《血字的研究》叙事技巧分析(2)
A Study in Scarlet is a detective mystery novel written by Conan Doyle, introducing his new characters, “consulting detective” Sherlock Holmes and his friend and chronicler, Dr. John Watson. Since then, Sherlock Holmes has become one of the most popular fictional characters.
In the beginning of first part, it tells that the author (Dr. Watson) meets Sherlock Holmes through a friend and rents a houses located on Baker Street with him. Chief inspectors Lestrade and Gregson also come on stage for the first time in this story, and they tell about the case (someone is killed in an empty house). Watson and Holmes rush to the crime scene. Holmes carefully observes the blood on the wall of the word “RACHE” (German meaning “revenge”), and according to the features of the various traces of the blood word, speculates the approximate features of the prisoner with brilliant deduction. There is a series of twists and turns in the plot later. After the appearance of another victim (secretary of the former dead), Holmes sets a trap, using tricks to arrest the criminal disguising as a driver to hide his identity in London. The second part describes the experience of the criminal (Jefferson Hope) when he is young in Utah, in other words, how he starts a profound feud with the victim (the victim kills his lover and his father). And later the criminal follows his enemy all the way to London and implements the revenge, and gets arrested eventually.
Holmes was partially modelled on his former university teacher Joseph Bell. Other authors sometimes suggest other influences—for instance, the famous Edgar Allan Poe character C. Auguste Dupin. Dr. (John) Watson owes his surname, but not any other obvious characteristic, to a Portsmouth medical colleague of Doyle's, Dr James Watson.
In recent years, there are many researches concerning A Study in Scarlet. For instance, in On the Application of Cooperative Principle in A Study in Scarlet(2006), the author makes an effort to combine Grice' s “cooperative principle” with Conan Doyle's famous story A Study of Scarlet. In Narrative Suspense in A Study in Scarlet by Conan Doyle(2008), the author discusses that in A Study in Scarlet, Conan Doyle uses suspense as a major narrative strategy running through the whole narrative development. This thesis explores writing techniques in A Study in Scarlet. It focuses on, firstly, sophisticated narrative, including unique narrative structure and changing narrative perspectives, and secondly, borrowing and development of Allan Poe, including citing media reports of cases in the novels, relationship between detectives and policemen, and the narrator of story.