sherlock holmes, expatiating on his incomparable charm夏洛克·福爾摩論其無與倫比的魅力

1、<p>　　學(xué)號: 100816105</p><p><b>　　畢 業(yè) 論 文</b></p><p>　題 目：Sherlock Holmes, Expatiating on His Incomparable Charm</p><p>　院 系：外國語學(xué)院</p><p>　專 業(yè)：英

2、語（國際貿(mào)易方向）</p><p>　姓 名：楊浚綱</p><p>　指導(dǎo)教師：關(guān)麗君</p><p>　完成日期：2014 年4月10日</p><p><b>　　Abstract</b></p><p>　　Sir Conan Doyle (1859-1930), honored a

3、s “the Father of British Detective Stories”, is still one of the most popular authors of detective stories. His debut novellas A Study in Scarlet, featuring an unofficial consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, finally man

4、aged to be published in 1887, representing the initiating of Conan Doyle’s writing career. He created a series of spectacular detective stories of Sherlock Holmes, The Sign of Four, A Scandal in Bohemia, The Final Proble

5、m, The Adventure of th</p><p>　　Key words: Holmes; characteristic; ratiocination</p><p><b>　　摘 要</b></p><p>　　柯南道爾爵士（1859-1930）被譽(yù)為“英國偵探小說之父”，迄今為止仍是全世界最暢銷偵探小說作家之一。首部中篇偵探

6、小說《血字研究》以夏洛克.福爾摩斯這一私人咨詢偵探為主角幾經(jīng)周折最終在一八八七年發(fā)表，就此開啟了他的寫作生涯，寫出一系列精彩的福爾摩斯探案的故事，如《四簽名》、《波西米亞丑聞》、《最后一案》、《空屋》、《巴斯克維爾的獵犬》等經(jīng)典作品。本文通過對柯南道爾爵士寫作的六十篇偵探故事著重分析主人公福爾摩斯的性格、與他相關(guān)的主要角色以及其推論演繹法，從而使讀者加深對小說的理解。透過分析，本文從以下三個方面進(jìn)行闡述。第一，通過對福爾摩斯的祖上身份、

7、家庭成員，成長經(jīng)歷，偵探生涯，神秘的大空白時期以及福爾摩斯之死六方面來展示福爾摩斯傳奇的一生；第二，探究分析福爾摩斯的性格與特性、生活習(xí)慣、不為人知的心理疾病和獨(dú)特的愛情觀；第三,通過對福爾摩斯探案時常用到的兩種主要推論方法分析其推論演繹法。</p><p>　　關(guān)鍵詞: 福爾摩斯；性格；推理</p><p><b>　　CONTENTS</b></p>

8、<p>　　Introduction 1</p><p>　　Chapter One “The Father” of Sherlock Holmes 2</p><p>　　I. A Brief Introduction about Conan Doyle2</p><p>　　II. The Birth of Sherlock Holmes 2

9、</p><p>　　III. Sherlock Holmes’s Creation Course3</p><p>　　Chapter Two Incomparable Charm of Sherlock Holmes5</p><p>　　I. A Case of Sherlock Holmes’s Identity5</p><p&g

10、t;　　1. Sherlock Holmes’s Ancestors5</p><p>　　2. Sherlock Holmes’s Household7</p><p>　　3. Sherlock Holmes’s Growth Experience8</p><p>　　4. Sherlock Holmes’s Detective Career10<

11、;/p><p>　　5. Sherlock Holmes’s Great Hiatus14</p><p>　　6. Sherlock Holmes’s Death15</p><p>　　II. Analysis on Sherlock Holmes’s Characteristics16</p><p>　　1. Sherlock Ho

12、lmes’s Traits16</p><p>　　2. Sherlock Holmes’s Process of Unraveling Crimes18</p><p>　　3. Sherlock Holmes’s Appetites21</p><p>　　4. Sherlock Holmes’s Shortcomings and Psychologica

13、l Problem21</p><p>　　5. Sherlock Holmes’s Value of Emotion23</p><p>　　Chapter Three Sherlock Holmes’s Two Major Ratiocinations26</p><p>　　I. Deductive Reasoning 26</p>&l

