The Sign of Four and Murder on the Orient Express - Research Paper Example

Due The Sign of Four and Murder on the Orient Express: Comparing and Contrasting their Plots, Characters, and Authors Introduction When you ask for the name of the most famous of detectives from literary history many people would probably say the clever, remarkable and rational 19th century British detective, Sherlock Holmes, created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and who was the basis for a number of Doyle’s novels (“Sir Arthur Conan Doyle” 1). Another famous detective, that might rank a close second, popular among literary circles is Hercule Poirot, the rather quirky Belgium detective dreamt up by writer Dame Agatha Christie (“Dame Agatha Christie” 1). These two authors set precedents in plot courses, mystery literature, developed classic characters, and earned them, both a large amount of notoriety and fame. The best way to understand these main characters is to compare and contrast their similarities and differences in two specific works: “Sign of Four” by Doyle and “Murder on the Orient Express” by Christie. Through these means we can compare and contrast their story styles and themes, their development of their protagonists, and the authors themselves. History Arthur Conan Doyle was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in May of 1859 to a strict Irish-Catholic family. Doyle’s father had little success in life and was struggled with alcoholism. His mother was an educated woman who enjoyed reading and telling stories (“Sir Arthur Conan Doyle” 1). When he was 9 years old, he left his family behind and traveled to England to attend a private Jesuit school, which was later followed by college. Doyle reported being bullied and ultimately turned to storytelling to make the time more bearable. Doyle pursued a medical degree, worked on a whaling ship, and began to develop the stories that would one day make him famous (“Sir Arthur Conan Doyle” 2). In 1890 Doyle would publish the “Sign of the Four,” which gave people more thorough introduction to the detective who would make him famous, Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes is clever, perceptive, and possesses great insight, and is insistent on using logical deductive reasoning (Kiser). It is these famous skills that he applies to “The Sign of Four.” The “Sign of Four” begins with Watson visiting Sherlock’s home at 221B Baker Street, when Holmes is engaged in ingesting cocaine, something he did regularly to lessen the boredom of an idle mind (Doyle, 1-20). The case before Holmes involves Mary Morsten, a woman who claims her father is missing. Major Sholto, friend of Mr. Morsten, did not know what had become of him. Ever since his disappearance, each year she receives a single pearl in the mail and now received an invitation for a meeting. It was map that Mr. Morsten left behind, written upon it, “The Sign of the Four;” there are four names upon it, Jonathon Small, Mahomet Singh, Abdullah Kahn, and Dost Akbar. Ultimately, it is Thaddeus Sholto, son of Major Sholto, who has been sending the pearls to Ms. Morsten and knows what happened between his father and Mr. Morsten. Morsten and Sholto had partnered in the discovery of treasure. Morsten had a heart attack and Sholto hid the body. Sholto was going to share the treasure with Morstens daughter, but Sholto died himself before he could reveal the treasure’s location. However Thaddeus is not entirely upright character; he has killed his own brother and allied with Jonathon Small, who now has the treasure. Captain Morsten and Major Sholto were double crossed by the “four.” The story concludes with Mary Morsten becoming engaged to Dr. Watson and Holmes returns to his disturbing cocaine habit (Doyle 221-235). Agatha Christie was born Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller in Devon, England in September, 1890. Christie was educated at home by her mother who encouraged her daughter to read, write, and develop her artistic expression. At the age of 16 she even traveled to Paris, France to study piano and voice. At 24 she married Archibald Christie, a Colonel in the Royal Flying Corps. as a pilot. In 1920 she published her first book, “The Mysterious Affair of Styles,” which first introduced her Belgium detective Hercule Poirot. (Dame Agatha Christie” 1). In her lifetime she would write 70 or more detective novels, a number of romance novels, which in totality earned her more than 2 billion dollars world wide (Dame Agatha Christie” 2). This has additionally earned her the universal title of “Queen of Mystery” and dubbed the most prolific writer of her genre (Antoniou 95). Hercule Poirot books passage from Stamboul on the Orient Express in response to a telegram insisting that he return to London. While dining at the hotel, prior to the train departure, he notices an American named Ratchett that Poirot decides may, in fact, be evil (Christie 16-26). When Ratchett later