Stoner is she was "sure about this whistle and metallic sound? She them stated, "It is my strong impression that I heard it, and yet, among the crash of the gale and the creaking of an old house, I may possibly have been deceived."

Clue: Helen has been moved into Julia's old room because of building work on her own room. Holmes observes that there seemed to be no need for any building work to be done and Helen agrees: "'I believe that it was an excuse to move me from my room.'"

Deduction: Holmes deduces that Dr. Roylott had Helen move to Julia's room so that he could put his plan on killing her to action just like he did with Julia.

Clue: Helen's describes the location of the three bedrooms: "'The bedrooms ... are on the ground floor ... the first is Dr. Roylott's, the second my sister's, and the third my own. There is no communication between them, but they all open into the same corridor.'"

Deduction: Holmes deduces that it is weird that the bedrooms are on the ground floor when most of them are on the upper levels. The rooms were near each other, despite them not seeing each other often, but there must be someone in the household involved.

Clue: Helen says of her sister Julia's engagement : "'My stepfather learned of the engagement when my sister returned [from Miss Honoria Westphalia's], and offered no objection to the marriage; but within a fortnight of the day which had been fixed for the wedding, the terrible event occurred...'"

Deduction: Holmes is suspicious of the stepfather. He deduced that the stepfather is not after Julia's engagement, but rather after the money in which her mother left. Therefore Holmes went to Doctors' Commons, where he got some data that helped with the case; the mother's will.

Clue: In Dr. Roylott's room Holmes finds: "a small saucer of milk" on the top of "a large iron safe" and "a small dog lash ... The lash, however, was curled upon itself, and tied so as to make a loop of whipcord."

Deduction: Holmes' deduction for these clues is that in Dr. Roylott's room is a small pet from the saucer of milk and hangs from the whipcord since it's looped.

Clue: Holmes discovers that the "'thick bell rope'" which hangs down onto the pillow of the bed is a dummy: "'You see now that it is fastened to a hook just above where the little opening of the ventilator is.'" He also discovers that the ventilator connects to Dr. Roylott's room. Both alterations were made just before the death of Julia.

Deduction: Holmes' deduction for this clue was that the thing that killed Julia was just the right size to fit through the ventilators and since there is no reason to pull the rope because it is a dummy bell, Holmes can deduce that the rope was used for that thing to climb down it.

Clue: Helen Stoner tells Holmes that when her mother married Dr. Roylott: "'She had a considerable sum of money, not less than a thousand a year, and this she bequeathed to Dr. Roylott entirely whilst we resided with him, with a provision that a certain annual sum should be allowed to each of us in the event of our marriage.'" Holmes later discovers more about this legacy: "'The total income ... is not ... not more than £750. Each daughter can claim an income of £250, in the case of marriage ... even one of them [marrying] would cripple him...'"

Deduction: In this story there is never any doubt about who the criminal is: Dr. Roylott killed Julia and he is trying to kill Helen. His motive for wanting them dead is to keep all of the money which his wife left to all three in her will.

Clue: Holmes observes that the bed was "'clamped to the floor ... The lady could not move her bed. It must always be in the same relative position to the ventilator and the rope...'"

Deduction: The deduction Holmes got from this clue is that the bed was clamped to the floor so the lady couldn't move. Making it easier for the snake to get to her the moment it comes out the ventilator.

Clue: The greatest single clue to the mystery is: "'That fatal night ... my sister was by the smell of the strong Indian cigars [which Dr. Roylott smoked].'"

Deduction: This means that Dr. Roylott was still awake that night when Julia was killed.

Why do you think Doyle chooses to make Watson the narrator? Is the limited point of view effective in developing a comprehensive picture of the characters?

Doyle most likely chose Watson as the narrator because if Doyle chose Sherlock, there wouldn't be an adventure as well as suspense of who committed the crime since Sherlock has solved the case before even fully investigating. The limited point of view primarily focuses on imagery, mainly for change of setting or describing a character, which is effective since it gives the audience a full "scenery" of the crimes as well as the character's traits and appearance.

Are there important objects in the story? Are they symbolic in any way?

Dr. Roylott's exotic animals such as the Cheetah and Baboon serve as an example of his aggressive nature. It symbolized Dr. Roylott's exotic practices and unusual ways.

Almost all were narrated by

Dr. Watson

The influx of immigrants and the mix of rich and poor circles created conflict and crime

Era of Jack the Ripper

Why do you think Dr. Roylott uses physical force in his meeting with Holmes?

In "The Speckled Band" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Dr. Roylott uses physical force in his brief meeting with Holmes because Roylott wanted to scare Holmes in order for him not to involve himself with Dr. Roylott's daughter's case. One, the daughter came in distraught begging for help since she believed that her twin was murdered; she stated that when her twin died, she pointed towards the stepfather's room. The stepfather wanted the daughter to be shunned away from society for greed. Since, Sherlock knew that the stepfather was of suspicion, the stepfather made it worse by confronting Sherlock with a weapon, hunting crop. Lastly, Dr. Roylott's demeanor as described is cruel and terrifying which Sherlock did find intriguing which angered Roylott causing him to break the poker.

main characters

Sherlock Holmes, Dr. Watson, Helen and Julia Stoner, the snake, and Dr. Roylott.

- author of Sherlock Holmes stories -a spiritualist who firmly believed in ghosts, fairies, etc.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

a reader makes an inference when they use evidence from the text plus their prior knowledge to make observations/conclusions about what they read

The Art of Deduction

One of the first magazines where the stories appeared and they continued for 40 years

The Strand

What is the central conflict? How is it resolved?

The central conflict was to figure out how Helen's sister died. It was resolved through a series of events. Helen turned to the best detective, Sherlock Holmes, for help. She gave Sherlock Holmes information she knew about the death of her sister. Holmes inspected the scene of the murder and gathered important clues. Holmes decided to stay the night. By staying the night Holmes was able to solve the mystery of how the Dr. Roylott carried out the murder.

Are there long paragraphs of description? What purpose do they serve?

The long paragraphs of description serve the purpose of informing the reader and allowing him or her to create an image. The long descriptive paragraphs also provide Holmes with important information needed to solve the case. For example, Doyle talks about the house having a broken window which could be the excuse used by Dr. Roylott to call for construction and put Helen in the room next to his.

What is the setting of the story? Does the setting change at all?

The setting of the story is Holmes' apartment in 221B Baker Street Surrey, London. Yes, the setting started off in Holmes apartment in London and then it changed to Dr. Roylott's ancestral mansion.

Are there any unexpected or surprising turn of events?

The snake killing Dr. Roylott was an unexpected event. This event was caused by Holmes lighting the match, sending the snake up the rope, throw the ventilator and bitting Dr. Roylott, leading to his surprising death.

What is the point of view of this story? Who is the narrator?

The story is told in a first person point of view by Dr. Watson.

Identify at least two themes that emerge from the story?

The theme of greed is presented in the story. Dr. Roylott wanted to keep the money from his step daughters' mother for himself. Another theme in the story is heroism. Holmes was heroic in this story. He saved Helen's life.

-events occurred during this era -late 1800's, early 1900's

Victorian Era

rubber

card game

London was a perfect place to set Holmes' work bc:

cramped and busy city intensely described and brings reader to the action

hansomes

horses

Why does Sir Arthur Conan Doyle spend so much time developing descriptions of nature?

so that the reader can visualize the setting of the story better. Also, to get the audience involved into the story of " who committed the deed?"

Mr. Merryweather

the bank manager

john clay is

vincent spaulding