The Hound of the Baskervilles, Literary Analysis
Dr. Watson, paralyzed by fear, looked ahead at “… the dreadful shape which had sprung out upon [him] from the shadows of the fog. A hound it was, an enormous coal-black hound, but not such a hound as mortal eyes have ever seen” (Doyle 216). Can this dreaded hound actually exist? Sherlock Holmes doubts it, but Dr. Mortimer believes it does in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Hound of the Baskervilles. This contrast between natural and supernatural presents itself as the main theme of the novel. Dr. Mortimer, a family physician, approaches Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson with a case in which the two sleuths must determine if the curse of the Baskerville family is real or not. These two, constantly facing the difference between truth and fantasy, agree to take the case. Through characterization, the theme of natural versus supernatural propels the reader further into the novel.
Characterization relates to the theme and reinforces it by displaying what each of the characters feel about whether or not the hound of the Baskervilles does or does not exist. Dr. Mortimer, a friend of Holmes comes to visit him. The two discuss the existence of a hound, and Mortimer, believing in the supernatural beast, states, “‘There is a realm in which the most acute and most experienced of detectives is helpless’” (36). Mortimer doubts the abilities of Sherlock Holmes in this case because the supernatural hound may exist. Holmes, however, not fully believing this beast to be supernatural, still cautions Sir Henry Baskerville to be careful. Holmes looked up at him and said, “‘[b]ear in mind, Sir Henry, one of the phrases in that queer old legend which Dr. Mortimer has read to us and avoid the moor in those hours of darkness when the powers of evil are exalted’” (80). Holmes later says to Watson, “‘[k]eep your revolver near you night and day, and never relax your precautions’” (79). Holmes doubts the fears all others exhibit, but remains on guard anyway because he believes “‘[a]n investigator needs facts and not legends or rumours’” (192). Watson also does not quite know what to believe about the mystery. Sometimes he thinks a supernatural beast may exist, and other times he does not believe it. When recollecting on the past day, Watson contemplates of the warning Miss...