Sherlock Holmes Essay
Holmes vs. Holmes
Personal Essay Assignment
Monday, March 5th, 2012
Mrs. Sullivan
ENG3U
“Why is the only woman you've cared about a world class criminal? Are you a masochist?” In my opinion, the movie Sherlock Holmes, directed by Guy Ritchie, was a better story than the narrative, “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”, written by Arthur Conan Doyle. In the following paragraphs, I will compare and contrast the effectiveness of the elements of fiction; these elements include plot, setting, and characters.
The Sherlock Holmes was by far better than that of “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”. The plot of the film Sherlock Holmes, in my opinion, was extremely interesting, complex, and kept my attention the whole time. Its complexity was exemplified at the end of the movie, when Sherlock revealed how all of Blackwood’s ‘black magic’ was actually pulled off. It had a unique blend of action, adventure, and mystery, mixed with some witty humor throughout. We were left with a cliff-hanger at the end, but it was done very well, and didn’t just end abruptly. Overall, the movie’s plot was well written and thought out and extremely effective at keeping me interested. I really enjoyed how Holmes never told Watson what he knew or what he was going to do, but revealed everything he deduced at the end of the movie. On the other hand, the story, “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”, didn’t have an overly interesting plot. Although it is a short story, it seemed like it got to the point so quickly and didn’t involve much ‘detecting’. The criminal’s plans were not all that interesting and seemed easily foiled. The story wasn’t terrible, I just think the movie kept me more interested, and the plot was more complex and clever.
The setting is the only element of fiction where I thought the movie and the story were both pretty well done. Sherlock Holmes had a complex and detailed setting, and considering it was a film, I could actually see the setting rather than it just
Personal Essay Assignment
Monday, March 5th, 2012
Mrs. Sullivan
ENG3U
“Why is the only woman you've cared about a world class criminal? Are you a masochist?” In my opinion, the movie Sherlock Holmes, directed by Guy Ritchie, was a better story than the narrative, “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”, written by Arthur Conan Doyle. In the following paragraphs, I will compare and contrast the effectiveness of the elements of fiction; these elements include plot, setting, and characters.
The Sherlock Holmes was by far better than that of “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”. The plot of the film Sherlock Holmes, in my opinion, was extremely interesting, complex, and kept my attention the whole time. Its complexity was exemplified at the end of the movie, when Sherlock revealed how all of Blackwood’s ‘black magic’ was actually pulled off. It had a unique blend of action, adventure, and mystery, mixed with some witty humor throughout. We were left with a cliff-hanger at the end, but it was done very well, and didn’t just end abruptly. Overall, the movie’s plot was well written and thought out and extremely effective at keeping me interested. I really enjoyed how Holmes never told Watson what he knew or what he was going to do, but revealed everything he deduced at the end of the movie. On the other hand, the story, “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”, didn’t have an overly interesting plot. Although it is a short story, it seemed like it got to the point so quickly and didn’t involve much ‘detecting’. The criminal’s plans were not all that interesting and seemed easily foiled. The story wasn’t terrible, I just think the movie kept me more interested, and the plot was more complex and clever.
The setting is the only element of fiction where I thought the movie and the story were both pretty well done. Sherlock Holmes had a complex and detailed setting, and considering it was a film, I could actually see the setting rather than it just