Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick John Watson have been around for more than a 125 years, and yet from the Victorian age to the present they have remained popular culture figures. It is unlikely that you will come across someone from a first world country that has not heard of the legendary duo. Naturally, this begs the question of why they have endured time so effectively. After over a century the name Sherlock Holmes still brings to one’s mind images of a deerstalker and magnifying glass; thoughts of accurate observations and startling deductions. However, we must not forget Dr. John Watson, Holmes’ steadfast companion. Watson humbly plays a far more critical role in the endurance of Holmes and their tales than one would initially suspect:
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Given that Holmes has a tendency to get carried away, far too quickly for those trying to keep up to understand, Watson’s questions are incredibly valuable to the reader or viewer, as they allow us to follow Holmes’ process. Essentially, Doyle uses Watson as a device to allow the plot to unfold clearly, which is something that the writers of the BBC version also rely heavily on. When at the crime scene at Lauriston Gardens in the book, Watson appeared to have bottled all of his questions up for the first opportunity he got to ask Holmes. As soon as they depart from the scene Watson begins to ask the questions all of the readers are wondering: “Surely you are not as sure as you pretend to be of all those particulars which you gave (24).” And without missing a beat he begins to quiz Holmes on where the conclusions for the particulars mentioned stem from, giving the readers knowledge of all of the little details of Holmes’ process (24-26). In A Study in Pink, however, it is thanks to Watson that many questions raised about just where Holmes procured the case-solving suitcase of the dead woman from, and just how that suitcase is a case-solving find are answered. The suitcase, a prominent pink colour, as would be the case judging by the dead woman’s outfit, was something that the killer obviously couldn’t keep on him without drawing the attention, the detective reveals (45:50). In order to find it he checked every back alley within five minutes of Lauriston Gardens – the scene of the murder – until he found it (46:10). Consequently, just how important Watson’s pointed questions are, and how beneficial they prove to be to those trying to follow the case with the duo, becomes apparent. It is only because of him and his relatable average intelligence, his inability to follow along Holmes’ thought processes no matter how much the detective expects him to, that
Given that Holmes has a tendency to get carried away, far too quickly for those trying to keep up to understand, Watson’s questions are incredibly valuable to the reader or viewer, as they allow us to follow Holmes’ process. Essentially, Doyle uses Watson as a device to allow the plot to unfold clearly, which is something that the writers of the BBC version also rely heavily on. When at the crime scene at Lauriston Gardens in the book, Watson appeared to have bottled all of his questions up for the first opportunity he got to ask Holmes. As soon as they depart from the scene Watson begins to ask the questions all of the readers are wondering: “Surely you are not as sure as you pretend to be of all those particulars which you gave (24).” And without missing a beat he begins to quiz Holmes on where the conclusions for the particulars mentioned stem from, giving the readers knowledge of all of the little details of Holmes’ process (24-26). In A Study in Pink, however, it is thanks to Watson that many questions raised about just where Holmes procured the case-solving suitcase of the dead woman from, and just how that suitcase is a case-solving find are answered. The suitcase, a prominent pink colour, as would be the case judging by the dead woman’s outfit, was something that the killer obviously couldn’t keep on him without drawing the attention, the detective reveals (45:50). In order to find it he checked every back alley within five minutes of Lauriston Gardens – the scene of the murder – until he found it (46:10). Consequently, just how important Watson’s pointed questions are, and how beneficial they prove to be to those trying to follow the case with the duo, becomes apparent. It is only because of him and his relatable average intelligence, his inability to follow along Holmes’ thought processes no matter how much the detective expects him to, that