World Literature - Essay Example

The Red-Headed League The story told by Jabez Wilson seemed ridiculous to Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson and the famous detective assured their guestthat the case would be solved within a few days. One of first ‘clues’ Sherlock Holmes had was the assistant who was ready to work for “half wages” (Doyle 61). For the detective, it was clear that the job was not important for the young man of such competence and he had “some strong motive for securing the situation” (Doyle 61). Thus, the assistant was under suspicion.

The next clue was the ridiculous task Mr. Wilson had to complete. Holmes understood that it was simply a way to keep Mr. Wilson “out of the way” for some time (Doyle 61). Clearly, there could be no real value of rewriting data from an encyclopedia and no one could pay such big money for such a task. Another clue was the assistant’s interest to the cellar and his “trick of vanishing into the cellar” (Doyle 61). The detective understood that the criminals were interested in the cellar and were likely to dig a tunnel somewhere.

The next clue was the trousers or rather the mud on the assistant’s trousers. The detective saw what he wanted to see as he noticed “how worn, wrinkled, and stained they were” (Doyle 61). Holmes got a proof that the assistant was digging a tunnel. Another important clue the famous detective got was the closure of the Red-Headed League. This made Holmes act quickly since he understood that the criminals “completed their tunnel” and were ready to carry out their plan (Doyle 62). Thus, he knew when and where to wait them to be able to arrest the criminals.

These are five major clues that the renowned detective used to solve the case though it is possible to find some other clues. Works CitedDoyle, Conan. "The Red-Headed League." World Literature. Ed. Jan Anderson. Pensacola: A Beka Book Inc., 2006. 11-32. Print.