After reading The Final Problem, I believe that Sherlock Holmes is alive. I feel as though Holmes died too easily after averting three attempted homicides, and coming as far as he did to defeat Moriarty. The story seems to end abruptly and with many open ends. Watson provides a distinct opinion that tries to persuade the reader into believing that Holmes is dead, and his evidence of conviction is the lack thereof. Watson exploits the audience by basing his conclusion of Holmes’ death on the lack of evidence. Watson proceeds to say that Holmes was “...the wises whom I have ever known” (Doyle 8). This demonstrates Holmes’ true wisdom and abilities. The letter that Moriarty so generously let Holmes write could have been faked! The wisdom of Holmes that Watson points out could in fact be at play here; Holmes could have walked down the path, made it look like a fight occurred , and then walked backward off the path. This would make it look like both Holmes and Moriarty walked down the path and neither returned. Certainly Holmes’ wisdom attests for such a brilliant plan. Regardless of the validity of my suspicious story, if I can come up with a plan like that, Sherlock Holmes could think up something ten times better. I am not convinced Sherlock Holmes is dead.
If my suspicion holds true, The Final Problem would fit seamlessly into this course much like An Occurrence At Owl Creek Bridge. We are unaware of both the main characters’ lives, or if they are actually alive. However, in AOAOCB we find out at the end of the story that Farquhar is actually dead. I think that the ambiguity of whether Holmes is alive or not contributes to his cryptic persona.
This reminded me of something that was talked about in a history class I took last semester. Essentially, we were assigned both a reading that proved King Arthur was a real historical issue, and one that argued the opposite. I found myself inclined to believe the first reading more, and then when I reflected on why, I realized it was because I wanted to believe in King Arthur's existence.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, I feel like we manipulate ourselves in this case, because we want to believe in a happy ending, and that Sherlock Holmes lived.
Very interesting idea that Holmes isn't actually dead. That's something that never even occurred to me while reading the book, but certainly seems plausible. After all those years, how likely is it really that Holmes finally met his match in Moriarity? I would think, not so. However, even if he were to be dead, he still lives on. His work and his efforts will forever be remembered by the people of London. Whether or not Holmes wanted to die to be out of the spotlight is an entirely different, and very interesting question.
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