14、t;p>　　1. Reasoning Forward27</p><p>　　2. Reasoning Backward28</p><p>　　II. Inductive Reasoning29</p><p>　　III. The Combination of Two Ratiocinations30</p><p>　　C

15、onclusion 33</p><p>　　Bibliography 34</p><p>　　Acknowledgements 35</p><p>　　Introduction</p><p>　　Sherlock Holmes, an imaginary talented detective, was created by Si

16、r Author Conan Doyle, a British novelist of detective story. Sherlock Holmes has always been one of the most celebrated fictional characters ever created since first publicized in 1887. Holmes calls himself “an unofficia

17、l consulting detective”, which means the individuals or London polices will consult him when they are out of their depths. Most of the stories concentrate on some tough cases needing Holmes to investigate. Holmes </p&

18、gt;<p>　　This thesis elaborates Holmes’s incomparable charm, which is separated into three parts. The first part is mainly about the introduction of the author and the creational course of Sherlock Holmes. The sec

19、ond part is the body of this thesis analyzed from two aspects. The first one is to introduce the lifetime of Holmes in detail. The other is focused on the characteristics of Holmes’s from five aspects. The last part is a

20、bout two ratiocinations and its relations used regularly when Holmes investi</p><p>　　Chapter One</p><p>　　“The Father” of Sherlock Holmes</p><p>　　Since his first appearance in Bee

21、ton’s Christmas Annual for 1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes has been one of the most beloved fictional characters ever created. The following is the presentation on these two eminent figures.</p><

22、;p>　　I. A brief introduction about Conan Doyle</p><p>　　Sir Author Conan Doyle is one of the most outstanding writers of detective stories. He likewise produced numerous stories of adventure and historica

23、l romance, dramas and poetries in his lifetime. </p><p>　　Conan Doyle was born on May 11th, 1859 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He lived a varied and adventurous life. He was a historian, whaler, athlete, war corre

24、spondent, and spiritualist. He personally championed two cases of injustice, using his own detective work to prove the men innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted. Conan Doyle was knighted in 1902 for his wo

25、rk in South African field hospital during the Boer War. He passed away on July 7th 1930.</p><p>　　II. The birth of Sherlock Holmes </p><p>　　Conan Doyle has created 60 detective novels, includin

26、g 56 short novels and 4 novelettes. Mr. Sherlock Holmes is the protagonist of the entire detective novels. </p><p>　　Conan Doyle got the idea for a detective story from the acknowledged creators of the genre

27、. Edgar Allan Poe had written three short stories featuring Parisian sleuth C. Auguste Dupin: “Murders in the Rue Morgue,” “The Mystery of Marie Rogêt,” and “The Purloined Letter.” Conan Doyle lifted so much detail

28、from Poe that he seemed a plagiarist to some. He took several key components from Dupin. Holmes, like Dupin, is a prodigious pipe smoker. He also places ads in the newspaper to lure the perpetrat</p><p>　　Co

29、nan Doyle also borrowed from the work of Émile Gaboriau, a Frenchman who wrote the first police novels. His Inspector Lecoq uses scientific methods to build a solid case against the criminal piece by piece. Holmes’s

30、 scientific method owes the most to this source. Gaboriau also divides his novels into two equal parts, with flashbacks to prior action, a device Conan Doyle copied in the first two Holmes novels. Conan Doyle based Holme

31、s’s deductive process—lightning quick and seemingly intuitive, </p><p>　　Once embarked on the process of stirring all these ingredients together, Conan Doyle had to choose a name for his detective. The first

32、 he chose was J. Sherrinford Holmes, then Sherrington Hope, and finally the one Sherlock Holmes we know today. We don’t know where he got the name Sherlock, but we can be sure that the last name was a tribute to Oliver W

33、endell Holmes, the American physician and author, father of the great U.S. Supreme Court justice of the same name.</p><p>　　Sherlock Holmes caused a huge impact the time he was created. He has been in vogue

34、and become the most distinctive detective around Europe for his intelligence, sagacity, calmness and incomparable inference.</p><p>　　III. Sherlock Holmes’s creation course</p><p>　　Conan Doyle

35、was brought up to be found of literature and served as an editor for the school magazine in his middle school age. He practiced medicine for decades after graduating from Edinburgh Medical School, which could hardly make

