Doyle used the idea from a quote in his text as the basis for the overarching structure of his book A Study in Scarlet. He presented the importance of making unbiased judgments in the first part of the book but proceeded to test the reader’s observance of this idea. “’It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgement’” (27). When Sherlock Holmes says this, he is stating it in a matter-of-fact sort of way, implying that this should be obvious. The use of the word “capital” shows that doing this is among the worst mistakes that can be made. This is shown through the fact that capital crimes are the worst crimes that can be committed and are punishable by death. The strong emphasis on the phrase “biases the judgement” is very reasonable because as scientists, preventing opinion from affecting their conclusions is crucial. Although this quote is about not having a preconceived notion of the crime, it also applies to not judging a person before you know the details of their life. This is arguably the main theme of the book because Doyle organized the book in a way that the reader heard the terrible crimes the “criminal” committed and judged the criminal as a terrible person; then Doyle showed the events that caused the “criminal” to pursue and murder the men. In the second part of the book, it is revealed that the criminal was actually a good person and that the reader made an incorrect judgment because the reader did not follow the advice of Sherlock.
Author: andrewsherer
The Uncertainty of Life After Death
Although Hamlet seems suicidal throughout the play, it is not only revenge that is keeping him from committing suicide. Hamlet is somewhat religious and he fears what may be in store for him when he dies. Even though his current suffering is immense, he is not sure that it is worse than what is waiting for him when he dies.
“…Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country, from whose bourn
No traveler returns, puzzles the will,
and makes us rather bear those ills we have,
than fly to others that we know not of?” (pp 64, lines 76-82)
Hamlet widens the scope of this fear of death and includes it as a part of the human condition. His word choice is very specific and the use of the words grunt and sweat creates an image of a poor working person. This person must have extreme anxiety about what follows death because the person has a miserable life but prefers living to death. We do not actually know if there is a heaven or if there is a hell and we do not know what entitles a person to go to either of them. The fear of a worse situation after death inspires a more accepting view of his current reality.
The Art of Symbols and Metaphors
“And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting
On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;
And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,
And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;
And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor
Shall be lifted—nevermore!” (946).
The major devices that is used in this poem and in this passage are metaphor and symbolism. The major symbol of the poem is the Raven. I took the Raven to represent the feeling of intense sorrow that comes from the loss of someone very dear and that cannot be alleviated. Evidence of this symbolism is present throughout the poem but one strong example is when the narrator begs for the object that might quell his sadness of the loss of his dear Lenore and the Raven refuses. “’…is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!’ Quoth the Raven, ‘Nevermore,’” (945). The narrator enquires if the cure to his heartbreak exists and the Raven seems to imply that there is not a fix for his misery. This idea also connects perfectly with the final stanza. “And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting…” (946).
Most of the passage above shows that the narrator will never get over the sorrow he feels about his lost Lenore. There seems to a gap in time between the last two paragraphs and this adds even more to the feeling that this the narrator’s suffering will be unending. The passage above is the most important quote for seeing that the narrator will never be able to escape the depression that covers him. In this passage, Poe uses very precise and perfect language to describe the situation and lead to a metaphorical ending. He also uses details that seem to be just extra information and perfectly crafts into the symbolism of the story.
Naysayers may doubt the following metaphor but I maintain that it is too perfect to have been included by chance. “And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting … On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;” (946). Pallas is another name for the Greek goddess Athena, who is the goddess of wisdom. The Raven sitting upon the bust of Pallas is a metaphor showing that the narrator’s sorrow is conquering his logic and intellect and that his mind is being fully occupied by this grief. Unless the reader has a profound knowledge for Greek mythology or looked it up on the internet, the reader probably would not have caught that amazingly well thought out metaphor by Poe. It is a seemingly insignificant detail but Poe uses that one word to bring a new dimension to the poem. That shows the true nature of most of “The Raven.” Using allusions Poe brings incredible clarity and credibility to the work and to the narrator’s testimony.
The phrase “And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting…” shows that the Raven is unwavering and is never going to leave (946). The narrator is aware of his condition and much like the problem of getting the Raven out of his home, getting through this is just beyond his reach. This supports this hypothesis that the narrator will never escape his sorrow because the Raven is unmoving, and his problem is too much for him to handle.
To show the extent to which this despair has restrained the narrator, Poe symbolizes the Raven’s shadow to be like a prison for the narrator. “And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor…Shall be lifted—nevermore!”(946). To never have one’s soul lifted again is to never again experience happiness. It is for this reason that the tone at the end of this poem is so somber and melancholy. This phrase gives even more support to the eternal unhappiness that awaits the narrator that was already presented by the first part of the passage.
Mystery in Literature 