“A scandal in Bohemia” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Plot Analysis: 1. The setting is in Bohemia on the 20th of March 1888. Also, Sherlock Holmes office is on Baker Street. 2. The main character is Sherlock Holmes. 3. The two supporting characters are Irene Adler and the hereditary king of Bohemia, Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormsetin. 4. The problem facing Sherlock Holmes was that he had to find the picture of the prince. This photograph was being used by Irene Adler to threaten the soon to be king’s wedding. 5. The first event in the rising action was when the Kinf came to Sherlock Holmes asking for help.

Second was when Holmes had come back to his own office. He told Dr. Watson all about how he had been following Irene Adler around, in disguise, and had found she had been with a man as well. Holmes then proceeded to say that before he knew it, he had ended up in a church and was asked by Adler to be a witness to her and the man’s wedding. The last event in the rising action was when Holmes asked Dr. Watson if he could help him with a plan that could possibly get them arrested. After accepting the task, Watson was told that his only job was to not interfere and stand near the open window of Irene Adler’s house.

When Holmes was to raise his hand, Dr. Watson was to cry, “fire! ”, throw a smoke-rocket into Irene’s living room, and meet Sherlock at the corner of the street. 6. The climax of the story happens at Irene Adler’s house. When Adler first arrived at her street, several men broke out into a fight because they wanted her money. Sherlock Holmes rushed over to seem as if he was going to help the woman but then stopped, yelled, and fell to the ground with “blood” covering his face. As a result of this event, the people who had not been in the fight but had seen it rushed over and carried him into Irene Adler’s ome. When they had positioned him on the couch, he had someone open the window. Then, at the right time, he lifted his arm giving Watson the signal. The Doctor threw the small smoke bomb into the house while yelling fire, and ran to their meeting spot. When Sherlock joined him a few minutes later, he filled Watson in on everything. First off, the blood was only red paint. More importantly, he knew exactly where the pictures of Irene and the prince were hidden. He explained, “When a woman thinks that her house is on fire, her instinct is at once to rush to the thing which she values most. And, “The smoke and shouting was enough to shake nerves of steel. She responded beautifully. The photograph is in a recess behind a sliding panel just above the right bell-pull. ”(p. 53) What seemed to be a very realistic series of events, turned out to just be part of Holmes whole plan to once again solve a case. 7. The main event that happened in the falling action was when The king, Watson, and Sherlock Holmes went to Irene Adler’s house in search of the photograph and were told by her worker, “My mistress told me that you were likely to call. She left this morning with her husband, by the 5. 5 train from Charing Cross, for the Continent. ” 8. The conflict was resolved when they were at Irene Adler’s house and went looking for the photograph and found nothing but a letter. The note was written by Irene and it stated that she knew who the man that had been “injured truly was. As a result, she figured out that Holmes had found where the picture was and had then taken it with her and left. Although, she stated she would not threaten the king any longer because she was happy with her husband, but would keep the picture just incase it was needed in the future. 1. Characterization:

Five pertinent observations about Sherlock Holmes: • First off, Sherlock Holmes is extremely intelligent. He knows facts that many people do not. When he received a letter from a mysterious person that had the symbols, Eg PGt on the back of it, he asked Watson what he made of it. Dr. Watson stated, “The name of the maker, no doubt; or his monogram, rather. ” (p. 40) Sherlock replied, “Not at all. ” and then explained thoroughly what each letter meant. For example, Sherlock knew that, “The G with the small t stands for ‘Gesellshaft,’ which is German for ‘Company. ’ • Secondly, Holmes is very observant.

When most people may look at something without a thought, he takes it in and remembers every last detail of it. There was a part in the story when Watson is saying he believes his eyes are just as good as Sherlock’s, so he is puzzled why he never understands how Holmes figures out things until they are explained. Sherlock Holmes’ response to this was, “ You have not observed. And yet you have seen. ”(p. 39) • Clever is also an observation of mine about Sherlock. It took his type of cleverness to come up with such an intricate plot to be able to trick Irene Adler into revealing the hiding place of the photograph. When a woman thinks that her house is on fire, her instinct is at once to rush to the thing which she values most. ” (p. 53) • Another observation is that Sherlock Holmes had some type of feelings for Irene Adler. The very first sentence of the story states, “To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. ” (p. 37) Also, at the end of the story, Holmes asked if he could keep the photograph of Irene. “Your Majesty has something which I should value even more highly. ’ Said Holmes. ‘You have but to name it. ’ ‘This photograph! ’ (p. 56) Lastly, I feel that Holmes was a bit of a loner. Throughout the whole book, there was never a mention of anyone close to him or someone that he had any personal relation to besides Watson, who he had not seen for years. Also, In the beginning of the book, Watson had stated that Sherlock greatly disliked any type of social interaction. Therefore, even though Holmes was a lonely human being, he did not dislike being secluded from the rest of the world. 2. Two pertinent observations about The King of Bohemia: • My first pertinent observation about the king was that he was dishonest.

