Vishali Kapoor

Professor Haas
Writing 37
November 24, 2014
Thesis I revised
Revised sentence structure, punctuation, or citation
Added transitions
Added analysis to show why Holmes still appealed to the viewers
Sherlock Holmes Social Ineptitude
The Victorian era, compared to the 21st century, was evidently much different. Many
rudiments have been modernized in order to maintain their stance in the advanced and dynamic
world. During the Victorian era, the detective genre thrived because it reflected on the readers
situation. The detective genre, enhanced by Arthur Conan Doyle, has also evolved throughout
the years in order to appeal to its revolutionizing audience. Conan Doyle created archetypal
conventions in the detective genre; in modern day text, the convention has been reformed in
many ways, but it also continues to mirror some aspects of the original convention. Film and
television have modified many elements of the detective genre to grasp on to the contemporary
train that never seems to cease. Doyles classic convention of Holmes social ineptness, due to
his genius, is dominantly displayed through Sherlock by maintaining Doyles conventions in
order to appeal to its contemporary audience.
Holmes lack of social skills is what defines his character; it is an attribute that allows
him to be such an extraordinary character. Without his persona, he would be like any other
intelligent detective that solves cases. The detective genre is popular not only because of

Holmes abilities to flawlessly deduce and observe a case, but also because of his eccentricities.
The audience desires a complex character that is relatable, but also someone they can admire and
distinguish from other detectives or characters in the story or show. His vital characteristic, his
intellect, is what allows the reader to depend on his observations and skills and believe that
despite all his peculiarities, his reasoning will make sense and correspond to logic. T.J. Binyon,
an English scholar and a recipient of the Samuel Johnson Prize states, His corporeality and
individuality are enhanced by his eccentricities. Although Holmes is a mastermind that can
unravel any case, there are ramifications, such as his social incompetence, of his brilliance. He is
an extremely unconventional character who is detached from his society.
Doyles creation of Holmes defining convention is mirrored in Steven Moffats
television series Sherlock because his lack of social skills is such a prominent characteristic that
it was kept in this version. Accordingly, this convention is one of the aspects of Holmes that is
just as popular now as it was in Victorian era. For example, his social awkwardness is shown in
the middle of the episode of A Scandal in Belgravia when there is a small Christmas party in
Holmes and Watson apartment. Molly comes over and as everyone is greeting each other and
settling down, Holmes begins to work his magic instead of taking a day off. After Holmes
finishes playing the violin, Watsons girlfriend, Janet, offers him some refreshments and Holmes
says, No thank you, Sarah. This is when the reverse shot comes into play; Holmes is having a
conversation with Janet and the camera switches from Janets expression to Holmes and vice
versa. This relates to Holmes classic convention; Watson tries to cover up for Holmes by saying
he is not good with names, but the reality is that Holmes does not care for her name, whether her
name is Sarah or Janet. Holmes only remembers information that is relevant to him or his cases.
Moreover, in Doyles cases, an aspect of his personality introduced in Doyles first novel A

Study in Scarlet in which Holmes claims, It is of the highest importance, therefore, not to have
useless facts elbowing out the useful ones(26). Similarly, in the television series, Holmes does
not stop to consider Watsons and Janets feelings or what effect his mistake could have on their
relationship. He merely begins to deduce again and use process of elimination to figure out the
womans name instead of apologizing and politely asking her name. Although his quality of
Holmes is not alluring, the manner in which Holmes responds and tries to figure out her name is
very comedic, which is why the audience continues to watch. A few seconds later, Molly comes
in and diegetic sound is produced. The audience knows Molly is walking up the stairs by the
diegetic sound, which is her footsteps being played in the background. At this moment, Holmes
dialogue and expression display that he is no particularly ecstatic to see Molly. Everyone begins
to greet each other, while Holmes stays away and sarcastically says, How wonderful. This is a
standard way of meeting and greeting everyone who comes to ones home, but Holmes does not
believe it is of any importance and thinks it is just a useless formality. Holmes lack of social
skills is prominent here; he does not know how to appropriately welcome someone into his
home. He possesses an absence of social etiquette and is quite apathetic to everyones
sentiments, which makes him seem very inhospitable and arrogant. Again, his indifference is
shown. Everyone is casually conversing with each other while Holmes is interrupting their
conversations. A medium shot is taken when the camera is on Lestrades face; as Lestrade is
talking to Molly about his wife, Holmes disrespectfully intervenes to tell Lestrade that his wife is
cheating on him. The medium shot is to show Lestrades expression after Holmes has accused
his wife. Holmes simply does not let go of his conceit and continues to deduce and blabbers
whatever comes to his mind; he is completely unaware of his constant mistakes. He is very
confident in his deductions, but when it comes to having a regular conversation, he seems to be

completely unintelligent. This characteristic shows the audience that he is a distinct character and
this makes audience be more attentive to his awkwardness. Lastly, Holmes has been observing
Molly since she has walked in the room; he continues to describe why she is so dressed up.
There are extreme close ups to track what Holmes has deduced from Mollys appearance and
gifts. Ashin Perrin, a writer of the article Battling Super Sleuths states that Holmes outbursts
evidently show his difficulty in social settings, his uncanny ability to always put his foot in it, to
be insensitive or just plain mean when cornered . He simply turns every situation and
conversation into a deduction of an object or a person, without considering anyone elses
sentiments. Holmes strength is his mind. His weakness is often his emotions (The Genius
Social Failure). He catches the attention of the audience because he has a very unique persona
while all the other characters are too relatable and simple. Although the audience can sometimes
relate to Holmes, they are attracted to him because of his complexity and his eccentricities.
Because he is socially declined, Holmes completely destroys the gathering; he simply does not
know when to speak or when to stop speaking. Surprisingly, he apologizes to Molly; Holmes
usually is not apologetic, but even he knows that he has made a huge mistake. All these
cinematic elements were included into episode in order to maintain and adapt Holmes classic
convention to appeal to the 21st century audience.