How does Arthur Conan-Doyle present the relationship between Holmes and Watson in this extract?
Answers
Answer:
rowseNotessearch
Search for any book or any question
HOMEWORK HELP > THE SIGN OF FOUR
How does Arthur Conan Doyle present Watson and Holmes as very different people?
print Print document PDF list Cite
Expert Answers
D. REYNOLDS eNotes educator| CERTIFIED EDUCATOR
Conan Doyle presents Sherlock Holmes as a person whose main mode of perceiving and understanding the world is logical and factual, whereas Dr. John Watson perceives the world primarily through his emotions. Watson is actuated and motivated by loyalty, friendship, and love, including his love for Mary Morstan, and by loyalty and friendship towards Holmes. Holmes, however, primarily needs the stimulation that puzzles and problem solving provide, which is why he has become a detective. When he does not have a case to occupy his mind, he takes cocaine.
As a doctor, and because he cares about his friend, Watson is appalled at Holmes's cocaine habit, which he fears will harm him. For Holmes, however, mental stimulation is at the heart of what makes life meaningful to him, and if can't get through his work, he gets it through a drug. As he says to Watson:
I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation.
Holmes criticizes Watson for adding love and emotion to his stories about Holmes's cases:
Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science, and should be treated in the same cold and unemotional manner.
Watson, however, argues that if love or emotion are part of the story, they should be included. This typifies the difference between the two men: Holmes leads with the head, Watson with the heart.