Forensic Abilities of Sherlock Holmes - Essay Example

Running head: FORENSIC ABILITIES Forensic Abilities of Sherlock Holmes Sherlock Holmes, the great fictional detective created by Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle uses his great powers of observation, scientific methods and his great intellect to solve crimes in “The Red-Headed League” and ”Silver Blaze”. While in “The Red-Headed League” he averts a cleverly formulated bank robbery, In “Silver “Blaze”, he finds the missing race horse and solves the murder of the trainer. Introduction Modern forensic science owes a great deal to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who created the famous detective Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock Holmes has been the greatest detective of modern fiction. The stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle have been translated into all the major languages of the world. Investigation of crime has become more scientific and logical after the stories of Sherlock Holmes started to appear in journals in the late nineteenth century. In these stories, the detective Sherlock Holmes follows a scientific method of investigation. He considers even the seemingly insignificant evidence, and follows all the clues, till he solves the crime. He notices the dress, manner and bearing of a person and forms his conclusions. Many times, he can foresee a crime about to be committed, as in the case of “The Red-Headed League” and “The Speckled Band”. Quite often he has been able to prevent a crime from being committed, but many times he has been a little late. He usually finds out who has committed the crime. When his stories were first published in English journals, people were very eager to read them. The author, Conan Doyle made him disappear in an encounter with the arch criminal Professor Moriarty. The detective had become so popular, that there were many protests. Finally, Conan Doyle had to make Sherlock Holmes reappear The Body .Holmes always follows scientific methods when he is detecting a crime. He checks all the information available. He is very observant, and sees many things that other people do not see .In the stories, he helps the police to catch the criminals by using logical reasoning and analytical thinking. Two of Sherlock Holmes stories in which the detective shows great powers of observation and scientific method of problem solving are, “The Red Headed League” and “Silver Blaze”. While the story of the “Red Headed League” is bizarre, the story of “Silver Blaze” is a classic story of detection. “The Red-Headed League” begins with Jabez Wilson, a pawn-broker, coming to Sherlock Holmes with a strange story. Wilson tells Holmes that his assistant showed him an advertisement for a “vacancy” in the Red-headed League two months ago. The position carried a salary of 4 pounds a week. The only condition was that the applicant should have red hair Any red headed man could apply for this vacancy. Wilson tells Holmes that he went to the League office and was given the job. Every day between 10 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon, he was required to be present in the office and copy the Encyclopedia Britannica. After two months, Wilson suddenly finds that the League office is closed and the Red-headed League is dissolved. So he comes to the great detective Sherlock Holmes to solve the problem. The story continues to show how the brilliant deductions and scientific reasoning of Sherlock Holmes helps to catch the clever burglars who had planned to rob a bank., using the cellar of Jabez Wilson. We see the evidence of Holmes’ scientific methods from the beginning of the story. As soon as he sees Wilson, he deduces that ”he has at some time done manual labour, that he takes snuff, that he is a Freemason, that he has been in China, and that he has done a considerable amount of writing lately.” (Conan Doyle 196)Holmes explains how he has reasoned. He sees that Wilson’s right hand is bigger and stronger than his left hand, which tells him that Wilson had done manual labour. The arc-and-compass breastpin Wilson was wearing tells him that he is a Freemason, and the fish tattoo on his wrist, and the Chinese coin on his watch chain tell him that he had been in China. Holmes asks the pawnbroker some question about his assistant, Vincent Spaulding. When Wilson tells him that his assistant had a white acid mark on his forehead and his ears were pierced for earrings. Holmes’ suspicion about the assistant is confirmed when Wilson tells him that the assistant worked for him for half the salary. Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson go to Wilson’s house to look for clues. Holmes rings the bell and Wilson’s assistant answers. Holmes had already recognized him as the clever criminal, John Clay. Holmes later explains to his friend Dr. Watson his methods of apprehending the culprits. The advertisement was obviously a lure to get the pawnbroker out of his house for a number of hours every day. The assistant’s fondness for photography and his habit of going into the cellar often suggested that he was making a tunnel. The assistant had come at half wages, which confirmed his suspicion about him. When Holmes rang the bell, the assistant came to the door. He looked at the assistant’s knees, which were ”worn, wrinkled and stained…They spoke of those hours of burrowing”.(Conan Doyle 212) Holmes asks the assistant the way to the Strand When Holmes and Watson walked round , The detective taps the pavement with his stick and listens for a hollow sound. There is no hollow sound. The detective reasons that the tunnel must be at the back of the house. He sees that “..the City and Suburban Bank abutted on your friend’s premises.”