36、 a living. It was then that he began to write. His maiden work A Study in Scarlet was finally published on Beeton’s Christmas Annual for 1887 after being rejected for several times. The hero of this masterpiece is Sherlo

37、ck Holmes. If Conan Doyle made his debut on A St</p><p>　　Conan Doyle was praised as “the Ancestor of the Detective Stories” owing to his triumphant shaping of the figure Sherlock Holmes.</p><p>

38、;　　Chapter Two</p><p>　　Incomparable Charm of Sherlock Holmes</p><p>　　In 2002, Sherlock Holmes was made a Special Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry in recognition of the perform

39、ance of his combination of chemistry and detective work, making him the first fictional characteristic ever to be so honored. And such, not surprisingly, fanaticism of Holmes has tenacious durability for over 100 years,

40、showing no sign of abating. Sherlock Holmes, a synonym for detective, is a myth, a faith and a legend. </p><p>　　I. A Case of Sherlock Holmes’s identity</p><p>　　In general, Sherlock Holmes’s ve

41、ry appearance is such as to strike the attention of the most casual observer. In height he was rather over six feet, and so excessively lean that he seemed to be considerably taller. His eyes were sharp and piercing, sav

42、e during those intervals of torpor to which I have alluded; and his thin, hawk like nose gave his whole expression an air of alertness and decision. His chin, too, had the prominence and squareness which mark the man of

43、determination. (A Study in S</p><p>　　This is the most direct impression of Holmes as Dr.Watson conveyed after he lived with Holmes for a few months. Now, let’s deduce the Holmes’s identity together from six

44、 aspects. </p><p>　　1. Sherlock Holmes’s ancestors</p><p>　　My ancestors were country squires, who appear to have led much the same life as is natural to their class. My grandmother was the sist

45、er of Vernet, the French artist. Art in the blood is liable to take the strangest forms. (The Greek Interpreter, 1893)</p><p>　　Sherlock Holmes scarcely referred to his relations and hardly ever to his own e

46、arly life to Dr.Watson who had long and intimate acquaintance with him though, making him to believe that Holmes was an orphan with no relatives living. However, in the case The Greek Interpreter, Holmes for the first ta

47、lked about his identity, as above.</p><p>　　This is news indeed of Holmes’s identity. Holmes has Irish and British blood since his surname derived from the Irish nobility. However, the “country squires” Holm

48、es refers to is not true nobility, merely a lording or squirearchy actually.</p><p>　　Holmes also has French blood due to his grandmother is the sister of Vernet, who is a pivotal French landscapist of the 1

49、8th century. According to the great composer and pianist Mendelssohn, she was a methodical and disciplined person with talented perception and amazing memory. Her brain was just like a bureau in order, which could seek o

50、ut what she needed whenever she opened the drawer, precisely the same as Holmes’s theory in the case The Five Orange Pips published in 1891,</p><p>　　I say now, and I said then, that a man should keep his li

51、ttle brain-attic stocked with all the furniture that he is likely to use, and the rest he can put away in the lumber-room of his library, where he can get it if he wants it.</p><p>　　According to William S.

52、Baring-Gould’s Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street, Holmes’s ancestors lived in North Riding, Yorkshire, England and Holmes himself was born in there as well. This view is in line with Holmes’s elder brother’s name Mycroft H

53、olmes. Eldest son was probably named after his family lands at that age. In Yorkshire, there were several estates called “croft”—an old Saxon word which means “affiliated land”. Holmes’s ancestors called him “Mycroft”—“m

54、y affiliated land” with the purpose </p><p>　　2. Sherlock Holmes’s household</p><p>　　Holmes made nary a mention of his parents so that American former president Roosevelt speculated that Holmes

55、 was an orphan. However, he gave up his former point after attentive study. According to Roosevelt, Holmes was an American who was brought up by his father or adoptive father under the environment of gangdom and hence ac

56、quainted American crimes in every regard.</p><p>　　William S. Baring-Gould inferred that the given name of Holmes’s mother is Violet because there were four women called this name in the canon, Miss Hunter i

