The Hound Of The Baskervilles: Holmes Vs. Watson

An iconic duo in mystery novels is Sherlock Holmes and his best and maybe only real friend Dr. John Watson. In the novel by Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles these characters come to life with a distinct role and purpose. The men have an interesting dynamic relationship. Holmes is a genius detective who observes the world unlike no one else. In contrast, Watson, also an intelligent man, perceives his surroundings like a common man stumbling onto clues. These genius men are worlds apart in the way they approach life. Holmes’s attitude to life is logical believing everything can be explained in a scientific way. He believes social interactions are dull and insignificant. Watson also comes at life in a logical way but with a different

He is painted as a man so smart it is difficult to conceive the scope of his intelligent mind, but Holmes has major downfalls. He is an unpleasant human being to be around. His ego is large and he has a major god complex, considering himself better than Watson. In the book, Holmes proclaims “I am afraid, my dear Watson that most of your conclusions were erroneous. When I said that you stimulated me I meant, to be frank that in noting your fallacies I was occasionally guided towards the truth. Not that you are entirely wrong in this instance” (Hounds chap 1 page 17) He does not handle social situations well and is unable to interact appropriately with others. Holmes abuses every vice he can get his hands on to escape from his normal life and slow down and dull his acute senses. His excuse for using his vices is that it helps him concentrate on one thing at a time instead of everything all at once. This shows Holmes’s humanity. It makes the reader relate to him as a person not just superhero character with superpowers of observing every minuscule detail. This illustrates that even the most intelligent and herculean people need a way to escape reality to numb the pressure and pain of life. It pulls at the readers’ emotions helping them to relate to him on a personal

Watson is the storyteller while Holmes is the story. The writer Conan Doyle uses Dr. Watson's voice to narrate the story. He relates the scene to the reader as if he is talking and recounting what he sees. By doing so the reader is pulled in and the prose is easier to follow. Holmes describes Watson’s role when he says “It may be that you are not yourself luminous, but you are a conductor of light.” (Hounds PAGE)Ch 13) In contrast, Sherlock Holmes and the crime is the story. Holmes takes his extraordinary talent to see the world like nobody else and solve what appears to be an unsolvable