Sample Paper on Damsel in Distress Origin

As well as being unnervingly clever, controlling, and intuitive, which probably all stem from his early education, in private educational systems, – but who knows, for he doesn’t mention his family or origin in this book, and as I am aware, nor does he in other books of this series – he also uses sarcasm. The author may have done this, to stop people from ‘working’ out Sherlock, in order to keep them guessing, and therefore more interested etc.

An example of his wit is, ‘Holmes chuckles heartily, “Your Conversation is most entertaining” said he, “When you go out Close the door, for there is a decided draft”.

This is in response to Holmes first encounter that of which is a display of violent activity, with the villain of the Speckled Band, Dr. Roylott. It shows that when Sherlock Holmes is presented with undeniable violence, instead of retaliating in the same way, which he shows himself to be capable of; he chooses instead to use his educated wit to fight back with, but perhaps his cockiness presents a weak spot, for he seems arrogant.

To me he also displays the following traits: Lonely and Manipulative Behaviour; An Outsiders Perspective; A life full Secrecy, he seems to ‘Hold the Cards close To His Chest’. These characteristics comply and interlock with Dr. Watsons, The following paragraph explains why and how their relationship has grown. As I have also mentioned in the first few paragraphs, their relationship is integrated.

I see Dr. Watson, as a Simple Minded, timid and keen to learn Man; this is probably why He and Sherlock have thrived, and they both have a thirst for facts, and discoveries, and with Watson being so simple, there is no competition of ego’s, only teamwork.

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Baffled, just like the reader, Dr. Watson has to place trust in his associate, Holmes, in order to remain intact, even when persecuted by villains in the series.

The villainous character in the speckled band is Dr. Roylott. His improper entrance, after being described as man of supposed murderous capability, does nothing to try and prove his innocence, it merely makes him seem to un-intelligent too of committed such a crime, as the one in the Speckled Band. His improper entrance also shows that he is controlling, and does not like to be betrayed, but this oath like behaviour, when not responded to as desired, leads him to be calculative when forced, by his inescapable greed, to kill off his step-daughters for their small fortune. He succeeds in killing one, but Helen, the remaining step-daughter notifies Sherlock Holmes, just as a whistle arouses suspicion that she may meet the same fate as her sister.

This introductive description of Miss. Helen Stoner, “A Lady dressed in Black, and Heavily Veiled”, leads me to believe that she is in a period of mourning, due to the recent events that have torn her family apart, which of course led to her hurried arrival in London, at Sherlock’s Door. It also shows that she does not want to be recognized, as I think she feels she is betraying her stepfather, Dr. Roylott, for she has doubts regarding his sanity. When describing the nature of her Stepfather, she also tells of how his behavior is somewhat confusing, for he is away for long periods of time travelling, with the gypsies that ‘have set up a camp’ on the land.

In Victorian times, people of his and their family’s caliber were not often comfortably associated with ‘vagabonds’. However, she is putting emphasize on the gypsies, this could be an attempt to mask her own guilt, and push Sherlock onto the wrong path of enquiries. But what motive does Helen have? She described how her sister and she were very close, and how her older sister Julie, was engaged to be married shortly, and consequently marriage means having to leave the family home, and herself, alone with the psychotic step-father. This could provide enough motives to substantiate Helen being a possible murderer, for she could be framing her step-father, who she knew would be the perfect candidate for her to pin the blame upon.

Another quote to describe Helen, “Her face all drawn and gray”, shows how her and her sister, were under a lot of physical stress, so she could easily be envious of her sister, finding love and leaving her to cope with running the household. However this theory is contradictive, when she tries hard to protect her father to begin with, when she attempts to hide her step-fathers abuse. Consequently to all of this, she could simply not desire to want to suffer the consequences for bearing a secret suspicion that he had something to do with her sister’s untimely death, for as she also says, she explains his brawls with the locals, and how he can ended up in court as a result, as she feels going to Holmes is a betrayal of her family, and as I mentioned in my description of the Victorian era, family values are very important. She, all in all, is the perfect Victorian Damsel in Distress.

After describing the characters, it is about time to try and explain how these characters fit together, and how the author uses them and their behaviour, through particular use of language to create tension, and add mystery. So how did the characters in the Speckled Band test the pair’s friendship? And why would the author use these interlocked personalities in order to capture the reader’s imagination? The rather eerie Holmes’s behaviour can sometimes, seem to be un thought out, and dangerous to all involved, for example, when bating Dr. Roylott, he did not tell his companion what to expect, so he could of easily been caught in the midst of a snake Vs cane fight to the death. Because of the un-stuck characters behaviour the reader gels better with the loyal Dr. Holmes.

This is the same for Helen Stoner, and Dr. Roylott, for she is calm, where as he acts like a brute, and is “uncontrollable in his anger”; so naturally the audience become to trust her, as she tries to conform to most Victorian morals. As, I just stated, his is depicted as “uncontrollable in his anger”, and as Helen describes, he has a rather tuned fascination for large, wild, and vicious animals, maybe he replicates these behavioural traits. For he appears a brute, with a problem communicating, as the baboon and cheetah do, as they thrive on death, but underneath it all, in a wild environment only the cunning and sly survive, and as we find out, when Dr. Roylott is found to be the murderer, we see that this was his persona after all.

Helen, is the main link, between Holmes, the murderer, and the deceased, therefore she is the one in the ‘spotlight’. She raises concern, and it’s her life that has been affected, and is now threatened. Helen Stoner, however as the story unfolds, and more depth is added to her character regarding the stressed that she has had to bear, is it plain to see that she is not quite the typical emotionally neglected and reserved Victorian women. For she is genuinely distressed by the death of her sister, and it also comes clear that should not of killed her sister, for she did not have enough hatred to do so. She adds tension to her part of the story every well, she adds great emphasize on everything she says, and this is normal for every new victim and Villain, add more to the Holmes and Watson recipe.