First off, when he came to Sherlock for help, he wore a mask, saying his name was Count Von Kramm, a Bohemian nobleman. It was later found out though that his name was Wilhelm Gottsreich Sigismond von Ormsetin and he was the King of Bohemia. Also, the king was dishonest to his wife and did not tell her about Irene Adler. This was the whole reason they went looking for the picture in the first place. He was about to be married and said to Holmes, “To Clotilde Lothman von Saxe-Meningen, second daughter of the King of Scandinavia. You may know the strict principles of her family.

She is herself the very soul of delicacy. A shadow of doubt as to my conduct would bring the matter to an end. ”(P. 44) • Secondly, the king was very selfish. Instead of worrying about Irene’s feelings towards the marriage, he just wanted to make it seem as if their relationship had never existed so he would not have to suffer the consequences from being dishonest. Also, the king did not care if he was lying to his wife as long as he kept up his royal image. Two pertinent observations about Irene Adler: • Irene Adler was equally clever to Sherlock Holmes.

Right when Holmes had thought he had solved the case and was about to retrieve the picture, he discovered Irene had been one step ahead of him. She had figured out that the disguised man had been Holmes and that he knew where the photograph was. As a result she packed the photo up and left town with her husband, leaving a note in the same place explaining how she had figured it all out and what her intentions with the picture were. Part of the letter had stated, “Even after I became suspicious, I found it hard to think evil of such a dear, kind old clergyman.

But, you know, I have been trained as an actress myself. Male Costume is nothing-new to me. ” (p. 55) • Additionally, I believe that Irene is considered beautiful to all types of men, whether they are the king of Bohemia, a lawyer, or a slightly odd investigator. It had been stated that, “To Sherlock Holmes she is always the woman. ” By the end of the story, I think that Sherlock Holmes outlook on Irene Adler changed. I believe that he respected her much more and then realized that women can be equally smart and sometimes even more.

It even stated on the last page, “He used to make merry over the cleverness of women, but I have not heard him do it of late. And when he speaks of Irene Adler, or when he refers to her photograph, it is always under the honorable title of the woman. ” (p. 56) 1. The story is written from the 2nd person since it is from Watson’s point of view. 2. On page 37 I found a metaphor that stated, “Grit in a sensitive instrument, or a crack in one of his own high-power lenses, would not be more disturbing than a strong emotion in a nature such as his. This is comparing malfunctions with his tools to his struggles with having emotion as a human being. These are similar because he needs to see and think clearly in order to deal with both. The author’s purpose in composing this metaphor was to have the reader understand Sherlock’s every day struggle with his feelings. 3. When Holmes was speaking of the fake fire, he stated, “The smoke and shouting was enough to shake nerves of steel. ” This is a simile comparing nerves to steel. These two things are similar because they both can be very strong at times.

The author’s purpose in making this metaphor was to show that someone’s emotional nerves can be just as strong and sturdy as real steel. 4. Yes, on page 50 there was a personification that said, “for a small street in a quiet neighbourhood, it was remarkably animated. ” This gives the reader a clear image of what Watson saw occurring. When he was expecting to find a calm, quiet street, he instead found one full of many people engaged in a variety of activities. 5. When the King first came to Sherlock he was wearing a cloak and mask to hide his identity.

I believe these two things were symbols for how throughout the story he was constantly trying to hide who he really was from his wife and the people of bohemia. 6. At the very beginning of the book, it spoke of Irene Adler and Holmes’ thoughts of her. This was foreshadowing that a woman named Irene Adler would be in the story but even more that Holmes would come to respect and care about her in the end. The way Irene is introduced to the reader in the beginning, it seems that she is somehow different and throughout the book you come to realize that she truly is and the reasons she is in fact, that way. 7.

Throughout the whole story, there are many flashbacks that are told from the person’s point of view that experienced it. For example, when they went into town and Watson was telling the story from his point of view, it seemed as if Sherlock was really hurt. However, the entire thing turned out to be part of the plot. The author then had Holmes retell the story, so the readers looked upon the whole scene in a brand new way. 8. Reader’s Response: In the book, “Scandal in Bohemia”, I found it to be very intriguing that Holmes finally realized a woman could not only hold her own with him, but actually outwit him.