Relationship Between Holmes And Watson In Hound Of The Baskervilles

This essay sample essay on Relationship Between Holmes And Watson In Hound Of The Baskervilles offers an extensive list of facts and arguments related to it. The essay’s introduction, body paragraphs and the conclusion are provided below.

There are five main points I am going to explain about the different aspects of Holmes and Watson’s relationship and how each point adds to the enjoyment of the novel. The first obvious main point to start with is that the book is Holmes’ biography.

All the Sherlock Holmes books are all about what Watson does with Holmes on their cases and at home before and after each case. This particular tale however, is not only based at home and in one other place, it’s based on a few different places like Devonshire, Coombe Tracey etc.

Watson always tells the storyline, as he is the biographer of these cases and of Sherlock Holmes’ life. This is evidence of the books authenticity, as this could physically happen in real life.

As well as this being the biography of Sherlock Holmes, it is also an autobiography for Watson. It is shown in this book especially, as there are a few chapters where Holmes is not in the book itself, only written to by Watson.

We see this point right at the beginning of the book, when it says “Mr Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings, save upon those not infrequent occasions when he stayed up all night, was seated at the breakfast table.

Get quality help now

WriterBelle

Verified

Proficient in: Love

4.7 (657)

“ Really polite, and a great writer! Task done as described and better, responded to all my questions promptly too! ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

” This shows us that Watson has been around Holmes for a while as he even knows and writes what time Holmes wakes up in the morning. This is telling us that Holmes and Watson must have been friends for a number of years because otherwise Watson would not have know about what time Holmes wakes up etc.

What Did Dr. Watson Say About Sherlock

The second main point is that Holmes and Watson are obviously very close friends but although they are such close friends their friendship is very strange as they have a very competitive side to it. The bizarre relationship between Watson and Holmes is shown especially when Holmes is listening to Watson saying what he thinks of the stick, letting Watson think he’s getting it all right when actually Holmes has a completely different answer.

Another time Conan Doyle adds to their friendship is by telling us the extent of which they know each other. For when I see the stub of a cigarette marked Bradley, Oxford Street, I know that my friend Watson is in the neighbourhood. ” This shows us how much Holmes knows about Watson. He knows that he smokes and even which brand he smokes. By using the word friend he also is explaining that it is because of his friendship, that he is able to recognize it being Watson’s stub. This could also mean that this brand was not such a popular type of cigarette and Holmes knew that Watson did in fact actually like it.

This makes the book extremely enjoyable to read by allowing us to see a friendship that is so realistic that it’s like we are actually there. No friendship is perfect and there is, like theirs, a very competitive side to any friendship. There are points in the book when we see how much Watson actually trusts Holmes. This is shown especially right at the beginning of the book, when Holmes goes to wake up Watson. This proves that Holmes is allowed to enter Watson’s room and is also allowed to wake him up at any time he wants.

The third main point is that they are both partners in the work of investigation and although they are only work partners, we feel at home since they are still friends and it’s a pleasant environment to be in. Although they are close friends, we do see that they are still work partners as every time they sit down to drink a cup of tea, they are always talking about the case that they are currently dealing with, rather than a joke that someone said in a pub last night, for example.

Holmes and Watson do not have equal positions in the job that they work in. Holmes is more of the “solver” and does not go out to explore. He uses his mental knowledge rather than his physical capabilities as he says in chapter one “I have been to Devonshire in spirit” we see from here that Holmes is a man of much intellect and can picture things in his head without actually leaving the place where he’s at. Watson, on the other hand, is the “explorer” or the “worker”, the man who does all the physical work, searching for clues.

Holmes still thinks of Watson as an amazing detective and very important to every case he does, as he mentions twice in the book about Watson being “the man of action” (page 140) and also him being there at the “hour of action” (page 30) this is showing us how Holmes is the superior one and Watson is inferior the pair. This also provides us with entertainment whilst reading this book because we see that Holmes is a man of much intellect and a controlling genius and it’s as if Watson is almost running behind him saying “wait up, I know what the answer is” although he actually has got the wrong side of the stick.

Both detectives need and value each other’s help in this work and it is enjoyable to watch them working together to figure out the case. There is within the friendship of Holmes and Watson an aspect of Master and Apprentice or Schoolmaster and Pupil. This is shown a lot throughout the book; especially in Chapter One when Watson is saying what he thinks has happened to the stick and how old it is. Holmes sits and listens and occasionally comments, “good” or “excellent”. This shows how Holmes is treating Watson like a schoolchild who has just answered a question correctly.

Also when Holmes makes a right deduction, he says the deduction so matter-of-factly, almost like he’s trying to teach him the way to work it out, for example when Holmes says “Do none suggest themselves? You know my methods. Apply them! ” and also when he says “as to the latter part… ” he says this as if the answer is obvious and why would anyone think different! This is another element that adds humour to this incredible book. It does this by making the story sound like two people, one who is literally always being bossed around by the other and yet he still follows the bossy one about.

At one point of the book, though, we see that Watson is offended and he says, “Then you use me, and yet do not trust me. ” But as a whole we know that Watson and Holmes are very friendly with each other and each one doesn’t mind the other ones faults. The construction of the story is written in a narrative point- this is the final point I wish to raise in this essay and is quite different to the other elements previously written in this book the narrator is actually … the sidekick; Using a sidekick is a very useful thing for an author whilst writing a book or making a film about detectives.

The vast majority of all detectives have one or more sidekicks. We see in G. k Chesterton’s books there are always Father Brown and his sidekick Flambeau. In Agatha Christie’s detective stories there is always Hercule Poirut and Colonel Hastings. All these amazing detective stories have the common denominator of a sidekick. Having a sidekick enables the author, in this case, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle to control the flow of the information that gets passed to the audience. Sometimes an author can use this technique to create an irony in the story or the other way round just to confuse the readers.

Sometimes by having a sidekick, it can even make people feel they are in the story by letting the readers find out something very crucial to the storyline at the same time as the characters. When they found out that the dog had killed Selden instead of Sir Henry was an exciting and relieving part of the book where one felt the same as the characters. When they found out who it was who was trying to kill Sir Henry or even at the time when Mr and Mrs Stapleton were found out not to be brother and sister.

All of the times, we experience similar feeling to the narrator. It can also help to display the emotions between Holmes and Watson at different times throughout the book. Watson becoming angry in the middle of the book because of something he had not found out that Holmes had known is an example of when the relationship of Holmes and Watson gets a bit tangled up. There are lots of different aspects of the relationship between Holmes and Watson. All these aspects have been thought about before writing the book and this is what makes the book so enjoyable.