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Why does Dr. Watson keep appearing in Sherlock Holmes's stories? Shmoop amongst yourselves.
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Transcript
- 00:05
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a la Shmoop: CSI London.
- 00:12
You may not believe it, but off-the-charts smart people. . .
- 00:15
. . .aren't all that different from the rest of us
- 00:16
Oh, sure, they ace their ACT's. . .
- 00:17
. . .and solve the problems of the world. . .
Full Transcript
- 00:18
. . .but they still have to deal with everyday stuff. . .
- 00:22
. . .like grocery shopping. . .
- 00:23
. . .and making friends.
- 00:25
Take Sherlock Holmes. He's one heck of a brilliant guy. . .
- 00:28
. . .who can crack any case. . .
- 00:29
. . .without anyone's help. But he does spend a lot of time with this
- 00:44
guy. So, if Holmes is so darn brilliant, why does
- 00:51
he need Watson? Well, every hero has to have a sidekick. . .
- 00:54
. . .someone who "gets" him and puts up with all his craziness.
- 00:55
Maybe Watson's just there to keep Holmes company. . .
- 00:55
. . .and be his one and only friend.
- 00:56
Then again, Holmes doesn't seem to need people in his life. . .
- 00:57
. . .so maybe Watson is just around to prove how smart Holmes really is
- 01:00
If Sherlock is clever enough to make a smart guy like Watson feel stupid. . .
- 01:08
. . well, then he must be out-of-this-world brilliant.
- 01:13
Or maybe the author. . .
- 01:20
. . .just needed a nice, sympathetic character. . .
- 01:22
. . . to make Holmes a little more likeable. He does come across a little, shall we say,
- 01:36
prickly. . .
- 01:36
. . .and having a friend like Watson. . .
- 01:38
. . . may be Doyle's way of humanizing Holmes Or maybe Watson is just hanging around to
- 01:48
help move the stories along. Holmes has to explain how he solves the crimes
- 01:57
to somebody. . .
- 02:00
. . .so he might as well do it to a nice guy like Watson.
- 02:06
So, why does Dr. John Watson keep popping up in all the Sherlock Holmes stories?
- 02:13
Is he there to be the hero's faithful sidekick. . .
- 02:13
. . .to provide intellectual comparison. . .
- 02:16
. . . to show Holmes' softer side. . .
- 02:21
. . .or to help move things along? Shmoop amongst yourselves.
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