The Hound of the Baskervilles Period 3 – DQ #1
PERIOD 3
Before you get to the question you have to understand that this is a discussion, and that you will be graded for “discussing” . You might be wondering, how I will grade you. Well, here’s how I’ll do it.
- Answer the Discussion Question completely (50%).
- Respond to at least one classmate’s answer (50%).
- A response to a classmate must be substantial.
- Substantial means having something to add to another’s comment:
- agreement with explanation,
- disagreement with explanation,
- add something completely new.
Here’s the question:
Why did Doyle choose Watson to narrate Hound instead of having Holmes tell the story himself? What are the benefits and drawbacks of doing it this way?
Be advised that I will not go through how to answer every question (as I did for this one below) all the time. You must get into the practice of answering every part of a question.
Now, go ahead and read the rest of this, answer the Discussion Question, and submit it.
You must be sure to answer every part of the question and responding to others comments. That is the catch when it comes to getting your points for discussion assignments.It is very important to really read the entire question before responding to it. If you look at this question closely, you’ll notice that there are actually two separate interrogatives, or question statements:
- Why did Doyle choose Watson to narrate Hound instead of having Holmes tell the story himself?
- Explain the reason why the author, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, chose Watson to be the narrator rather than Holmes.
- What are the benefits and drawbacks of doing it this way?
- This asks you to do two things:
- Explain the benefits of having Watson narrate the tale,
- Explain the drawbacks of having Watson narrate the tale.
- This asks you to do two things:
Now answer the Discussion Question:
Why did Doyle choose Watson to narrate Hound instead of having Holmes tell the story himself? What are the benefits and drawbacks of doing it this way?
I agree with Jhane about how Mr.Holmes having an answer to everything and there being no point in reading the book if your gonna be told everything and not being able to use your brain and try and figure out stuff on your own.
I think Doyle Choose Dr.Watson to narrate this book instead of Mr.Holmes because if Dr.Watson was reading everything would be dull and it wouldn’t seem like a mystery book,everything would be told in like the first chapter of the book.What kind of mystery book would it be if there was no suspense or something that had you on the tip of your seat wanting to know more.The benefits of having Dr.Watson narrate the story is that the reader has to think hard and figure out details and clues about what’s going on and piece them together to try and solve the mystery.The Drawback is that you cant figure out what Mr.Holmes is thinking about the mystery,you cant read his mind.
Response to Crystal R.
I agree with your drawbacks. We really don’t get a good description of who Watson is. But then again, he’s not the main focused character- Holmes is- and he’s really the one that counts, at least in my opinion.
You can thank http://www.sparknotes.com for the question you just enjoyed. Here is the answer that they offer to the question:
Doyle uses Watson as a narrator for two key reasons. In the first place, Watson is not as intuitive as Sherlock Holmes. In this sense, he allows the reader to join him as he attempts to live up to the master’s standards. By contrast, if Sherlock Holmes were telling the story, we would have little opportunity to solve the mystery ourselves: witness, for example, Holmes’ various and sundry revelations of the truth, which preclude our participation by effectively beating us to the punch.
The second reason Doyle uses Watson as a narrator is that it allows for the pace he is looking for. Even if Holmes’ character can give us a chance now and then by keeping his conclusions to himself, he is still too quick a thinker to take on the onerous task of relating all the facts in detail. Only a slow-witted lackey like Watson is fit for the job. When Holmes’ character does appear, he serves more as a catalyst for the action in the story, bringing things to a quick and exciting climax.
Any answers to the question posted after this will not be considered for credit.
You may still enjoy discussing the topic, though. Maybe you could offer some details from the text to support this answer.