The Power of Sherlock Holmess Detective - Literature review Example

Abdullah Aldakhel Vincent Moore & James Rovira ENG390 January 28, “A Case of Identity” “A Case of Identity” was conceived in 1888, with a simple formula of mystery and thrilling exploration. The story introduces Holmes and Dr. Watson conversing whether invented fictions stories are wilder and more unusual than the real life occurrences (Doyle 227). Apparently, the twist and turns of an eccentric nature of the world puzzle the two during their discussion. Considerably, Watson agrees that this is the case since the fiction stories have often elicited unusual characters and events. Interestingly, Holmes does not share the same school of thought. To prove his point, Watson identifies a story in the newspaper regarding a police report. Coincidentally, this was a case that Holmes played a major role and could attest to the fact that the details were more peculiar and usual than the events in fiction stories. The light-hearted and intellectual tone places Miss Mary Sutherland at the center of the story regarded as a woman with substantial income. Notably, the earnings majorly come from an interest fund, which had been set up for her. Miss Sutherland gets engaged to a reticent Londoner, who later disappears. This is where the power of Sherlock Holmes’s detective is tested with the case turning out to be an elementary situation (Doyle 67). Miss Sutherland’s fiancé, Hosmer Angel, is a very peculiar character. He is quiet and a very secretive man. No one knows any details about his life. Even Miss Sutherland herself is only aware that Hosmer works in an office in Leadenhall Street. She has no specific details on the kind of work he does or the people he works with. All the letters that he sends to his fiancée are typewritten including the signature. Hosmer advises Miss Sutherland to reply his letters only through the local post office. Miss Sutherland’s courtship and meetings with her fiancé are very clandestine. They only plan to be meeting when the stepfather is in France as he was against the relationship (Doyle 230). At times, Miss Sutherland would go to the ball against the wishes of her father with the hope of meeting Hosmer. Despite the secrecy of the man, he manages to convince her fiancé to marry him. It is at this point that the story reaches the climax when Mr. Hosmer abandons Miss Sutherland at the altar on their day of wedding. Hosmer steps into the carriage to go to the church where the ceremony was to take place. However, when the carriage reaches the church, he is nowhere to be seen. This amazes everyone who had seen him step into the carriage. Sutherland is very much disappointed, worried and heartbroken since she did not expect someone who had proposed to her to act the way Angel did. Holmes theory that reality is unusual than fiction reaffirms the elementary position elevated in the story. After the disappearance, Miss Sutherland decided to get the services of Holmes. She tells the detective everything about her missing fiancé. In making his quick decision, he takes into account the description of Hosmer Angel and the fact that he only visited his fiancé while Mary’s stepfather James Wandibank was not around. James is described as a very youngish yet disapproving father. Since most of the letters sent by Hosmer were typewritten including the signature proves that Wandibank was to gain from the events. Holmes makes inquiries from Mr. Wandibank’s place of work to find out if he had any hand in the issues that were arising (Doyle 229). The detective arrives at a conclusion that Hosmer’s Angel disappeared from the wedding by running away from one side of the hansom cab. However, from the evidence that he gathered he was able to identify the culprit as Wandibank. Holmes threatens to thrash James for his evil jokes, which were meant to make him benefit from Miss Sutherland small fortunes unscrupulously. What he did was actionable in a court of law. It could result in the arrest and prosecution of those involved who were identified as Sutherlands step-mother and father (Doyle 234). After unraveling the mystery and identifying the culprits, the detective decides to hide the findings from his client since she would have been very shocked to find out that her parents were involved. He argues that there is a significant danger when one snatches a delusion from a lady. As such, it was prudent to keep the finding secret. Holmes ends up being accused of not fulfilling his duties even after receiving a pay from the client. In a quick rejoinder, the detective advises Sutherland to forget about her fiancé. Sutherland does not accept this advice and vows that she will remain faithful to her fiancé until he reappears. “A case of Identity” has effectively used a simple formula of mystery to tell a story and capture the mind of the reader. The mystery instills thrill and fear at the same time as a solution is being sought in the case. To effectively do this, the author begins the narration with a discourse that is later solved by the person who introduced it. Throughout the story, there are some fundamental thoughts that come into play (Doyle 237). The first one is the question as to whether Wandibank and Sutherland households could have still headed for conflict and rough waters even without the fortunes that the latter inherited. The other issue that the reader may ask is how Mary was easily fooled by hers stepfather and why Holmes did not reveal the identity of the strange fiancé. The writer manages to answer these questions. On the case as to whether the two households were headed for trouble even without the inheritance, Doyle, portrays Wandibank as a greedy man (225). Even the choice of his name itself points out at someone who is obsessed with material wealth, therefore, could do anything to get the wishes. His actions, therefore, prove that he was a felon in the making thus showing he was the cause of the trouble. The question as to why Mary was easily deceived can be answered by considering her reaction when Holmes advises her to forget about Mr. Angel. She says the proposal is unrealistic and opts to wait for the reemergence of her fiancé. This points out that she was susceptible to deceit due to her obsession with finding a loved one. The fact that she was only living with her stepparents and not her real parents also proved that she was at risk of being tricked as she looked for love and companion. The decision by Holmes not to reveal the findings to Mary depicts him as a cold reasoning machine. He comes out as an epitome of calculated logic (Comeford and Burnett 77). In spite of being an ordinary human detective, he appears as someone who calculates his moves and in most instances having the precision of a computer (OBrien 51). The only reason that makes him different from a computer is his imagination that helps him in solving the twin cases of identity. Despite being composed several years back, “Case of Identity” remains relevant in today’s world. It has a literary establishment that shows how mystery, imagination as well as intellectual tone integrate in a fiction story to conceive a real occurrence (Pascal 67). The intellectual tone of Sherlock Holmes in the story heavily contributes to this ambient gesture. As one reads the story, the different perspectives and subplots including the false identity and deceit sections, which are ambient in today’s world becomes intriguing. Indeed, this allows readers to compare the eccentricities associated with fiction work and the reality. Works Cited Doyle, Arthur.  “A Case of Identity,” 1891. The Complete Sherlock Holmes Volume 1. Ed. George Stade. New York:  Barnes and Noble Classics, 2003. 225-238. Print Doyle, Arthur. Delphi Works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Melbourne: Delphi Classics, 2013.Print. OBrien, James. The Scientific Sherlock Holmes: Cracking the Case with Science and Forensics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013. Print. Pascal, Janet. Arthur Conan Doyle: Beyond Baker Street. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.Print. Read More