57、n The Adventure of the Copper Beeches, Miss Smith in The Adventure of the Solitary Cyclist, Miss De Melville in The Adventure of the Illustrious Client and Miss Westbury in The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans. Wh

58、at’s more, Holmes showed unexpected courtesy to them. </p><p>　　As for Holmes’s father, William S. Baring-Gould deemed Siger would be his name for Holmes once used Sigerson as his alias. Sigerson can be expl

59、ained as Siger’s child. </p><p>　　As far as we have known, Holmes has an elder brother, Mycroft Holmes, who is Holmes’s senior by seven years and who has an extraordinary faculty for figures, and audits the

60、books in some of the government departments. Mycroft first appeared in the case The Greek Interpreter,</p><p>　　Mycroft Holmes was a much larger and stouter man than Sherlock. His body was absolutely corpule

61、nt, but his face, though massive, had preserved something of sharpness of expression which was so remarkable in that of his brother. His eyes, which were of a peculiarly light, watery gray, seemed to always retain that f

62、ar-away, introspective look which I had only observed in Sherlock’s when he was exerting his full powers.</p><p>　　Mycroft Holmes is Sherlock’s superior in observation and deduction. However, he has no ambit

63、ion and no energy. He will not go even go out of his way to verify his solutions, and would rather be considered wrong than take the trouble to prove himself right. Holmes personally admitted that he again and again took

64、 a problem to him, and received an explanation which has afterwards proved to be the correct one.</p><p>　　According to William S. Baring-Gould’s Sherlock Holmes of Baker Street, Sherlock Holmes was born on

65、Jan 6th 1854. His father insisted on calling this new life William Sherlock for he was a deep admirer of William Sherlock, who was a celebrated theologian in the 17century. Nevertheless, his mother had a preference on ca

66、lling him Walter Scott, a Scottish historical novelist. In the end, they managed to reach an agreement. The child was baptized William Sherlock Scott Holmes. “Sherlock” means “blon</p><p>　　3. Sherlock Holme

67、s’s growth experience</p><p>　　Anyhow, Holmes remained tight-lipped about his childhood and middle school age. However, from Dr. Watson’s statements, Holmes had never given any indication of being a student

68、of a private boarding school. What’s more, the peculiar faculty of observation and deduction Holmes presented could not be learned from a group. Therefore, these indicate that Holmes’s parents educated him with private t

69、utor. Some scholars, such as Trevor Haar, hold that this tutor was not other than professor James Moriar</p><p>　　William S. Baring-Gould pronounced an idea in his book that Holmes had put through the most u

70、ncertain time in rushing around the Europe for four years at his earlier age since his father could not endure the monotonous life of living in the same surrounding. During the trip, Holmes not only enriched his knowledg

71、e, but learned some skills which brought him uncountable benefits. His father taught him pugilism and sent him to a famed academy in Europe for the sake of strengthening his health. And t</p><p>　　Holmes’s k

72、nowledge of the byways of any parts of London was extraordinary.</p><p>　　We do not know whether Holmes had been a middle school student. Whatever, he must have gone to a college because there are hard evide

73、nce in the case The “Gloria Scott” and the case The Musgrave Ritual. </p><p>　　In the Holmes’s first detected case The “Gloria Scott”, during which he was still a callow sophomore, he depicted the following

74、situation,</p><p>　　Victor Trevor was the only friend I made during the two years I was at college. I was never a very sociable fellow, Watson, always rather fond of moping in my rooms and working out my own

75、 little methods of thought, so that I never mixed much with the men of my year. Bar fencing and boxing I had few athletic tastes, and then my line of study was quite distinct from that of the other fellows, so that we ha

76、d no points of contact at all.</p><p>　　However, in the case The Musgrave Ritual, Holmes described his position like this,</p><p>　　During my last years at the university, there was a good deal

77、of talk there about myself and my methods.</p><p>　　Based on the above two dramatically different situations, we could infer that Homes had been in a college for two years from 1872 to 1874. Then he successf

78、ully detected the case The “Gloria Scott” in 1874, during which he was persuaded by Trevor’s father to be a detective,</p><p>　　Mr. Holmes, it seems to me that all the detectives of fact and of fancy would b

