The Heart of the Mystery

Hannah Song A6

In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's reputable novel of the Hound of the Baskervilles, Sherlock Holmes is recognized as the greatest detective in all of literature, but then again there are other detectives, such as Patrick Jane from the hit-TV show the Mentalist created by Bruno Heller. To fully grasp the complex perception to successful investigation and deduction, why don't we go on a little adventure of our own. At this moment, picture yourself as a rookie detective investigating your first crime scene and you have no idea at what you are doing. You walk into an abandoned apartment; you hear slight creaks and the chattering of other detectives as you trudge up the unused, wooden stairs. As you get to the roof you see a dead woman clad in pink, lying face down, surrounded by forensics and other detectives who are also trying to figure out the cause of her death. You suspect that this was a suicide because there is no sign of injury on the body, but others tell you that the same occurrence had happened thrice. You are slightly frustrated, and you think, What would Sherlock Holmes (or Patrick Jane) do? Valuable lessons can be learned from the strengths and weaknesses of Sherlock Holmes and Patrick Jane who have both been through thick and thin whether it is from dealing with a particularly ferocious hound, to psychopathic serial-killers. And being a detective can be incredibly difficult but influencing suspects into conveying information can be one of the first steps to solve a mystery.

Though it is an unethical trait to have, manipulation is an invaluable tool when wheedling information out of suspects or family and friends of the victim. Patrick Jane shows a knack for coaxing truths and vulnerabilities from the most dubious people on a daily basis (or per episode at least). In doing so, Jane also sympathizes with these people to overcome their issues and other concerns, while simultaneously picking up clues; unlike Holmes, who only requests the client to let [him] have the private [details], (Hound, 28) solely for accurate inferences. In the pending crime scene, Jane would have gone for a more tactical strategy in interviewing the suspects, by playing with their minds to find the answers needed. In contrast, Holmes would have been blunt and cogent as he is very arrogant and does not feel the need to properly converse with people as he is more comfortable being alone with getting physical evidence to experiment and deduct with.

To be a successful detective you must master the art of deduction, you need to know what everyone else fails to spot. With one hard look, Jane can easily decipher the things that everyone else misses and can put the

The Heart of the Mystery

Hannah Song A6

pieces together with little to no effort. Not only does Jane have this remarkable ability but Holmes has an equally or maybe even better acumen with his exacting eye for detail. Nothing can get past him as the moment a person walks into the room, he can frequently tell what they had been doing, where they had been and some understanding of their history and lifestyle, all by merely scrutinizing them. But making observations and inductions does not necessarily mean that the detective is always correct, as even the famous Sherlock Holmes has made assumptive mistakes since when he and partner-in-crime Dr. John Watson, attempted to identify Dr. Mortimer with just his cane, Dr. Mortimer proceeded to "disarrange [their] little deductions" (Hound, 15). After the observations are gathered, what next? Of course all the pieces have to be put together.

For Sherlock Holmes, concentration is key when finding a logical solution to an intricate case. According to Watson, "Sherlock Holmes, had, in a very remarkable degree, the power of detaching his mind," (Hound, 59); this 'power' is essential to Holmes when he sits back, closes his eyes, and put his long, bony fingers together as he captures the art of meditation and mindfulness. This process is what makes Sherlock truly brilliant as this is where he adheres all the loose pieces of information together to create one amazingly logical solution. Funnily enough, in A Study in Scarlet, Watson wrote about how Sherlock claimed to not know that the Earth revolves around the sun because even if [he] went round the moon it would not make a penny worth of difference to [him] or to [his] work, (Scarlet, ch.3), this means that Holmes can virtually disregard unrelated subjects from his brain. In a similar manner, Jane does so as well, but he describes it as a 'Memory Palace' of where, it is so clear that [he] can even walk around it in [his] head and it needs to be big and detailed and vivid, (Mentalist). Through his Memory Palace, Jane is able to recall the smallest of details whether its from names to everything about his nemesis, Red John. But creating these brilliant conclusions are not as easy as they make it to be, nevertheless the outcome brings marvel.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Bruno Heller has created some tremendously talented characters to entertain us readers and viewers, and they have opened the realm of awe in our minds. Though very different, Sherlock Holmes and Patrick Jane have countless similarities. And the overarching theme between the two that really stands out is that we cannot go on our whole lives oblivious to all the details that matter. Furthermore,

The Heart of the Mystery

Hannah Song A6

Sherlock Holmes has always said that, The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes, (Hound, 40). So the question is, which one will you be, the clueless or the one who embraces lifes little details that will make you wonder in admiration?

References

Doyle, Arthur Conan. A Study in Scarlet. Digital File.

Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Hound of the Baskervilles. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, 1959. Print.

The Mentalist. CBS. WTKR, Norfolk. n.d. Television.