Sherlock Holmes and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

I have never seen the TV series Sherlock before Thursday night when we watched it as a class, but I knew it was quite popular. I thought it was hilarious and very well done- they showed Sherlock’s sarcastic, smart-alec-y, very intelligent and observational side perfectly. Benedict Cumberbatch was perfectly cast for that role, as well as Martin Freeman as Dr.Watson. I didn’t expect each episode to be 90 minutes long, as long as a movie, though! But I hear that’s normal for UK TV shows.

            I have, however, seen the two movies that came out about Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law. It was interesting to see the comparison of the more flirty and woman-loving Downey compared to the female apathy Cumberbatch showed. I don’t know which one would suit Sherlock more, because they’re both equally entertaining, but I have a feeling it’s Cumberbatch’s virgin version. Law’s Watson was a little more mature than Freeman’s version of Watson as well.

            I looked up fun facts about the author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, that might have been overlooked by presenters in class and I found a couple very interesting things.

            -He wasn’t knighted for his fictional work (Sherlock Holmes), but for his non-fiction pamphlet written about the Boer War. This took place in 1902 by King Edward VII.

            -Doyle was once on the same cricket team as JM Barrie, the author of Peter Pan.

            -He was friends with Dracula author, Bram Stoker, and was a classmate of Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island, at the University of Edinburgh.

            -Doyle was close friends with Harry Houdini, though their friendship was strained due to differences in spiritual beliefs. Doyle believed in fairies, mediums, and ghosts, while Houdini did not and attempted to disprove these hoaxes his whole life. Here is a link to a small Drunk History video about this (warning: there is strong language):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POFaDJ5IJHg

            -The town in Switzerland that he used as the setting of Holmes’ death in his series made a statue of the famous detective in 1988 and named the square after Doyle himself.

            -Doyle was able to free a man wrongfully convicted in prison using his own time, money, and influence. The man, Oscar Slater, was released with a £6,000 compensation, which he did not share with Doyle.

            -Doyle died in his garden clutching a flower in one hand and his chest in the other. His final words were to his wife- “You are beautiful.”

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/10561577/Arthur-Conan-Doyle-19-things-you-didnt-know.html

"Stop Fool!"


       Dan wasn't going to like this. I stood outside Dan's door and took a breath before stepping threw. He hadn't quite gotten out of bed yet, he was sitting there, rubbing his eyes since in his eagerness, he hadn't slept well.
       I asked how was his sleep, not really knowing how to start my advice.
       "Well enough," said he, "Is the girl ready?"
       "Well, almost, but that isn't why I'm here," and before he could protest I continued, "I've told you that marrying a woman isn't a proper plan, but now I'm begging. It will only bring ruin."
       "Ruin? Don't be a fool, there is nothing wrong with a king wanting a queen for himself."
       "You've said that, but Dan, this morning I saw the priests huddled around each other, whispering. They kept their voices low and watched me as I passed. Not even Billy Fish is aware of what it is. And he warned me--"
        "Stop it with your warnings. I will have a wife and our Kingdom will last centuries."
        "That is true, it has been done over and over again," started I, "but they were human. Our people, the priests and chiefs, they believe us to be gods. It may be peculiar that a god should desire a bride, what else explains the reactions of the poor girl last night, the priests this morning and the hesitation of the chiefs and priests when you made your desires known," said I.
        Dan's head had begun to turn red and he fumed. In all our time together as kings, he had included me as equal parts as him, and he had always been kind to me, even if it was him the people loved. But now that I was trying to dissuade him, nearly standing in his way, he could hardly think lower of me. He didn't say anything, it was all in his eyes. He felt like the peak of the tallest mountain, and he felt as though I was trying to bring him down.
        When a priest came to fetch him for the wedding ceremony, his anger lifted and he was back to the delighted self he had been the night before at the thought of having a wife. When I left his room I wished there was more I could say to convince him that this was a horrible idea. But he was king and he felt that no one should stand in his way, not even a fellow king.

Drawing and Listening Leading to a Better Understanding

    

     Before our discussion in class I never really thought of the different tools I could use to interpret some go the readings we do for class. Never before have I drawn what I was  reading to help get a better picture of the setting that is being drawn out in my head in a story. Also I usually don't prefer to have things read out loud to me, such as audio books. Though this was a different case because the voices chose for each reading was very powerful and helped voiced the emotion in them. 

     There were very noticeable differences from reading “Kubla Khan” on my own and listening to someone read it. Some of these were the tone, setting, and even the plot. The tone is easily mistakes when you are reading something on your own because on your own you can just use a muted tone. Then when Benedict Cumberbatch read the the piece you can hear what emotion should be felt in certain places throughout the story, also while he is reading it you can her some music in the back ground. The music can also help you see the mood that is being set in that particular instance, especially when it will get louder or even get more distant. I felt when he read it I got a better understanding about what exactly was happening in the story and what the author was intending for the readers to see. 

