The novel, “The Hound of the Baskervilles”, written by Conan Doyle, talks about a case of a rumor in the Baskerville family. Dr. Mortimer brang a myth about the Baskervilles and Sherlock Holmes wants to find the real explanation behind the hound. A long time ago, Sir Hugo kidnapped a girl and locked her in the attic. Then the legend of the hound began. It all started with Sir Hugo. Later, the legend passes on to every Baskerville. Holmes sends Watson to protect Sir Henry because of the legend. They don’t want Sir Henry to get into the legend. The two women, Beryl and Laura help Sherlock Holmes by giving them some information about the plans of Jack Stapleton. After a bit of time and further investigation, Holmes reveals that it is Jack Stapleton who is actually Roger Baskerville that is killing the Baskervilles because Jack wants the inheritance of the money. This book could be discussed through three perspectives, including Supernatural and Scientific Reasoning, Human Nature, and Women’s power.
To tackle mysterious cases, individuals should utilize their deductive reasoning, keen observational skills, and logical thinking rather than relying on supernatural reasoning. Supernatural reasoning involves explanations that attribute events or phenomena to forces beyond the natural world like gods or spirits, while scientific reasoning refers to explanations based on close observation, clear evidence, logical reasoning, and systematic methods. Jack Stapleton attributed Sir Charles’s death to supernatural rumors about a hound haunting the Baskerville family. Dr. Mortimer, a person of science, chose to believe this supernatural hound, as a large paw print was discovered nearby. On the other hand, Sherlock Holmes, based on his rationality, did not take in this supernatural belief. Supernatural is something opposite to the natural world that people understand or science cannot find the evidence to explain. Most people in the story choose to believe the supernatural thing, but Sherlock Holmes is the only person who chooses NOT to believe. Sherlock Holmes sought clues through close observation, applied scientific thinking, using deductive reasoning and analysis to find the right evidence for solving the case. He reasoned that if the hound left a footprint, then the hound must be real and not supernatural. Additionally, a hound, according to scientific explanation, could never be a criminal-like monster. Holme’s actions suggest that if people place too much believes, in paranormal phenomena, then people would first experience uncertainty and panic, and then people might miss out some crucial details needed to solve cases. Science and deductive reasoning always prevail supernatural phenomena, as everything is grounded in facts, not myths.
Greediness, twisted love, and evil thoughts are some negative sides of human nature, leading individuals to do destructive things, even committing a crime. People’s greediness is fueled by evil thoughts. Such greediness causes people to exploit the affection of others, inducing them to take inappropriate acts like murder, to get financial gain or satisfy their selfish desires. Jack Stapleton was a member of Baskerville. He was driven by his greediness to claim the entire Baskerville inheritance. To fulfill his desire, Jack takes advantage of Laura’s and Beryl’s love for him to kill Sir Charles and Sir Henry. Human nature is all around people. Human nature, no matter positive personality traits or negative sides, is unavoidable. Some people change themselves to be evil for the sake of money while some people realize what they did was unethical. If Sir Henry died, Jack would be able to have the whole property and money. But if Jack wants to have the money, he needs to wipe away people in front of him on the inherit list first. Jack is using other women to allure the victims. Jack asks Laura to allure Sir Charles and asks Beryl to allure Sir Henry. He is forcing or threatening his women to do so. The two women know what they are doing is wrong; therefore Laura makes a confession to Sherlock Holmes, revealing Jack’s murder on Sir Charles. Greediness is extreme selfishness, clearly serving as the driving force behind criminal behavior. It is crucial for people to learn how to manage their negative traits to avoid making harmful choices or committing crimes, as these decisions might come back to haunt them.
Understanding the potential and strength of women, women could empower themselves to assert their rights, make decisions, and contribute meaningfully to society. Instead of being controlled by their men due to the twisted love, women totally have the capacity for making sense of everything around with rationality. Initially, both Laura and Beryl love Jack and their affection for him drove them to engage in harmful actions that aided Jack in his attempts to murder Sir Henry and Sir Charles. Eventually, both women realized their wrongness and turned against Jack by revealing Jack's murder plot to Sherlock Holmes. During the Victorian Era in the early 1900s, women would be willing to do anything for their men because they fall in love with their men. Some women were easily deceived or lacked morals due to twisted love, like what Laura and Beryl did in the story. Women can have big effects too. Women make things that can help each other. Laura revealed a big thing that can help Holmes determine who the killer is. She told Holmes about the plans that Jack has so he could figure out the whole legend of the Baskervilles. Beryl also helps by revealing the secrets behind Jack’s plan. They both help Holmes find the culprit. Without Laura, Jack, the criminal, would not have the chance to kill Sir Charles. If Beryl cooperates with Jack, Sir Henry would not have chances to stay alive. Obviously, Laura and Beryl in the story indicate that women stop seeing themselves as mere extensions of men. They recognize that it is not worth breaking the laws or morals just for love. Only when women realize their power and use it can they help himself to advance their position in society.
“The Hound of the Baskervilles”, is a very engaging novel that shows how detective Sherlock Holmes investigates Sir Charles’s death by using extensive observations, deductive reasoning, and local thoughts to solve the case. This story highlights the power of scientific reasoning in overcoming supernatural things, explores the negative sides of human nature, and waking up women’s power. Specifically, the author leads readers to see things from Sherlock Holmes’ perspective. It teaches the readers the significance of rational thinking and evidence-based inquiries, rather than believing nonsense supernatural phenomena. Also, this novel provides readers an opportunity to explore the darker side of human behaviors, warning against people’s greediness and evil thoughts. Additionally, this novel has readers challenge traditional gender roles, trying to question societal norms toward women.
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