The Speckled band Essay Example for Free

The Speckled band Essay The horrific details that Conan Doyle puts across in his stories are not dampened in any way and this makes the story seem more believable. He goes to great lengths to describe everything so that a full picture can be constructed without leaving anything to the imagination. This ensures that the reader sees the story in exactly the way Conan Doyle wants them to see it. It also emphasises the feeling of trust for the narrator since hes sharing so many details. In The Adventure of the Engineers Thumb an example of this detail shows in the paragraph spoken by the engineer: Oh no: not now. I shall have to tell my tale to the police; but, between ourselves, if it were not for the convincing evidence of this wound of mine, I should be surprised if they believed my statement, for it is a very extraordinary one, and I have not much in the way of proof with which to back it up. And, even if they believe me, the clues which I can give them are so vague that it is a question whether justice will be done. In order to increase the image created by Conan Doyle, conversation is short, sharp and factual to make sure that only facts are expressed to the reader so that they can make up their own mind about what is happening. Conan Doyle doesnt force his opinions on them and this makes it more realistic. An example of this type of conversation is exchanged between Holmes and the Engineer: One horse? interjected Holmes. Yes, only one. Did you observe the colour? Yes, I saw it by the sidelights when I was stepping into the carriage. It was chestnut. Tired-looking or fresh? Oh, fresh and glossy. Thank-you. I am sorry to have interrupted you. Pray continue your most interesting statement. The engineer seems to be telling everything he knows and this makes him much more believable. The very detailed description of the events has another effect. It very gradually builds up the suspense and the reader is allowed to wonder what the mystery could be and what could be so unusual. The engineers statement is greatly lengthened to ensure that this happens effectively. The intrigue of this story is increased by the odd contrasts between the characters. To one side of the engineer, there is a very respectable professional man, Dr. Watson, who is in stark contrast to the quirky and abnormal private detective Sherlock Holmes and they are both in stark contrast to the engineer, a man of manual occupation. The quirkiness, that is so unique to Holmes character, adds a further level of realism to the story because it enables twists to the plot that ensure the story is not tiresome. The name Colonel Lysander Stark gives a sense of intrigue. The reader is at once put on edge about his behaviour, reminded of a stereotypical Colonel, who is a cruel harsh person with militaristic cruelty. He is portrayed as a model villain. He has a German accent, which was a very common nationality for stereotypical villains of stories of the time. From the beginning, he is described as thin, mysterious and inhuman. These qualities can be seen from Conan Doyles description of Stark: he is man rather over the middle size but of an exceeding thinness. I do not think that I have ever seen so thin a man. His whole face sharpened away into nose and chin, and the skin of his cheeks was drawn quite tense over his outstanding bones. Yet this emaciation seemed to be his natural habit, and due to no disease, for his eye was bright, his step brisk, and his bearing assured. Using little but important description, he is able to build up a powerful image that has the ability to shock the reader. It is instantly believable and this serves the purpose of calming the reader into a false sense of security. When the whole truth is finally revealed it is more stunning and much more successful in entertaining the reader. The language of the time seemed to be as formal and as accurate English as it could be and much less slang was used. Holmes and Watson speak very typically posh English. Using a language like this gives the stories the atmosphere of that time. Conan Doyle established a tradition of detective fiction and as a result Sherlock Holmes became one of the most famous and popular detectives. When Conan Doyle killed off Sherlock Holmes, the public was devastated to read about the death of the detective. Men in London wore black armbands as a mark of protest. It got so bad that Conan Doyle even received death threats and as a result he re-introduced Sherlock Holmes. This just shows how popular, realistic and believable the Sherlock Holmes stories really are. The reason why Sherlock Holmes stories are popular is because of their fascinating and realistic characters and settings. The stories are very descriptive and it gives you a clear picture of what is happening in them. The settings create an entrancing and mysterious atmosphere from a fascinating period in time for the reader to be drawn into. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Conan Doyle section.