Notebook Entry
Gensis of Detective
“When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.”
I reckon a bunch of readers lose into thought when this classic sentence stumbles into their sights. As a primitive obsessor of Detective Sherlock Holmes, today I officially begin my journey on delving into the world of the thrilling and fascinating stories of Holmes. This post will focus on the most impressive part of the detective’s story, and I swear to forge on this project for a while.
The very first question about this “mysterious” detective is definitly this one: Over more than 200 years, why are people still attracted to this imaginary figure? Here is the first answer that comes from my mind: Lots of people want to be “Holmes” in their occupation or their daily life. As a private detective, he works not for a salary, but for the naive interest for investigation; his astute observation and his “all bones and angles” yet diligent body represent many talents of elites; he has one of the most brilliant coworkers and journalists Dr. Watson, who joins him at any time he calls.
I began to read this book about half a year ago, and I regret not do this earlier. I love his way of thinking and dealing with things: the deduction. This is somewhat like what I do now on a daily basis: Starting from a basic postulate, I try to derive phenomena and test them in the real world; or beginning with the obversation of natural things, find the clues from data and conclude them into laws. As I quoted at the beginning of this blog, this thinking pattern is strong enough to solve a huge number of problems and make significant breakthroughs. And in the fiction, Holmes uses it almost to the best. Starting from someone’s way of walking, he deduces their occupation; from someone’s dress, he infers their daily routine; from someone’s voice, he deduces their inner thoughts; from someone’s notes, he identifies them.
Here is the “pedantic” way of Conan Dolle’s writing: He lets Holmes hide the reasoning chains and just lay the conclusion out, with others shocked in silence when they find the truth gets along perfrctly with his deduction. What a ‘sly’ trick he used, I must say. Every time I find that I’ve overlooked hidden details and lose to Holmes. Once I starts the journey with the great detective, I get excited and almost leave everything behind.
Another fascinating part of this story is the complexity of his personality. He is not a personable person, due to his selfish, indifferent, and complacent demeanor during boring times; he is someone who only lives for himself, not unctuous and flatter as the offical police; he is inconsiderate as a roommate, for he intrudes into his friend’s life at any time he wants, without any regard for boundaries; he is an addict who cares little for his health and takes drugs just for fun. But it is this foible that makes this figure vivid and comprehensible. This is the adorable part of the great detective, and no wonder why people got irritated when Conan sentenced Holmes to death.
Apart from these defects of Holmes, the bravery and justice of him also attract me as the pearl on the crown. “Now that the tragedy has happened, the justice must be done.” This sentence is from the story The Adventure of the Dancing Men, and I was touched when he gets on the train to finish his sacred mission. Not to mention the part he fights against the evil mastermind Moriarty, and they fall together into the waterfall, which got Conan into the risk of death in the real world. Maybe Holmes is the ideal knight in the readers mind, and we love all of him, his precious qualities and his unique personalities.
Another part of my discussion is his sight of the life. “Work is its own reward. “ For readers the process of detection with him itself is also a reward. Sometimes we find life gets into a tedious routine, but is there any chance that the problem originates from ourselves? We work for life, and live for work, just like the tick of a clock. But most of the time it is us that live our lives in this pessimitic attitude. If we consider the detective just as a disgusting job, our life will be overwhelmed by the dust on the trip and the difficulties of the case. And Holmes says this sentence to assuage his poor clients, helping them to get rid of the burden of life, which made him glorious as he gets famous.
Once again let’s stop here with a story of Holmes:
Upon solving a horrendous crime, Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson went camping to get away for a much needed outing. They packed rations, lamps, sleeping bags, a tent, several changes of clothes, and a host of other usual camping gear.
After hiking three miles through a heavily forested wilderness, they came upon a clearing well suited for a camp sight. With a smooth running fresh water brook nearby and clear skies, it was an ideal setting once they had the fire started and the tent pitched.
Because they had hiked all day, they turned in early for the evening and in minutes, both Holmes and Watson were sound asleep.
Early the next morning, nearly a full two hours before the sun arose, Sherlock Holmes woke Dr. Watson by shaking him in his sleeping bag. Watson awoke with a start and found the world famous detective staring at him.
“Watson,” he declared. “What do you observe?” he asked, glancing back over his shoulder.
“Hmmm,” said Watson mindfully. “Well, the sky is a lovely midnight blue, a partial moon is peaking from the glory of a peaceful night, the stars are shining as though God sprinkled diamonds on a black velvet sheet, and I believe I see Jupiter and Venus through the coming dawn…”
Sherlock Holmes interrupted his compatriot with agitation in his voice. “No, you idiot. Someone stole our tent!”
- A better version:
Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson go on a camping trip. After a good dinner and a bottle of wine, they retire for the night, and go to sleep. Some hours later, Holmes wakes up and nudges his faithful friend.
“Watson, look up at the sky and tell me what you see.”
“I see millions and millions of stars, Holmes,” replies Watson.
“And what do you deduce from that?”
Watson ponders for a minute.
“Well, astronomically, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, I observe that Saturn is in Leo. Horologically, I deduce that the time is approximately a quarter past three.”
“Meteorologically, I suspect that we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Theologically, I can see that God is all powerful and that we are a small and insignificant part of the universe. What does it tell you, Holmes? “
Holmes is silent for a moment. “Watson, you idiot!” he says. “Someone has stolen our tent!
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