Comparison and differences between Conan Doyle Essays

Comparison and differences between Conan Doyle Essays Comparison and differences between Conan Doyle Essay Comparison and differences between Conan Doyle Essay Explore the points of comparison and differences between Conan Doyles The Adventure of the Speckled Band and Rendells Bloodlines Wider Reading  The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Bloodlines by Ruth Rendell diverge in a number of ways. These two stories were written at different times during history. The Adventure of the Speckled Band was written in the late eighteenth to early nineteenth century, where as Bloodlines was written in the mid to late nineteenth century. These two stories are set about one hundred years apart. The differences in the stories can be compared in the following ways: The character and method of the detectives in each short story are not the same. In The Adventure of the Speckled Band, Sherlock Holmes is the detective and Dr. Watson is his accomplice. Holmes has appeared in many of Conan Doyles previous works of literature. He comes across to the reader as mysterious and clever. He is regarded as mysterious due to his alleged brown cape and hat. This vision of him makes the reader think that he likes to keep things to himself (which he does). He is quiet when he is not absorbed in a case, and he is calm and collected for the majority of the time. He rarely loses his temper throughout the whole of the story. Sherlock Holmes is also delineated as extremely clever in the way he thinks and acts. He has meritorious analytical and observatory skills. One can perceive these skills very early on in the story. I observe the second half of a return ticket in the palm of your left glove you had a good drive in a dogcart, along heavy roads, before you reached the station. From the quote, one can see that Holmes uses ratiocinative skills to come to that conclusion. Holmes works alone and does not share the information he has achieved until he is sure that it is true. From this, one can see that Holmes has pride in his work. This can be seen from the following, located at the very end of the story. I had come to these conclusions before I had entered this room The fact that Watson is telling the story keeps the reader in suspense. Due to the fact that Holmes doesnt share his clues with anyone else, not even Watson causes tension and suspense and it makes the reader become even more submersed into the story. Sherlock Holmes comes across as quite a strong character. From the following taken from the narrative, Holmes demonstrates his strength: he picked up the steel poker and, with sudden effort, straightened it out again. One can also tell that Holmes is a very placid and collected character because when Dr. Roylott confronted him, he remained composed and dignified in front of the erratic Dr. Roylott. Holmes showed that Dr. Roylott did not intimidate him by perplexing him. The following demonstrates this: But I have heard that the crocuses promise well  Ha! You put me off, do you?  Here, Holmes is demonstrating his superiority, to the reader. He shows no remorse in doing so. When Holmes straightens out the poker, he is effectively insinuating that he is just as good as Dr. Roylott, possibly even more so. He is also proving that he has equal physical strength.  Holmes tells Watson after his interlude with Dr. Roylott that he does not wish to be associated with the police. Fancy his [Dr. Roylotts] insolence to confound me with the official detective force! Again, this shows that he thinks he is better than the police as he is implicitly rude to them here. We can see that Holmes enjoys working independently from the following (at the beginning of the story): As to reward, my profession is its own reward This shows the reader that Holmes is only a detective because he enjoys the occupation. It is also saying that Holmes is not concerned about money. On the other hand, Bloodlines by Ruth Rendell is dissimilar in terms of the character and method of the detectives. In Bloodlines, there are two detectives involved. Only one main detective features in the story and that is Wexford, but the other detective, Burden, has his own place in the story as well. Wexford comes across to the reader as very persistent. He is very qualified in his job and gets on with it. One can see that he does so right at the beginning of the play when he is interviewing Arlene Heddon. You wont mind if I come back in a day or two and well have another talk. It is Wexford that takes charge throughout the story, and he voices his opinion the most. Wexford does have a personality, but Rendell doesnt show it to the readers. He does not reveal much information about himself throughout the duration of the story. One can also see that Wexford is very competent. He realises from the clues in the facts that it was Carol Fox that had killed Tom. The following is taken from the narrative towards the end of the story. From those pictures he suddenly knew who had killed Tom Peterlee and why. This is the only time in the story in which the narrative withholds information about what Wexford thinks. It is Wexford that puts all the clues together to solve the crime. Burden, the other detective, is not really involved in the murder of Tom Peterlee, but he helps Wexford out. This act shows the reader that Wexford and Burden are quite close acquaintances. Burden is a very busy man and he has other things to do. The reason why Burden does not appear to be on the same level as Wexford is because he is working on a different case to Wexford. He is very judgemental when he meets Arlene, he comments about her and he says that: Intelligent girls dont live in caravans with married welders. This quote shows that although Burdens views are very set and prejudiced, he is still observant enough to see Arlenes intelligence.