tells Poirot that he is receiving death threats and asks him to take his case Poirot refuses. The next morning Poirot realizes that the train has stopped having become stuck in a snow drift. He soon, also, learns that Ratchett has been murdered; stabbed 12 times (Christie 68-81). Poirot, ultimately, establishes a make-shift courtroom to question all of those who might be involved. In the end, Poirot analyzes the evidence and determines the connection of the present case with the stories of another case, a kidnapping and murder case concerning Daisy Armstrong, he had heard spoken of on the train (Christie 82-88). Ratchett was suspected and acquitted of the crime. Many of the people on the train were in some way related to Daisy Armstrong and were traveling in disguise and under assumed names. They had conspired to commit the murder of Ratchett together (Christie 231-296). Discussion Now that we have outlined and summarized both these famous crime mysteries, we can begin look at the similarities and differences in the story plots and structure. In this particular case the two stories are rather different. Because they share a genre there are certain base similarities they inevitably confront: someone has to be murdered, someone has to solve it, and there will be clues needing finding along the way. However, beyond that these two stories are quite different. The crime in “The Sign of Four” is not immediate, whereas in “Murder on the Orient Express” the murder takes place in the same location as the title character. Poirot essentially walked into the case, while Holmes’ case was brought to him. Many clues can be gleaned from Christie’s story, everything may have significance. For example, Ratchett confessed he thought someone was trying to kill him. This was totally a foreshadowing event precluding the man’s murder the following day. Also, the discussions of Daisy Armstrong’s murder case in the same way were a clue that that information will be relevant to the reader later (Christie 82-88). The clues found in Doyle’s work are not so obviously introduced into the story; in fact, in some ways, the only way the readers know that there are clues are when Sherlock Holmes points them out. In Christie’s work it feels more like she wants the reader to feel included in solving the mystery, whereas Doyle seemed to prefer reflecting how much smarter and aware Holmes is compared to those around them. While Holmes’ approach to solving mysteries is through deduction, logic, and is quite self sufficient in solving the case with little aid, Poirot’s approach is more inclusive of others and works form a meditative reflection on the evidence. When Poirot establishes the on-board court to question we are taken along for the ride, whereas in Holmes case we are essentially told the resolution of the crime. In Christie’s work everyone being interviewed is guilty, and each one adds a piece of the overall puzzle. In Doyle’s work we are led away from Thaddeus as a suspect early on, but later find that he was in fact the killer in the story. He is caught because Holmes puts it all together. Poirot would, ultimately, come to the successful conclusion to the case, but with less attempts to out-think the killer and the reader. “The Sign of Four” is, ultimately, a cut and dry case of betrayal and murder, which ends with the “villain” arrested and paying for his crime, when it is determined that Thaddeus is the killer of his brother and has allied with Jonathon Small to steal the treasure (Doyle 221-235). “The Murder on the Orient Express” is actually an ethical and moral tale, begging the reader to determine how they feel. All of the suspects on the train were technically guilty in the conspiracy to end the life of Ratchett, yet there is an ethical dilemma introduced (Christie 231-296). The victim may have murdered daisy Armstrong, is his death a matter of vengeance or justice? This work offers a level of human emotion that is lacking in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s work (Kiser). Comparing and contrasting these two written works is interesting, but comparing and contrasting the main characters is even more interesting. Aside from both being crime solvers and famous fictional detectives they do not have much in common. Sherlock Holmes is essentially a genius, well educated in multiple scientific disciplines, coarsely logical, and entirely aware of how gifted he was. In contrast, Poirot is more humble. He is not marketed as a genius, but more of a quirky, even eccentric sort of man (Kiser). Both men, all the same, though their approaches and methods may be different, are uniquely capable of viewing evidence and sleuthing to successful resolution in way the average thinkers probably never would. However the processes, temperament, and interactions are distinctly different. Whereas Holmes would deduce fascinating truths quickly just from viewing evidence, Poirot works a bit slower and reveals more throughout