     The story of “Ozymandias” was definitely better when read by Bryan Cranston. He has such a powerful voice that helps the reader or listener in this case get a better image of what is trying to be shown. He projects his voice very well while reading it. Especially in certain places when his voice will get louder or even when he will have longer pauses throughout the story for more of a dramatic effect. Another noticeable thing when he is reading are the drums being played in the background. I definitely got a much better understanding of what was trying to be said in the story after he read it, because when reading it on my own I thought it was very short and that there wasn't much going on. Then when listening I almost got goosebumps because his voice was so powerful and I felt like I could perfectly picture the sands being discussed and the idea of the lifeless things. 

     Overall I think the different tools of reading these kinds of story is beneficiary. Without them I don't feel that I would have quite gotten the full understanding of what was trying to be said in these two stories. 

The Nightmare by Henry Fuseli: Gothic theme during the Romanticism era

As a class, we discussed the Gothic theme quite extensively and were shown a picture of a painting (see above) called The Nightmare by Swiss-born English painter Henry Fuseli. Though it does represent the Gothic style, it's actually considered a Romanticist painting.

It was made in 1781 in London, England and was quite shocking to the public, though many knew he was an odd man who was interested in painting the supernatural and dream-like already. His audience wondered what happened to the popular themes that came about in paintings at the time- there was no moralizing subject, there was no historical significance in the scene, there was nothing from the Bible or literature in the painting, it was simply a result of Fuseli's imagination. This puzzled critics and visitors of the Royal Academy exhibition, where it hung, because they were expecting something from what we now call the Enlightenment, or the “Age of Reason,” but this is what they got.

The light Fuseli uses in the painting seems to emphasize the innocence and virtue of the woman (her white gown) and make the horse's eyes pop out even more, which creates a creepy vibe. The shadows and darkness enveloping the characters emphasizes this even more.

People believe this was Fuseli's interpretation of nightmares coming to life, and I'm sure no one can debate that. The creepy figure on the woman's chest is considered to be an incubus, which is “a type of spirit said to lie atop people in their sleep or even to have sexual intercourse with sleeping women.” Though the title seems to be a pun on the horse in the background (night mare, mare meaning horse), it has another meaning behind it. According to Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language (1755), a “mare” or “mara” used to be defined as “a spirit that, in heathen mythology, was related to torment or to suffocate sleepers. A morbid oppression in the night resembling the pressure of weight upon the breast.” The horse wasn't there in the original painting, but was added as a final touch by Fuseli with no known reason, though it could be to surprise, shock, or horrify the crowd even more than they already were when looking at the evil spirit. There is a possibility he added it as a symbolic representation of the word “nightmare.”

Because of it's dark, mysterious features, it inspired many writers such as the poet Erasmus Darwin (Charles Darwin's grandfather), Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe, and many others. It is now considered an icon and has been used several times in parodies and comedic drawings.

Source:http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/henry-fuseli-the-nightmare-1781.html

The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky


With a sign I walk to the door and bar it behind Davy's kid. He might as well hunker down with the rest of us here. He may as well hunker down here, no reason to be walking around outside while Scratchy is drunk out of his mind.


As I make my way back to the bar, I can here that  drummer kid as panic begins to set in. Never been around guns before from the sound of it, much less in the way of a bullet before. Poor kid, it's a different world around here, not like those cities.


Break down the door? He can try, but no one that drunk could ever manage enough strength to break it down. His bullets are another matter though, it's possible they may wriggle through. Once he starts shooting at it though, that drummer better get down quick, don't want him getting hurt in his first day in town.


The guys are beginning to get irritated, it's bad enough dealing with Scratchy when he's walking around with his guns, but without the marshal here, the man could kill some one, they don't need that drummer reminding them.


Soon the nerves come for me too. Like a thousand ants are running up my spine. I grab my rifle quietly, don't want to alarm anyone, not that they aren't already wishing they had their own guns on them. I see the drummer, poor kids shaking to and fro. It would be better if he was behind the bar with me, so he could duck behind it in case. Don't know what I'm so worried about. I can just imagining that monster breaking down the door with a kick. He can't though, I know it. He's tried three times already.


I know Scratchy is one of the best shots there is here, and that don't make me feel any better. I find my self telling all this to the drummer. I remember that last time Scratchy got drunk, and the marshal shut him up with a bullet in the leg. I see the kid's eyes get wide, as he realizes how helpless we all are. Must be scared out of his wits.


I can hear him shouting down the street, slowly marching up the street. I imagine him swinging his pistols around his head.  As he gets closer I begin to make out his words, he wants a fight. Probably doesn't even know that the marshal isn't here to fight him and put him back in his place. What was so important in San Antonio that he had to leave for there. Now of all times.