79、e children in your hands. That’s your line of life, sir, and you may take the word of a man who has seen something of the world.</p><p>　　Afterwards, his persuasion was a treacly tribute to Holmes’s memory w

80、hen he discussed with Dr. Watson,</p><p>　　That recommendation, with the exaggerated, estimate of my ability with which he prefaced it, was, if you will believe me, Watson, the very first thing which ever ma

81、de me feel that a profession might be made out of what had up to that time been the merest hobby.</p><p>　　Holmes thought that his specialty did not match with the enterprise---the only unofficial consulting

82、 detective---he determined on through the case The “Gloria Scott” and Trevor’s father’s persuasion so that he transferred to another appropriate college for advanced study for at least two years.</p><p>　　Wi

83、lliam S. Baring-Gould drummed in his viewpoint that Holmes was an Oxford University student of Christ Church House from the autumn in 1872 to the beginning of the summer vacation in 1874. Later, he became a Cambridge Uni

84、versity student of Gonvlle and Caius College from the autumn in 1874 till the end of 1877.</p><p>　　4. Sherlock Holmes’s detective career</p><p>　　The case The “Gloria Scott” prompted Holmes to

85、turn his mind in the direction of criminal research. According to The Adventure of the Veiled Lodger published in 1927, </p><p>　　Mr. Sherlock Holmes was in active practice for twenty-three years, except thr

86、ee years of Great Hiatus.</p><p>　　Holmes’s ultimate well-documented detective business is the case The Adventure of the Creeping Man taken over in 1903, in which Dr. Watson said,</p><p>　　This

87、is the very last cases handled by Holmes before his retirement from practice.</p><p>　　Therefore, Holmes first came up to London and had rooms, just round the corner form the British Museum, in Montague Stre

88、et in 1877. Nevertheless, it was a long time before Holmes succeeded in making any headway exactly as Holmes grumbled in the case The Musgrave Ritual,</p><p>　　And there I waited, filling in my too abundant

89、leisure by studying all those branches of science which might make me more efficient. Now and again cases came in my way, principally through the introduction of old-fellow students.</p><p>　　The third of th

90、ese cases was that of The Musgrave Ritual, the first two remaining unclear. Holmes probably experienced several defeats as a consulting detective at his early stage mentioned in the case The Five Orange Pipes,</p>

91、<p>　　I have been beaten four times---three times by men, and once by a woman.</p><p>　　There were many records, unfortunately, done prematurely before Dr. Watson had come to glorify Holmes, for instan

92、ce, The Tarleton Murders, The Case of Vamberry, The Wine Merchant and so on.</p><p>　　Crimes solved by Holmes were growing rapidly, which made criminals appear to be appalled, building some reputation among

93、the police officers in the Scotland Yarders who gave him excessively closefisted credit. Until 1881, Holmes occasionally assisted the police officers in the Scotland Yarders in detecting the most intractable cases. With

94、the growth of his popularity, Holmes tended to find a desirable accommodation. Therefore, he found some nice rooms at No. 221B, Baker Street, which were too mu</p><p>　　At first, Dr Watson did not recognize

95、what Holmes was. Since he knew Holmes was a detective, they two became more and more intimate and Holmes’s detective career turned into a new page.</p><p>　　Watson soon was involved in the Holmes’s mysteries

96、. The first crime was A Study in Scarlet, recording by Watson who couldn’t help adoring Holmes’s talent. At the end of this essay, Watson said to Holmes,</p><p>　　It is wonderful. Your merits should be publi

97、cly recognized. You should publish an account of the case. If you won’t, I will for you.</p><p>　　After that, Watson became Holmes’s assistant with biographer.</p><p>　　By 1889, Holmes said he d

98、etected five hundred cases in the case The Hound of Baskervilles, but two times as many in 1891, recorded in the case The Final Problem. During the decades, Holmes turned into the most recognized detective around the Eur

99、ope from a relative obscurity, having the honor to undertake some cases of royalty, such as the Bohemia king’s case, reigning family of Holland and so on. </p><p>　　Till 1891, Holmes discovered the real crim

100、inal leader---“the Napoleon of crime” professor James Moriarty. Finally, Holmes beat that man in Switzerland and he survived that fight with nobody knew except his elder brother Mycroft Holmes for the sake of caring his