The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The Hound of the Baskervilles is one of the most famous stories about Sherlock Holmes. It was first published in 1902. This story shows the murder disguised as a realization of an old family legend about the hound of supernatural origin that kills Baskervilles. This story was told from the point of view of a Sherlock Holmes' friend and assistant Dr. John H. Watson, who is also Holmes' apprentice. Watson tries to learn deductive method. Dr Watson is not only a narrator, but also the main character of this Sherlockian story. The biggest part of the investigation, Watson does himself following his mentors advices. At this time Sherlock Holmes secretly watches for the participants of the events and makes conclusions.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

In this story John H. Watson is described as an archetypical late Victorian gentleman. Dr Watson is an ex-physician (military assistant surgeon). Being emotional and rather romantic, he also has a lot of qualities needed for a good detective. He is searching, astute, intelligent and rather attentive. In this story he has a chance to develop his detective skills in his own. And he succeeded.

At the beginning of this story, we can see Watson like a searching and rather attentive person. Dr Watson shows his interest to his friends deductive method examining Dr. James Mortimers cane. Watson is almost right, but in this episode Holmes teaches his friend to focus on details. Dr Watson, by-turn, shows himself as a person, who see the thing or event as a whole. He is attentive, but he cant see the essential details and havent enough imagination to master Sherlock Holmes famous deductive method. In an episode with a bearded man following Sir Henry Baskerville in a cab. Watson pays attention to the beard and doesnt imagine, the beard can be artificial. Thats why he started searching for the men with beard in Baskervilles surrounding. But he doesnt find anyone.

Dr Watson shows himself like a clever and attentive person in experience of the detection this mysterious death alone. Being in Baskerville Hall he clears up the basic mystery of the inhabitants. During his work, Watson shows that he have overtaken Holmes methods of getting information from witnesses. Dr Watson shows his intelligence and attentiveness in an episode when he found out why a butler from Baskerville Hall called Barrymore every night walk up to the window with a lighted candle. After butlers wife Mrs. Barrymores telling that her husband is signalling her brother Selden that they have food for him. Following his friends advice, Watson uses the Holmes' method and followed Barrymore accompanied by Baskerville. Watson and Sir Henry found Selden on the moor, but the man dead.

Watson catches sight of another figure not far from the obtained corpse. Dr Watson conveys his attentiveness and intelligence when he then found Holmes' shelter in the moor and understood who hides there.

We understood that Dr Watson is a rather attentive person when he notices that Baskervilles neighbors Stapletons are rather strange. But the reader can see that Watson sees the things and situations as a whole at the end of the book. Explaining why he decided that Stapleton is a killer, Sherlock Holmes shows his friend the portrait of Hugo Baskerville and paid Watsons attention to its resemblance with Jack Stapleton, who is actually the son of Sir Charles Baskervilles younger brother Rodger Baskerville.

During the whole story Dr Watson develops his detective skills and his character traits needed for detective. He also learns to be attentive to the details, not only to the whole things. Working alone, Watson has a good experience as a detective and shows his basic features.