Essay

Sherlock Holmes is among one of the most read literature stories. For instance, the story surrounding the idea of villainy centers on the dangerous foreigners who invade the English Land. Foss reviews these stories and shows the behaviors of these English men who are filled with the influences from the east which make them behave differently from the indigenous people. Therefore, Erica Foss shows the behavior of the English men coming from the foreign lands into England due from the influence from the East as described by Sherlock Holmes.

The first point that the author uses to support her key point about English men coming from lands is that foreign nations influence people. Because, in Conan Doyle's works, he describes Englishmen who go to Africa to acquire Gold or those who go to the East to fight for the nation. Most English men exposed for too long to the foreign world of England or those coming from the outside countries become savage and evil. Holmes describes this influence in the character of Dr Grimsby Roylott in ‘The Speckled Band' who after spending his prime areas in Calcutta, India studying medicine, took his stepdaughters to India with him. He brings with himself the Indian behavior of taming wild animals where he keeps a cheetah and a baboon on his compound that create much fear in the hearts of the villagers. Besides, he possesses the violence of temper similar to that of the people from the east. The rage is prevalent where he uses the swamp adder, to kill his stepdaughters so that he can take the inheritance given by their mother’s estate. Apparently, the swamp adder produces some sort of poison that no chemical test in England could discover. However, the cunning and ruthless doctor under the influence of the Eastern training can use it to carry out an evil deed. This is a result of the time spent in the East.

Secondly, the author describes the coming back of the English men by their physical appearances. I agree with this statement because he uses the physical appearances of his suspects which help him to know how to deal with them. The author uses the ‘Speckled Band,’ a Holmes story to support this idea. For instance, Dr Roylott’s, large face, seared with a thousand wrinkles, burned yellow with the sun, marked with evil passion, deep-set. Bile-shot eyes and a long, thin, fleshless nose give him the look of a bird of prey. This is later evident in his attempt to kill his stepdaughters. Sherlock suggests that the appearance is a corruption of the East. As evidence, the story ‘The Sign of Four’ describes a villain named Tonga who cannot understand therefore does not fit in the civilized English life. Holmes links this lack of understanding to the description of the people living on the island where Tonga comes from. He describes them as …"fierce, morose, and intractable people…who are naturally hideous, having large, misshapen heads. They are so intractable that the British have been unable to win them.

Lastly, the author tries to show that living in the foreign countries erodes the morals of human beings. I agree with the author because we see Dr. Roylott’s attempt to kill his daughter to get the inheritance. The author borrows from the story of ‘The Speckled Band’ which describes Dr Roylott’s attempt to kill his stepdaughter so that he can get their mother's inheritance. The doctor comes out as a murder and as a greedy person. Therefore, we can see that foreign influences can change the way people behave.