(Conan Doyle 212)This makes him conclude that a tunnel was constructed to rob the gold in the bank. Holmes also reasons when the burglars would strike. It was important for the criminals to use the tunnel soon, because it might be discovered any time. Also, the gold bullion in the bank might be removed. Holmes reasons, ”Saturday would suit them better than any other day , as it would give them two days for their escape” (Conan Doyle 212) The scientific reasoning helps them to catch the criminals when they come out through the tunnel.. “Silver Blaze” is a story of a race horse named Silver Blaze .This racehorse is very powerful and has won many races. There is heavy betting on Silver Blaze. The horse’s trainer is Straker, who has a lady love who spends too much money. So he makes a plan to cut the tendon of Silver Blaze with a surgeon’s delicate knife. This way, the horse would become lame, and Straker would become rich by betting against Silver Blaze. He first tries the operation out on some sheep which become lame, and nobody knows why. Then one night, a stranger named Simpson comes to the stable to get some information about the horses He is chased away by the groom. The same night, Straker puts opium powder in the groom’s curry and when the groom is drugged and sleeping, he enters the stable and leads the horse away to the moor to carry out his evil intention. When he takes out the knife, the horse kicks him in the forehead, and Straker dies. The horse wanders on the moor, and found by the owner of the neighboring stable. This man hides Silver Blaze in his stable because he wants his own horse to win. The police are baffled by the case. They think that Simpson has murdered Straker and kidnapped Silver Blaze. The red and black silk cravat found near the dead man confirms their suspicions. They arrest Simpson. But they are not able to find Silver Blaze. Sherlock Holmes solves this case, which has puzzled the police He finds out by reasoning, that Straker had put opium in the groom’s curried mutton so that he would be sound asleep, when Straker goes to the stable and takes the horse out. The curry hides the taste of the opium. The most famous clue of all is “the curious incident of the dog in the night-time.”(Conan Doyle 397)The inspector says, “The dog did nothing in the night-time.” And Sherlock Holmes replies, “That was the curious incident.”(Conan Doyle 397) This shows the intelligence of Holmes, who immediately understands the significance of the silent dog. It did not bark because it had recognized Straker when he entered the stable. At the beginning of the story, Holmes tells Watson all the facts that he knew because as he says to Watson, “nothing clears up a case so much as stating it to another person”.(Conan Doyle 384) Watson suggests a possibility that the cut on Straker might have been caused by his own knife during the fight. Holmes agrees to it. At the house of Colonel Ross, the owner of Silver Blaze, Holmes wants to see the things Straker had with him when he was killed. The knife which was in Straker’s hand is a very delicate ‘cataract knife’ used by surgeons for delicate work. The knife is a very important clue which only Holmes understands. He explains later”It was…a form of knife which is used for the most delicate operations known in surgery. And it was to be used for a delicate operation that night”.(Conan Doyle 400) There is also a bill from a dressmaker for an expensive dress in Straker’s pocket .This bill gives a clue that Straker has a girl friend for whom he was buying expensive dresses. They go to the place where the body was found. The inspector tells them that the murdered man’s coat had been placed on a bush. On that night there was no wind, but very heavy rain. Holmes reasons that the coat could not have been blown on the bush by the wind, as there was no wind, but it was placed there by Straker. An insignificant thing like a bill from a dressmaker in the name of another man is also noticed by Holmes. He explains,”…men do not carry other people’s bills in their pockets” (Conan Doyle 401)From this Holmes concludes that Straker was “ leading a double life and keeping a second establishment”.(Conan Doyle401) Holmes takes a photograph of the trainer to the dressmaker, who recognizes him as the man who had ordered the expensive dress.. Holmes also thinks that a clever man like Straker would have practised the operation on some other animal. So he asks a question and finds out that recently some sheep has suddenly become lame. This shows him that his surmise was correct; Straker had practiced the delicate operation on some sheep before attempting it on Silver Blaze. The method Holmes follows to find the missing horse is very painstakingly thorough. He knows that the horse is a very gregarious creature. He thinks, Silver Blaze would have returned to his stable or gone to the neighbouring stable. He reasons that if the horse had run wild on the moor, he would have been seen by now. Holmes also does not think that the Gypsies on the moor would have stolen him. He says, “These people always clear out when they hear of trouble, for they do not wish to be pestered by the police.”(Conan Doyle393) Sherlock Holmes is sure that the Gypsies would not have kidnapped the horse because, ”They could not hope to sell such a horse. They would run a great risk and gain nothing by taking him.”(Conan Doyle 393) Watson and Holmes go towards the neighboring stable in search of the horse. In a hollow they see the hoof marks of the horse going towards Mapleton. They follow the hoof prints till they come to a place where a man’s footprints were visible next to the horse’s. They follow the trail and go to Mapleton Stables. Holmes talks to Silas Brown, the owner of Mapleton stables. Brown wears shoes with square toes. Holmes notices that they are exactly like the footprints they had seen beside the horses. This also shows the detective’s keen powers of observation. Sherlock Holmes describes to Silas Brown his actions on the morning when he saw Silver Blaze wandering on the moor. Although the police had searched his stables earlier, they had not found Silver Blaze, because Silas Brown had painted the horse a different color Silas Brown surrenders the horse as he ”thought only of saving his skin.” (Conan Doyle395) Conclusion In conclusion, the scientific and forensic methods followed by the great detective Sherlock Holmes are an example to detectives in real life. In these two remarkable detective stories, The Red-Headed League and Silver Blaze, we see the detective’s keen powers of observation, his meticulous attention to detail and the scientific methods he follows to solve the crime. His forensic methods tell him who committed the crime as well as how the crime was committed. It also tells him the reason for the crime. Sherlock Holmes is one of the greatest detectives of fiction, who can anticipate a bank robbery and catch the criminals. He can also find the real culprit in a murder and save an innocent man from going to jail. Works Cited Conan Doyle, Arthur.1988. The Complete Sherlock Holmes : Barnes & Noble Inc .New York. Conan Doyle, Arthur.1890.Reprint 1987 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes Collins Publishing Group. London. Conan Doyle, Arthur. 1890 Reprinted 1987 Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. Grafton Books. London. Morley, Christopher. 1988. “In Memoriam Sherlock Holmes” The Complete Sherlock Holmes : Barnes & Noble Inc .New York. Robin, W. editor. The Literature of Crime and Detection and Espionage. Vol. 1. Winks Books. New York. Read More