The character of Sherlock Holmes - Research Paper Example

of the English of the Teacher 4 May A study on the differences in portrayal of the character Sherlock Holmes, and how theyaffect our view of him as a hero It is really difficult to create a screen image of a character like Sherlock Holmes who happens to be very famous and well known. A director creating a screen image of such a character is required to consider many aspects of the plot and characterization. For it is but a fact that presenting Sherlock Holmes as presented in the original novel A Study in Scarlet is bound to make the screen adaptation a period movie. The viewers will enjoy such an adaptation, no doubt. But, they are bound to consider it a period movie as well. Presenting Sherlock Holmes to the present day viewers is a big challenge. The task before the screen writer is to present the character of Sherlock Holmes with all one’s versatility and intelligence, while giving to the episode a contemporary and relevant look. Such an approach is bound to have many advantages. On the one side a present day modern adaptation of A Study in Scarlet could be expected to present to the readers an insight into the famous character of Sherlock Holmes. On the other side it is expected to prevent the readers being distracted by the historical elements in the novel, thereby making them place their entire focus on the character of Sherlock Holmes. Hence the episode A Study in Pink presented on the BBC has in a way repackaged the character of Sherlock Holmes as presented in the novel A Study in Scarlet, to make it appear more relevant to the modern day audiences (Daily Post 24). The readers are better able to relate to the character of Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Pink. By doing so the director has instilled a fresh life into the character of Sherlock Holmes. Not only the modern day audiences are better able to appreciate the intelligence and deductive skills of Sherlock Holmes, but they are able to see this amazing character in a new light (Pendreigh 35). The BBC adaptation A Study in Pink let the viewers know right from the start that they are to see Sherlock Holmes in modern times. The episode right from the start presents John Watson recapping the trauma he faced while serving as an army doctor in Afghanistan. The episode starts with a battle scene. This in a way prepares the audiences to open up their minds to watch a version of Sherlock Holmes that is very contemporary and adapted. The very title of the adaptation A Study in Pink conveys to the audiences that what they are going to experience in the movie is going to be different from the traditional characterization of Sherlock Holmes. It emphasizes the fact that the depiction of Sherlock Holmes in the screen adaptation is very unlike the image of Sherlock Holmes they had experienced before. In the A Study in Pink, Watson comes in contact with Sherlock Holmes quiet soon. However, the screen writer did make much effort to build the character of Sherlock Holmes to amuse and entertain the audience. For instance the scene showing a police press conference at the start of the movie where Sherlock Holmes texts contradictory messages to the present audiences is very funny and hilarious. It creates an image of Sherlock Holmes that is very different as compared to what one experiences in the novel A Study in Scarlet. In this scene Sherlock unlike the serious and somber Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet, rather comes out as a prankster. This scene prepares the audiences to witness a characterization of Sherlock Holmes that is humorous and entertaining in a funny way. It prepares the audiences to expect an image of Sherlock Holmes that is comfortable with the present day technology and can easily use modern day gadgets. Besides like in A Study in Scarlet, John Watson comes to meet Sherlock Holmes right at the start of the adaptation. However, the screen adaptation does showcase horrific images from Watson’s life on the battle front in a detailed manner. This gives way to an image of Watson that is disturbed and scarred. When placed against the serious image of a battle scarred John Watson, the character of Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Pink comes out as being very funny, light and naughty. This is very unlike the serious, moody and somber Sherlock Holmes presented in A Study in Scarlet. Though the character of Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet is witty and intelligent, it is not prankish and naughty as presented in A Study in Pink. The screen adaptation introduces the character of Sherlock Holmes in a very dramatic and shocking manner. In the screen adaptation Sherlock is shown to be canning a corpse, as per the part of a scientific experiment, where he gives directions to the morgue worker to report the bruises formed on the cadaver in the next twenty minutes. This again presents Sherlock Holmes fascination with the science of deductive reasoning as is presented in A Study in Scarlet. However, the conversation taking place between the morgue worker and Sherlock Holmes does provide to the audiences much material to enjoy and laugh about. This is indeed so unlike the way Sherlock Holmes is presented in A Study in Scarlet. The character of Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet is humorous, but it lacks a prankish element as one comes across in the characterization of Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Pink. In A Study in Pink Sherlock Holmes comes out as a very witty and funny character who never hesitates from passing comments on his acquaintances that make the audiences smile and laugh. In contrast the character of Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet is grave, serious and not known for appearing to be funny and prankish. In that sense the BBC screen adaptation has in a way somewhat reinvented the character of Sherlock Holmes The thing that needs to be noted is that the overall characterization of Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Pink does match the character traits of Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet. As in the novel, in A Study in Pink, Sherlock Holmes is introduced as a character that is more intelligent as compared to the people around him. He is shown not only as having the observation power much superior as compared to the people he comes in contact with, but he also has a remarkable talent for deductive reasoning. As in the book, in the screen adaptation also Sherlock Holmes is presented as a self conceited and arrogant character, which interacts in an arrogant manner with the law and order officials he meets on a regular basis. However, this similarity in the character traits of Sherlock Holmes in the book and the screen version is not all. The screen version of Sherlock Holmes, irrespective of having the character traits quite similar to those in the book, chooses to express them in an entirely different manner. In the screen adaptation, as in the book, the interaction of Sherlock Holmes with the law and order officials is not limited to a few people. In contrast, in A Study in Pink, Sherlock Holmes interacts with a range of law and order officials and is hated by many of them owing to his sense of sarcasm and ridiculing wit. Instead of being a man of few words as Sherlock Holmes comes across in A