Analysis of the Detective Genre: Sherlock Holmes

This story has no suspect as no crime is committed throughout the story. Tension is first created when one of Watson's wife's friends arrives at her house to explain her grief of the previous happenings. '' He has not been home for two days. I am so frightened about him! ''. This creates tension as we immediately assume someone is in potential danger as he is missing. A while after Watson finds Sherlock Holmes inside the opium den, this surprises the readers and Watson as no one knows why he is there.

Holmes is testing the reader with his wit and we don't know what is going on still, and he knows this. Suspense and tension is then created when Conan Doyle describes the time when Mrs St Clair spotted her husband at the strange window, ''the window was open and she distinctively saw his face, which she descries as being terribly agitated. He waved his hands frantically to her, and then vanished from the window so suddenly that is seemed to her he had been plucked back by some irresistible force behind.

Get quality help now

Sweet V

Verified writer

Proficient in: Holmes

4.9 (984)

“ Ok, let me say I’m extremely satisfy with the result while it was a last minute thing. I really enjoy the effort put in. ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

'' The emphasis of the words is used to create fear and tension, here Mr St Clair has made it look like someone has pulled him from the window to trick his wife into thinking someone else could be keeping him in captive there. Tension and excitement is further created while Holmes is finding suspects as no one knows where Mr St Clair is, there are no answers.

Lastly, tension is created by the, mysterious letter brought to Holmes by Mrs St Clair.. Holmes takes great care in opening the letter, '' smoothing it out upon the table, he drew it over the lamp, and examined it intensively.

'' Holmes' moves creates tension as his careful examining shows us the very answer to the disappearance of Mr St Clair could be explained in this letter. Holmes soon sees it is not her husband's writing in the letter, but someone else's - might he be the man who has kidnapped her husband? The mystery goes on. Unlike 'The Speckled Band', 'The Man with the Twisted Lip' is a crimeless story; it is full of red-herrings and clues to keep people interested. The last story I am going to talk about is 'The Adventure of the Six Napoleons'. The story begins with Sherlock Holmes and Mr.

Lestrade, of Scotland Yard, talking about the crimes committed by a man who hates Napoleon so much that he will smash any image of him he sees. Suspense and excitement is created when Holmes is suddenly needed, ''Come instantly, 131, Pitt Street, Kensington. -- Lestrade. " this suggests to the reader that it must be very important and associated with the case as he is needed instantly. This fills the readers with excitement as you can tell something exciting is about to happen. Tension is next created when Watson is told the story in which Mr.

Harker finds a dead man lying on his doorstep, '' Stepping out into the dark I nearly fell over a dead man who was lying there... a great gash in his throat and the whole place swimming in blood. He lay on his back, his knees drawn up, and his mouth horribly open. I shall see him in my dreams. '' This creates fear as it seems the fanatic has taken a turn for the worst, as now instead of just the bust being smashed, a murder has taken place, this surprises readers as you could have thought that all the fanatic wanted to do was destroy the statues of Napoleon the First. Fear is also created in the way Mr.

Harker describes his experience of finding the dead body, he describes it in all its ghastliness. Tension is soon created when we learn that Holmes is about to catch him, and spots the lunatic on his next mission, ''and a lithe, dark figure, as swift and active as an ape, rushed up the garden path... There was a long pause, during which we held our breath, and then a very gentle creaking sound came to our ears. '' This again creates suspense and excitement as we know something big is on the verge to happen. Fear is created in the way the Lunatic is described as he sounds like a scary man physically.

Tension in created as we know Holmes and his team are sitting, waiting, in a long pause, it lets us wonder if even Holmes is scared. To conclude I wish to talk about the detective genre today. As Sherlock Holmes stories were proven so popular in the past, it is no wonder that authors today have carried on the process of detective stories in the way that Conan Doyle did. They are still as popular today because the detective genre keeps the reader interested with its mysteries filled with clues, red- herrings to put you off, and fear, that you feel compelled to read because you know you will always be safe and not in danger watching it.

My favourite story is 'The Man with the Twisted Lip' as it is totally unpredictable and surprising. It is strange as in the end you realise no crime has actually been committed; it is different to most of the other stories. I think Sherlock Holmes stories are so widely enjoyed today because of the traditional features of each story, and how they make people feel. Sherlock Holmes stories seem to be more than just reading a book, they are more interactive with the reader and allows them to guess and predict along with Holmes and Watson.