Research Paper Prospectus
For my research paper, I will discuss three major themes presented in three Sherlock Holmes short stories that I’ve read. The three major themes I will be discussing are money and power, female roles, and lastly companionship. The discussion of these themes will give insight to readers of how the author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, arranges his different works and draws the readers into his stories.
One of the themes I will research and write about is money and power. In the two short stories I read, I noticed that money and power played a huge role for the crimes or actions that were taking place within the story. In “Silver Blaze” money was a motive to attempt an act of betrayal which ultimately led to a character’s death. Also, in the short story “A Scandal in Bohemia” Money and power, along with his preservation of image, are what lead the king to betray and threaten his ex-lover before he married a new woman.
The second theme I will discuss are female roles and how females are portrayed in the world of Sherlock Holmes. In both stories we can see that Holmes respects females even through his investigations and suspicions of their actions or roles in a crime. This is refreshing to see in the day’s the stories where written. It also gives perspective into the authors view on women and how they are portrayed in his works.
For my last theme I will discuss the companionship between Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes. The friendship between these two is untraditional and no one would think that a medical doctor and a detective would be such close companions, let alone, solve mysteries together. The question I would like to answer is how these two odd balls complement each other throughout each story and what makes their relationship work.
In my research paper, I will provide detailed examples of each theme and why they are significant in the authors stories. I will discuss how “Silver Blaze, “A Scandal in Bohemia”, and one other added short by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle tie together and show his writing style and present reoccurring themes that work together and draw in the reader’s interest.