Study in Scarlet, the Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Pink is fond of speaking much. The screen adaptation of Sherlock Holmes does speak much as compared to the one in the book. The Sherlock Homes in A Study in Scarlet prefers to hold on to his secrets and deductive reasoning, till he manages to crack a case. However, this is not the case with the Sherlock Holmes presented in A Study in Pink. The screen version of Sherlock Holmes is very talkative and prefers to speak one’s mind loud. He does not come around as somebody who is secretive and prefers to remain quiet. In the book version Watson is shown to be having doubts that Sherlock Holmes perhaps uses drugs. However, in the screen version, Watson finds it really difficult to accept that his friend uses drugs. In that sense it comes out as being really funny, the way Sherlock Holmes uses nicotine patches because they help him think better. The Sherlock Holmes as presented in A Study in Scarlet is a serious and heavy character. However, the characterization of Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Pink has a measure of lightness and non-seriousness around it. Besides, the deductive reasoning of Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet is confined to the ordinary material objects and scenarios. However, in A Study in Pink the deductive reasoning of Sherlock Holmes extends to the digital gadgets as cell phones, and he shown to be able to deduce the character traits and life events of the characters by having a look at their phones. The Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Pink is digitally smart and learned. Many aspects of the plot in the novel and the screen adaptation happen to be same. In that sense both the screen adaptation and the book show Sherlock Homes to be working on cracking a crime mystery. Both in the book and the screen version the murders are committed by using some deadly poison. Both in the movie and the book, the murders are committed by a cabbie. The victims in both the screen adaptation and the book are given a choice to choose between two pills, one of which happens to be a poison, at gun point. Besides in both the screen adaptation and the book the word RACHE is found to be scratched at the scene of crime. In the book the word RACHE is found written at the crime scene in blood by the murderer to mislead and confuse the police into believing that it is some sort of a politically motivated killing like the one recent killing that took place in New York. In contrast in the BBC show, Sherlock Holmes is shown to be making fun of the detective Anderson for believing that RACHE is German for revenge and deduces that the word RACHE signified Rachel, the email pass word of the victim. Thereby, the thing that needs to be noted is that in the book both the plot and the character do carry importance and one is incomplete without the other. However, in the movie the director has made compromises with the plot to bring out the character of Sherlock Holmes. In other words the screen version relies more for its appeal and interest on the wit and intelligence of Sherlock Holmes. The screen adaptation director has took the character of Sherlock Holmes from Study in Scarlet and has placed it in a modern setting , with all the aspects of the movie being more as per the tastes and expectation of the modern day viewers. Everything about the screen adaptation is modern, are they the setting, architecture, the gadgets or even the décor. The Holmes in A Study in Scarlet uses a tiny spying pocket spying glass as compared to the large one used in the book, and is quiet comfortable navigating the modern day gadget scenario are they the laptops, mobile phones or flat screen portable televisions. Irrespective of being very intelligent and sharp, the Sherlock Holmes in the book comes out as being crude and primitive when compared to his counterpart in the screen adaptation. So much so that the character of John Watson, unlike transcribing his experiences in journals as in the book, using ink and pen, rather chooses to write them in his blog. Everything about the characterization of Sherlock Holmes in the movie version carries a sense of modernity and contemporariness about it and comes out as being very different from what one comes across in the book. However, the devoted fans of Sherlock Holmes are able to identify the fact that irrespective of the portrayal of the character and the plot in the book and the movie being different, the basic soul of the plot in the book and the movie do happen to be same. Basically speaking the very soul of the story in the book and the movie do remain the same. The character of Sherlock Holmes essentially remains likable in both the book and the movie. If in the book the character of Sherlock Holmes comes out as being eccentric, honest and humorous, the movie version also does carry these traits, besides adding much cheerfulness and blunt honesty to the character. In the book if Sherlock Homes is shown to be unwilling to learn things that are not related to his vocation, in the movie he is shown to be noticing everything and interested in everything. If in the book the communication between Sherlock Holmes and Watson is mostly courteous and formal, in the movie version, Sherlock Holmes prefers to be blunt with Watson. Thereby, it does need to be mentioned that the characterization of Sherlock Holmes in both the book and the movie is attention grabbing. The readers cannot help appreciating the characterization of Sherlock Holmes in the screen adaptation, irrespective of him being coming as somewhat different from the book version. Thereby, primarily speaking the screen adaptation somehow does manage to retain the sense of mystery, interest and element of surprise inherent in the novel. In that sense the screen adaptation is indeed praiseworthy in the sense that it gives a unique twist to the characterization of Sherlock Holmes as it is traditionally portrayed in the novel and the past screen versions. Thereby, A Study in Pink is just as likable as the novel A Study in Scarlet from which it has been adapted. The screen adaptation has managed to retain the sense of mystery and interest that one finds in the novel. The movie is as witty and humorous as the original novel that is A Study in Scarlet. Though the character of Sherlock Holmes is as arrogant, self conceited and witty in the movie as in the book, still the movie version of Sherlock Holmes comes out as being more realistic and likable. The movie version places more attention on the relationship between Watson and Sherlock Holmes. The novel in contrast presents Watson as more of an assistant to Holmes, who does nothing much but to express awe at his achievements. Hence, there is an element of lightness and likability associated with the character of Sherlock Holmes as presented in the show version. The screen version of Sherlock Holmes is youthful and somewhat funny in an intelligent way. One could link it to the fact that since screen version unlike the novel had to appeal to the eyes and the hearts of the viewers, basing it totally on the novel would not have worked well. Works Cited Pendreigh, Brian. “Texting? Why, It’s LMN TRY My Dear Watson; BBC Casts Holmes into 21st Century”. The Mail 18 July 2010, 35. Print. “We do Detect a Classic”. Daily Post 20 December 2011, 24. Print. Read More