Growing up I have always heard of Sherlock Holmes and Watson
but I have no experience of reading the stories. I had no idea what to expect
when I began reading these stories, I always knew they were detective stories
and were popular enough to create adaptations and movies over the years but I
wasn't sure why they got so much attention.
I never learned anything about these stories in High school
and never felt the need to really read them myself. In all honesty, I haven’t really watched any
adaptations of Sherlock Holmes either. I only see things that pop up in shows
or from what people usually discuss or quote from the stories. I was definitely
excited to learn about why it has remained so popular over the years.
I came into reading these stories with no expectations. As I
was reading A Study in Scarlet and A Scandal in
Bohemia I was fairly bored. The second story definitely picked up more
but for the most part it was slow and not as action packed as I expected of a
crime series (actually A Scandal in Bohemia
wasn’t really a crime at all). I feel that the time period this takes place in
has something to do with this because it is not all that relatable. The
language that is used is not difficult in the way that Romeo and Juliet is but there are definitely words used that are
not traditional and many people are not familiar with. It is definitely a story
that more educated people or at least people with access to a dictionary would
read.
The way in which Watson and Sherlock Holmes met was not what
I expected. It also seemed strange to me that Holmes trusted Watson so openly
and quickly in the story. Holmes also seems like kind of a sketchy character
since he is more of an undercover crime solver. It almost resembles a hit man
situation because he does his work under the radar.
So far I have not been all that impressed with Sherlock
Holmes. I hope that as we get further into these stories, the better it will
get and the more I will enjoy it. Maybe as the stories progress the characters
will become more relatable and the audience can get more connected to them. I
also hope that the “crimes” that Holmes helps to solve actually become crimes.
I have to admit, though I did enjoy the stories, it wasn't quite what I was expecting either. I have read a couple Sherlock Holmes stories throughout my life, but honestly it was so long ago I can only vaguely recall that I once read something involving Holmes. When you think Holmes, generally you think adventure and mystery, but that wasn't quite what we got here- perhaps not the best two examples of Holmes, in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteOr, heck, maybe I'm wrong, and these two stories totally summed up Sherlock Holmes perfectly- beats me, I haven't read anything with him in it in forever. (Well, before this week, I mean.)
Before actually reading both stories I expected them to be boring honestly. I always knew who Sherlock Holmes was and that he was detective, but I never expected his stories to be interesting. I was never taught Sherlock Holmes in high school either, but I'm glad I'm having my first experience in college, so that I can better understand and enjoy the stories. I do agree with you that Holmes does seem like a sketchy person. I've never watched any of the movies either, but I hope they're even better than the stories. I hope the crimes that Holmes solves get more interesting. What is it about Holmes that made you not be impressed with him? What did you expect more out of?
ReplyDeleteI totally understand what you're saying about Holmes not solving real crimes. As I mentioned in my blog post, yeah it's not like there are like 10 different MOs, but I think that some of these "crimes" are pretty interesting, and if nothing else, creative.
ReplyDelete