Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparrow
Yet, in the first chapter, Holmes ridicules Watson's bumbling attempts to deduce anything from a walking stick.
"When I said that you stimulated me I meant, to be frank, that in noting your fallacies I was occasionally guided towards the truth."
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As I get older, I find I enjoy the Sherlock Holmes stories less and less, due to Holmes' arrogant attitude and condescending treatment of Watson. Overall, the stories are still a good read, but I'm tempted to turn the page and skip ahead when Holmes is being snarky...
Two items stood out for me in re-reading The Hound of the Baskervilles after a long absence. The first is how much of this story is written in Watson's "voice". Sherlock Holmes appears in the chapters 1-4, then is absent until the last paragraph of chapter 11 when Watson learns the mysterious man inhabiting a stone hut is actually Holmes. Chapter 12 highlights the actions and thoughts of Holmes after he sends Watson to the countryside along with Sir Henry Baskerville and Dr. Mortimer. the narrative is again picked up by Watson, and continues until the final chapter, when Holmes summarizes what really happened and why.
The second item that struck me in HoTB was the classic mystery technique of stopping a crime from happening, then the hero and sidekick spend the following chapter explaining the villain's motive and how they solved the mystery. Although this technique was in use before 1901 (when HoTB was published), it is well-developed in this story, and certainly wraps up all the details in a bright red bow
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Sherri