Sherlock Holmes: the Man, the Myth, the Legend

This great man of mystery is nothing short of unique. His differing traits include intelligence, social behavior and deductive reasoning methods. Yet Sir Arthur Conan Doyle does humanize Sherlock through many ways, such as Watson and Irene Adler. All of his traits do make up a very mysterious man that actually classifies himself as a high functioning sociopath in the BBC adaptation. Needless to say, this character is extremely complex and doesn’t fit into one category.

Sherlock’s most obvious differing trait is his supreme intelligence, he is able to analyze someone’s entire life story by simply looking at him or her. For example, when he meets Watson for he first time in “A Study in Scarlet” he is able to determine that Watson is a war vet, is interested in living with Sherlock and much more all before Watson even has a chance to speak. He uses this high observation skills and extreme intelligence to solve cases.

Sherlock’s social behavior makes him tremendously different from his peers because he is very rude, blunt and cocky. Especially when Sherlock is around the police force, he likes to make sure the people around him know he’s better than they are. Which is the reason he doesn’t have a normal job.

His deductive reasoning methods also set Sherlock apart from his peers. He smokes what we can assume is laced with some type of drug and he meditates all night in “Man with the Twisted Lip” in order to solve the case. Most detectives find the answers to their cases based on facts that draw a conclusion. Sherlock examines the entire case and then  “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” This method of solving cases leads Sherlock into many shocking answers but always brings him to the truth.

Although Sherlock has an intense set of skills, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle humanizes Sherlock through Irene Alder and Watson. Watson is the only “friend” that Sherlock has. Sherlock is obviously much superior to Watson in terms of intelligence but Watson keeps his ego grounded and reveals compassion within Sherlock. Along with Watson, Irene Adler being referred to as “THE Woman” created a weakness in Sherlock. This is clearly seen in Guy Ritchie’s adaptation where Sherlock hangs in front of the saw to save Irene.

Sherlock is meant to be see as this complex super human man that fights crimes by using his brain but since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle writes from the point of view of John, we get a more realistic view than if it has been written from an outsiders perspective which creates a dynamic understanding of Sherlock Holmes.