Apologia

      The Hounds of Baskerville- Classic Novel?

     What makes a classic novel? Is it the combination of theme, character, audience, time or place? Does a classic novel have to have a deep meaning to be considered a classic? And does the classic novel have to be an enjoyable read? Which is more important; appeal to reader or meaning? Or are both necessary for it to be considered a classic novel? Maps of the World -Books says“Classic Novels owe their reputation to the genuine topics and a unique linguistic style which the readers always admire and love to read.” A classic novel is a novel that passed the greatest hurdle in the world of books; time. A novel becomes a classic when it stays well liked through more than one generation. Every generation changes but there are certain themes and issues that remain constant: love, betrayal, hate, family. A classic novel therefore in order to remain popular and later on become a classic, must somehow be connected to what we call a universal theme, and be stylistically rich. I believeThe Hound of The Baskervilles is a classic novel for these reasons.

The theme of the novel is Family Feud. Family feud in the field of inheritance. The story has many supernatural elements twisted in which are still prevalent today in the forms of curses much like in The Hound of The Baskervilles. A novel stays a classic because the theme is still present in the world, and is relatable to the people who choose to read the book., “Classic works generally point out human conditions. Writers often express such conditions by incorporating influential life themes into their works, such as love, loss, justice, race, and politics, in a way that resonates for years to come.” (P. Ren). Contradictorily if a theme or topic of the novel becomes a thing of the past, it is also worth the read. It becomes history, and then something worthwhile reading as well but it can't be so far fetched that we don't even understand it. Stapleton is a Baskerville, “The face of Stapleton had sprung out of the canvas...'the fellow is a Baskerville that is evident'” (The Hound of the Baskervilles 204). He and his ancestors before him tried to kill the their relatives so they may inherit the Baskerville fortune. In the essay “ What Makes A Good Novel” it talks about theme “ It is not possible to expect of a novelist a theme which is new, for there are no new themes, just as there are no new plots. But one can demand of a novelist that he throws a new light on an old theme, or that his view is from a fresh angle”. The Hound of The Baskervilles is a unique book, because it incorporates the supernatural into the theme “family feud” in the from of curses, and the gigantic hound.

   A style technique in The Hound of The Baskervilles was his use of point of view. Unlike most of his novels in The Hound of The Baskervilles Watson solves majority of the case. In Doyle's previous novels he has Watson narrate the story not solve them. It was a nice twist though because “If Sherlock Holmes were the one narrating the novel, it would be too fast paced and overwhelming for the reader. Sherlock Holmes puts together pieces of information so quickly that there would minimal time for the reader to take in the information and guess who the culprit is” (Walch 'Reading Response #1'). A mystery novel without any guessing and time to think things over would be no fun. Having more time to think things over adds suspense to the story giving it another stylistic advantage.

Suspense in the novel is not only created by the narration of the novel, it's created because of the elements within it; the supernatural elements. Holmes' absence allows supernatural elements of the story to come through as he is not there to provide a logical explanation for the going-ons. Suspense is prevalent because the reader is constantly guessing what is to happen to Sir Henry Baskerville, and if his fate lies in the old curse of his family. Suspense is important in a classic novel because “The audience wants to be attracted not by the critics, but by a great story. You must deliver to the audience emotion - and when I say emotion, I mean suspense, drama, love. (Laurentiis). The novel The Hound of the Baskervilles does just that.

Conan Doyle was known for his use of deductive reasoning in his novels through Sherlock Holmes. It was a breakthrough in mystery novels. “There are no rules. That is how art is born, how breakthroughs happen. Go against the rules or ignore the rules” (Frankenthaler). The Hound of The Baskervilles was one of Doyle's more developed pieces. His experience made the novel effective. The deductive reasoning in the novel was concise, logical, and interesting.

Going back the idea of “test of time”, Doyle's technique of using deductive reasoning and science to solve the case gave birth to shows such as CSI in pop culture. It has passed the test of time, not only that but it passes on it's characteristics and style of the novel to television shows currently popular, “Using early scientific experiments and deductive reasoning, Holmes becomes the world's first forensic scientist” (Sherlock Holmes-CSI). His techniques were popular, well liked and enjoyed by his readers. The Hound of The Baskervilles includes all the elements that a classic novel should entail; a universal theme that is intriguing to the reader, be stylistically rich and most importantly last the test of time and be well liked by the readers. There is discussion that for a novel to be a classic it has to have impact. Impact can mean it has a deep intellectual meaning, it leaves the reader changed and content, “Does it stir you to ponder the meaning of life? Does it turn you on? Or does it leave you cold?” ('What makes a good Novel).

     For the The Hound of the Baskervilles , the greatest moral you can pull out of it is to see things from your own perspective and not make up theories, “It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.” ( Doyle, Study in Scarlet 27). But more importantly it is an enjoyable read. Who doesn't like a good mystery novel with lots of suspense? Either at a campfire, in your warm bed, or on a story night. Who knows what the future holds in store but the classic novel The Hound of The Baskerville is sure to last for many generations to come.

     A style technique in The Hound of The Baskervilles was his use of, point of view. Unlike most of his novels in The Hound of The Baskervilles Watson solves majority of the case. In Doyle's previous novels he has Watson narrate the story not solve them. It was a nice twist though because “If Sherlock Holmes were the one narrating the novel, it would be too fast paced and overwhelming for the reader. Sherlock Holmes puts together pieces of information so quickly that there would minimal time for the reader to take in the information and guess who the culprit is” (Walch 'Reading Response #1'). A mystery novel without any guessing and time to think things over would be no fun. Having more time to think things over adds suspense to the story giving it another stylistic advantage.

     Suspense in the novel is not only created by the narration of the novel, it's created because of the elements within it; the supernatural elements. Holmes' absence allows supernatural elements of the story to come through as he is not there to provide a logical explanation for the going-ons. Suspense is prevalent because the reader is constantly guessing what is to happen to Sir Henry Baskerville, and if his fate lies in the old curse of his family. Suspense is important in a classic novel because “The audience wants to be attracted not by the critics, but by a great story. You must deliver to the audience emotion - and when I say emotion, I mean suspense, drama, love. (Laurentiis). The novel The Hound of the Baskervilles does just that.

     Going back the idea of “Test of time”, Doyle's technique of using deductive reasoning and science to solve the case gave birth to shows such as CSI in pop culture. It not only passed it's own test of time but it passed on it's characteristics and style of the novel to television shows in pop culture, “Using early scientific experiments and deductive reasoning, Holmes becomes the world's first forensic scientist”. His techniques were popular, well liked and enjoyed by his readers. The Hound of The Baskervilles includes all the elements that a classic novel should entail; a universal theme that is intriguing to the reader, be stylistically rich and most importantly last the test of time and be well liked by the readers. There is discussion that for a novel to be a classic it has to have impact. Impact can mean it has a deep intellectual meaning, it leaves the reader changed and content, “Does it stir you to ponder the meaning of life? Does it turn you on? Or does it leave you cold?” ('What makes a good Novel).

     For the The Hound of the Baskervilles , the greatest moral you can pull out of it is to see things from your own perspective and not make up theories, “It is a capital mistake to theorize before you have all the evidence. It biases the judgment.” ( Doyle, Study in Scarlet 27). But more importantly it is an enjoyable read. Who doesn't like a good mystery novel with lots of suspense? Either at a campfire, in your warm bed, or on a story night. Who knows what the future holds in store but the classic novel The Hound of The Baskerville is sure to last for many generations to come.