the course of the story (Butler). Sherlock Holmes is more an elitist with a noted disdain for law enforcement, where Poirot’s relationships was more inclusive. One of the most interesting aspects that they have in common is that Hercule Poirot living in the early 20th century was, in fact, a fan of the Victorian era Sherlock Holmes; Holmes was also a fan of himself (Butler). Finally the most interesting comparison that can be made is how, both, these great crime solvers were unusual in their manners and habits. Holmes has a cocaine addiction, smokes continuously, and behaves in somewhat of an anti-social way, while Poirot is insistent in the way his moustache is waxed, his clothing must be spotless, and shoes always shined. From a modern perspective he might be considered to have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) (Kiser). In fact, by modern standards readers’ today would likely look at these author’s characters and these two famous crime stories a bit differently. To a modern reader “The Sign of Four” might be considered a bit unrealistic, Holmes deductions would hardly be as necessary in a world where “hard” science, like DNA testing can deduce far more than Holmes can see even with his magnifying glass. “Murder on the Orient Express” with its ethical elements in relation to the crime might not be as well received to a modern audience either. Considering that the murdering of Ratchett to be “justice” may benefit the deceased girl and her vengeful family, but it does not meet the requirements of law and does not consider the rights of the “victim,” Ratchett, regardless of his guilt or innocence in the previous crime. However, it is how people would perceive that authors protagonists, Holmes and Poirot, which is most interesting. Some modern scholars argue that murder mysteries and crime stories misrepresent and stereotype peoples with mental illness (Antoniou 95). However, if anything, these two authors represent mental illness quite fairly, in that both Holmes and Poirot are not the most mentally and emotionally stable characters. As mentioned earlier Poirot’s idiosyncrasies are easily comparable to a person that suffers from OCD. This is not unlike the exaggeration of the OCD presented on the television series “Monk,” where the title character may be inspired by Christies’ Poirot. Sherlock Holmes is a bit anti-social, spending much time in activities and hobbies that are solitary in nature (Butler). He would likely be perceived as arrogant and self important. However, it is Sherlock Holmes drug use that is glossed over in the story, however by today’s standards a detective or any professional to be recreationally and regularly using drugs because their brain is “bored” essentially is not generally acceptable. The drug use alone is enough for modern readers to lose respect and credibility for the character. In the updated television series “Elementary” Johnny Lee Miller stars as a modern day Sherlock Holmes living in New York City as a recovering heroin addict, while solving crimes, as opposed to an active user of drugs. Conclusion Ultimately, “The Sign of Four” and “” Murder on the Orient Express” are two well written and entertaining stories that have earned the titles of classic literature and fine testaments to the history of their genre. After reviewing these stories, their main characters, and their author’s who created them definitely gives us great insight into their writing style, perspectives, and ideologies of the authors and the eras that they lived. Crime mysteries have always captivated audiences, finding clues, questioning the suspects, and solving the case sparks human curiosity. Characters, like Poirot and Holmes set the standard for much of the writing that came after them. Works Cited Antoniou, Janey. "Does Crime Literature Contribute to the Stigmatisation of Those with Mental Health Problems?." Psychiatric Bulletin 28 (2004): 95-97. Print. Butler, M. Anita. "Holmes vs Poirot – The Ultimate Battle of Wits." The Tigerlilly Archives. Word Press, 19 Jan. 2011. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. . Christie, Agatha. Murder on the Orient Express. Reprint 2011. HarperCollins, 2011. 1-336. Print. "Dame Agatha Christie." 2014. The Biography Channel website. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. . Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Sign of Four. online: Penguin Classics, 2001. 1-118. Print. Homer, Michael W. "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: Spiritualism and "New Religion"." Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought. 87-121. Print. Kiser, M.L.. "Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot a Literary Comparison." Humanities 360. Helium, Inc., 20 Jul. 2011. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. . "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle." 2014. The Biography Channel website. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. . Read More