Alsaedi 1 Mossab Alsaedi Professor Lynda Haas Writing 37 2 February 2014 Watson vs. Holmes As it is mentioned on Wikipedia.

com, a mystery genre is the genre that involves a crime or a mystery and its investigations. Along with the mystery genre come the mystery genre conventions. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is one of the most famous mystery genre writers. His writings are considered part of the classical mystery genre. He is one of the first who wrote novels in such genre and established its conventions. One of the most common mystery genre conventions is the convention of the sidekick. This convention is important because the sidekick is a way of showing the faults the public could make when approaching a mystery and trying to solve it. In the series of books written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle about Sherlock Holmes and his crime and mystery investigations, Holmes has always had his partner, John Watson. Holmes had always been the one with the knowledge and the intelligence needed to solve the crimes. But why did he need Watson? Sir Arthur Conan Doyle writes about how Holmes goes about solving the crimes, but they all involve Holmes debating with Watson about Watsons ideas and how Watson thinks of a certain crime. Holmes's reasoning is surely astonishing, but it is so due to comparing it to that of Watson, which leads readers to sense that Watson is only there to be compared to Holmes and to make Holmes seem smart.

Alsaedi 2 In The Sign of the Four, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle starts the novel by describing how Holmes and Watson were debating in their flat. Watson challenges Holmes to make some deductions by observing a watch that he had recently acquired. "'Now, I have here a watch which has recently come into my possession. Would you have the kindness to let me have an opinion upon the character or the habits of the late owner?' I handed him over the watch with some slight feeling of amusement in my heart, for the test was, as I thought, an impossible one, and I intended it as a lesson against the somewhat dogmatic tone which he occasionally assumed" (5). From the previous excerpt, the reader starts believing that Watson would prove that Holmes is not as smart as he thinks he is from the tone and attitude, especially when Watson implies his confidence by saying: "'...with some slight feeling of amusement in my heart, for the test was, as I thought, an impossible one,'" (Doyle 5). And then the reader is assured about the previous assumption and belief when Holmes tells Watson that he could not find any data on the watch that would be helpful. But Holmes then says: "'Though unsatisfactory, my research has not been entirely barren,'" (Doyle 5). At this point, the reader senses a change from Holmes's tone, which implies that he will be saying something clever and smart in the lines that follow. Holmes then says: "'Subject to your correction, I should judge that the watch belonged to your elder brother, who inherited it from your father'" (Doyle 5). By saying that, Holmes makes the reader think that he is insightful because he came up with these conclusions by just looking at the watch. Holmes's attitude plays a role in this. He gave a conclusion right away without mentioning his deductions. A reason that makes the reader believe that is that Holmes did not state the evidence first, but gave the conclusion right away. Holmes later proves to Watson that the watch does belong to his brother by telling

Alsaedi 3 him how he used observation, knowledge and deduction. The writer then describes Watson's astonishment: "I sprang from my chair and limped impatiently about the room with considerable bitterness in my heart. 'This is unworthy of you, Holmes,' I said. "I could not have believed that you would have descended to this.... You cannot expect me to believe that you have read all this from his old watch!'" (Doyle 6). By showing Watson's astonishment and the tone that implies it, the reader starts to think that Holmes is as smart as he is thought to be. Thinking in a way that a reader of the previous passage would think, Holmes would be outshining Watson. The reader feels confident that Watson will beat Holmes but then the reader finds out that Holmes is the one who eventually wins. The tones and the expressions that could be felt while reading the passage make the reader infer that Watson's way of thinking is inferior to that of Holmes. In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Watson starts going around the moor and writing reports to Holmes about what he encounters everyday. Although Watson makes some conclusions on who murdered Sir Charles Baskerville, Watson states in one of the reports he sent to Holmes that he doesn't want his theories to cloud Holmes's thoughts. "I do not trouble you with my theories, for you asked me to furnish you only with facts" (Doyle 99). The reader of the previous excerpt could confirm Watson's inferiority, when it comes to observation and deduction, to Holmes's. Readers might be thinking that in this story, Watson would play the role of the smart detective while Holmes is in London, but Holmes reappears towards the end of the book and solves the mystery. "'I never was more glad to see anyone in my life,' said I, as I wrung him by the hand" (Doyle 148). Watson says that when he find Holmes on the tor. Watson might have been fearing the huge load he would be having on his back if he were

Alsaedi 4 the one to solve this mystery and go through more strange observations and encounters on the moor. That could be the reason why Watson was happy and delighted when he saw Holmes again. It could be inferred from this that Watson himself did not believe in his own abilities and that he wanted Holmes's help rather than just sending him reports. The fact that Holmes reappears and solves the mystery also proves that Watson is there to be outshone by Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle established several mystery genre conventions including the convention of the sidekick. Watson's role in the novels was not only as a partner and companion to Holmes. Watson was there to make the readers think about how Holmes would be different than any other person in solving mysteries. The writer uses an order of events that makes the reader eventually feel that Watson's reasoning is inferior to Holmes's. Watson is an essential element in the novels that helps show how smart Holmes is and how he thinks abnormally.

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Works Cited The Hound of the Baskervilles. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Sign of the Four. Arthur Conan Doyle. http://bakerstreet.wikia.com/wiki/A_Study_in_Scarlet http://www.123helpme.com/view.asp?id=100144 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mystery_fiction