Detective fiction is one of the most popular forms of fiction in America. In his article, “American Detective Fiction,” Robin W. Winks addresses the fact that in spite of this popularity, the genre has received little critical attention that studies the work for itself. He explains the two types of errors that critics have made when looking at detective fiction: the high road, where critics claim classic works were detective fiction all along, and the low road, where critics poorly execute their analysis and simply give detailed plot summaries. Winks then goes on to describe how American detective fiction has something to offer because it reflects how the society of the time sees itself. This article is mostly effective in proving its claims
Sherlock Holmes, a classic character who although many know the name of, only those who have read through the number of novels surrounding Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson’s adventures, truly know the man behind the name. Sherlock is mysterious and unpredictable character, and it is no surprise that Arthur Conan Doyle decided to focus on Sherlock Holmes’ character in particular in many parts of his novels. Doyle based his famous Sherlock Holmes of many individuals; Edgar Allen Poe, founder of the detective genre, was the foundation of Sherlock’s fascinating mannerisms, Dr. Joseph Bell a well known professor of Doyle, was the inspiration and reference for Holmes’s admiration for observation and deduction. Like many well known scientist, and scholars,
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, Gatsby and Nick, and Holmes and Watson tackle all certain adventures or issues with the inseparable treasured companion. We can even find many others literary duos such as Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer or Dr Frankenstein and The Monster. Focusing on Conan Doyle 's characters, the main aim of this section is to illuminate the psychological bond between Holmes and Watson. Even thought they seem to be opposites, they complement and depend on each other. But how it can be possible?
The job of every author is not only to create a story with an interesting plot line, but also to create characters that capture the reader’s attention. In the classic story of, “Bartleby, the Scrivener”, author Herman Melville does an excellent job of portraying Bartleby in a way that leaves the reader wanting more. Not only does Bartleby’s character challenge the normal standards of the average employee, but the reader is also allowed to take a look into the mind of the author during a time of strife and struggles. Although it might be difficult for the reader to look past the many noticable differences between Bartleby and the average worker, once scratching the surface of comparisons they may be able to find similarities between Bartleby
Charles Dickens, an author with many award winning novels and plays from the 19th century, used a different approach when creating his characters for his writings. In his historical novel, “A Tale of Two Cities,” Dickens uses characters who have a more skewed aspect to them with either more so protagonist views and values while some of their actions makes them appear also as an antagonist, and vice versa. He uses the passion of the characters in their development to make them an in between, so to speak, character, also known as monogamous. Throughout this novel, and many like it, characters are often categorized as protagonist or antagonists, but that doesn’t mean there are characters who are can be more so monogamous within “A Tale of Two Cities”; Charles Darnay, Jarvis Lorry, and Lucie Manette serve as prime examples of those subtle but no so subtle “in between” characters. Charles Darnay is one of the most intricate, diverse, obviously ambiguous character in “A Tale Of Two Cities”.
The display of emotions in his stories is what draws the attention of the reader. Most of the narrations like in "The Black Cat" give a sense of irrationality. Hatred, melancholy, woe and distress, his characters rely more on the human side showing their mental state, taking his stories to have a bigger impact on the reader’s minds. This is attributed to the period where his works were written, as stated earlier. Poe’s usage of resources like dark atmospheres, messing around with the time in which the story is represented, this was most commonly used to alter reader’s ideas of the perfection and the beauty and divert them more to the contemporary side.
Although the crime is a crime of passion, where having revenge is the most important aspect, the probing into the psyche of a killer within his laboratory is a fascinating watch. 8. Locke (2013) Based on the Steven Knight novel, the movie focuses on one character, the site foreman Ivan Locke, who drives a car for the entire 90 minutes of the movie. Cinematically speaking, this might be one of the most boring movies, as it does not present with all the fancy elements of a commercial film. However, the plot and character development are just as expertly done by the director as it is done in the novels by Steven Knight, and is a must watch for those who don’t believe that novels cannot be recreated on
Iago vs. Grendel In well written short stories, movies, and books, readers are always drawn to the villians or characters with the dark backstories, and sometimes may even root for them. This is no difference when it comes to Grendel in the epic story of Beowulf, and Iago in Shakespeare’s Othello. But between these two fictional characters, most readers can feel for one more than the other. Both Iago and Grendel are seen as evil, but readers can sympathize more with Grendel because of underlying issues, like not being able to form relationships, while Iago shows tendencies of someone who can easily be diagnosed as a psychopath. In the story of Othello, there are many instances where readers can see what Iago has planned and watch it all unfold.
Then as we read on we realize that it becomes important as a new character enters into the story that brings conflict and problems along with him. Even little details that the author writes into the story are integrated into the main idea. McCarthy also includes many clever examples of the literary element irony in this story. The reader notices that Grady seems to have a less than perfect relationship with his father and mother who have divorced. We as readers are also able to understand the humor that is portrayed by the author 's use of verbal irony.
In the most cliff hanging, interesting, and heart wrenching book The Hound of the Baskervilles, there are two detectives by the names Holmes and Watson and these two men are the same and different in many ways. Holmes is a leading character and Watson is the follower. Holmes knows of all of his expertise and Watson does not show it as much. Yet, both detectives are precise, observant, and very good at what they do. These two detectives have distinctive differences that are present and can be shown in how they work alone and around each other, their overall attitude and personality, and finally in their different responses to the same situation.