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THE RED-HAIRED LEAGUE
The Red-Haired League
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THE RED-HAIRED LEAGUE
The Red-Haired League
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Arthur Doyle, “The Red-headed League” is story of Sherlock Holmes who is
investigating a case concerning Red-Headed League. The story is narrated from a first person
perspective. Watsons is involved++ in almost all aspects of the Sherlock Holmes case. The short
story is above all vehicles to display a remarkable reasoning ability of the Sherlock Homes.
Sherlock is portrayed in the story as a man who is capable of imposing order on seemingly
meaningless jumble of experience. However, in the story, experience seems as meaningless.
Having a detective status, one is required to observe and interpret the world correctly and the
world is a book to be red. In the story, Holmes is shown as moral man and seems to stand for the
moral standards (Randorf, 2016). His ambitions is that crime and evil must be wiped out from
the society to restore a just society. However, seems to fall for the pit which he has dug. This
essay will arguing that Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story “The Red-Haired League” belittles the
English working class on behalf of his more educated, bourgeois readership.
Sherlock Holmes love for metal puzzles to his interest odd story with Jabez Wilson. He a
also of knowledge in crime and his ability to reason enables him to discern that serious motives
must lie behinds Wilsons Singular experience with red-headed league. Flanked by his knowledge
and the prior observations he makes, he mages to stop a bank robbery and further a lawlessness
carrier of a master criminal. Doyle attempts portray police work with great respect in society in
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THE RED-HAIRED LEAGUE
the manner in which Holmes s portrayal in the story. This same as Julian Symons portrayal of
detective with competency, and respect in the society. From this experience it is possible to not
that ignorance especially and greed can make people unwitting accomplices to crime. A keen a
intellect is not often good force, however, only brilliant mind like John Clay could see Wilson as
the ideal target and thereby was capable of conceiving that the red-headed league was a
calculated scheme to divert Wilsons Attention from his business while a tunnel was being
constructed in his cellar. It therefore points that Doyle short story managing to portray that
knowledge is paramount in preventing and without it, one is useless. Despite Holmes having
immense knowledge, he is portrayed s man who belittle other for the same of his glory.
Superficially, he stands for what people might think is good and come from the heart, but with
his glory, comes his down fall. This symbolic of morality, when deceit is wiped away, His
knowledge comes along with arrogance, however, this makes Holmes to me more believable.
The attributes are consistent in The Red –haired league especially when is talking to Watson. I
shall keep piling facts upon facts on you till your reason breaks down and the recognize me a
bright person. Since the story is centered on Holmes and the character that Doyle want to portray
is that that is shown by Holmes, it conquers with the argument that the story belittle other
working class such as Watson. Doyle arguments conquers with Julian Symons, Bloody Murder.
Same us Doyle, Symons found the element of crime worthy of raise and refers to this as
“psychotic disorder”. In the contemporary society, the use of mental derangement as motive is
common (Symons, 1985).
In a normal society it is expected that the working are exceptionally rich which leaves
them with much leisure time for cultivating a variety of interest. Their lives are marked with
expensive neighborhood, their children get best education and also have a great deal of influence
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THE RED-HAIRED LEAGUE
where they live. These characters include: Peter Jones, Mr. Merriweather, Dr. John Watson and
Jabez Wilson. In contrast the working class are people who are assumed to be less educated and
they engage in manual labor that requires little or no skill and are therefore underpaid. In the case
of The Red-Headed League some of the characters who can be placed in this category include:
John Clay, Duncan Ross (Doyle, 1891). In the eyes of Holmes these characters are contrasted in
a way that tries to belittles the so called the English working class on behalf of his more
educated, bourgeois readership.
Despite the fact that Clay is portrayed as a thief, smasher, murderer and a forger, Holmes
respectfully identifies him as the forth smartest man in London. It is weird to hear Holmes
openly complementing Clay on the ingenuity of his plans. From Clays appearance, the acid-
splashed forehead and pierced ears we learn that he might have some royal blood and received
aristocratic education from his extreme pride. The police agent Jones also engages in applauding
Clay when he mentions that Clay has a Robin Hood- like motive of stealing from the rich with
the sole motive of helping the needy in the society. In other words he is caught saying that Clay
will crack a rib in Scotland one week, and be raising money to build an orphanage in Cornwall
the next.
In contrast, Holmes is seen belittling Peter Jones an officer who earnestly accepts his help
while catching John Clay. According to Holmes, Jones is unintelligent and unskilled in his work
since he has unsuccessfully tried catching Clay for years. Even though he praises his persistence
and bravery it still doesn’t much the disqualification he gave first with regards to the inability to
catch Clay. In another instance, Holmes belittles Mr. Merriweather who is the director of the city
and Suburban Bank. Even though he is portrayed as respectable and solemn, for Holmes, he is
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overconfident and has a one track mind. This is seen when he doesn’t care about the safety of the
bank vault but is more concerned about missing his weekly card game.
References
Doyle, Conan. (1891). the Haired League.
Randorf, Stephens. The Detective Bass Mystery Series: Julian Symons- Bloody Murder, Part 1.
Retrieved from: https://stephenrandorf.com/2016/06/19/julian-symons-bloody-murder-part-1/
Symons, Julian. (1985). Bloody Murder, Part 1.
