John Watson's role as the narrator of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Essay Example

John Watsons role as the narrator of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes In the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, the main narrator is John Watson. The stories are frame narratives which are narrated from Watson’s perspective and they summarize the detective’s most interesting cases. The narrator is presented in three forms; as the first person narrator, reliable and limited omniscient. In most instances in the stories, Watson is narrating his own life experiences especially where the story relates to Mr.

Sherlock Homes. In most cases, Watson tells of his experiences when Holmes is around. It is clear that the first person narration is given when Watson is giving such self experiences. Since he does so when Holmes is round, he makes Holmes the focus of his storytelling. Moreover, Watson is a reliable source of information regarding Holmes for the reader. In this case Watson is responsible for interpreting life of a close friend to us and he becomes an omniscient narrator. He also offers practical assistance in the conduct of his cases because he is the chief assistant to the detective.

He in most cases acts as a massager and look out. Watson’s position as an omniscient narrator influences the information the reader gets because as far as Holmes is being described by him, he slightly becomes a biased narrator. In “The adventure of the speckled band” Watson tells the reader that for the seventy cases he has done for Holmes in a span of eight years, Holmes methods were tragic, comic and strange (101). Such an assertion would not have come from Holmes himself but from another narrator.

Sometimes, Watson seems to read Holmes mind as an omniscient narrator. For example where he says that Holmes “refused to associate himself with any investigation…” Watson reminds us in many instances of his simple faith towards Holmes’s abilities. However, the bias would have been more if Holmes was to tell his story himself and thus, Watson becomes the most convenience in terms of available alternatives. The author is able to change the way the stories are constructed by having Watson tell the stories from his point of view.

Holmes’s closeness with Watson creates the most significant relationship between the two characters. Holmes’s is extremely font of Watson and this helps Watson to tell Holmes what no other person who have dared. For example, in “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle” (88) he was able to reveal to Holmes that “of the last six cases which I have added to my notes, three have been entirely free of any legal crime.” This could have disappointed Holmes but since he trusted Watson, he was able to take it as a friend’s good will advice.

This way, having Watson narrate the story gives Doyle a free space to discuss what he intended without being limited. He also ensures that no much bias is present as it would have been if Holmes was to tell his stories. Works cited Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. eBooks: Thousands of Volunteers, 1999. PDF.