Q2: Blog Entry #6

"There, but for the grace of God, goes Sherlock Holmes" (114.)
Yes, Sherlock Holmes was merciful and nearly God-like for allowing Mr. Turner to get away with his crime, of murdering Mr. McCarthy. And although ethically speaking it was so incredibly wrong for Holmes to let Turner go, morally speaking, it may have just been the right thing to do. Let me explain the details to you, my good reader, and you may decide for yourself. :)

Mr. Turner had once upon a time robbed Mr. McCarthy's wagon along with a few of McCarthy's friends, of all their possessions and riches. It was all Mr. Turner and -his- gang of buddies could do to live and better their own lives, by taking away things from others who were very well off. Turner ater the robbing, had felt barraged with guilt and decided to never rob again, and started a business. His business was wildly successful, and he got married to a woman who he had loved and they produced a child named Alice. Old Turner's wife who was never named, ends up dying when Alice is very young, but many years later Turner is barely phased by it, because he still has Alice. McCarthy comes up out of the blue in town one day however, and uses his previous experiences with Turner as blackmail. "Give me anything I want, or I will turn you in to the police," is essentially what McCarthy had used to bond with Turner. McCarthy also had a wife, and they produced a child named James. What happened to Turner's wife, also happened to the wife of Mr. McCarthy and she died shortly after the child's birth. Mr. McCarthy's son James and Turner's daughter Alice had grown close when they were young, and James was madly in love with Alice, to the point of wanting to marry her. Mr. McCarthy had attempted to convince James to make the notion of a proposal so that the McCarthy family would have a bit of the Turner fortune. Turner had seen father McCarthy and his son discuss this plan with James not wishing to pursue Alice solely for money, and Turner had killed McCarthy when James was walking away after his argument with his father.

Was what Turner had done the right thing to do?
Well, I personally am still a bit split on the matter. Either way, it's payback for his thieving days.

Doyle, Sir Aurthur Conan. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1996.

Q2: Blog Entry #5

As the mystery behind finding the pictures which belonged to the King of Bohemia draws to a close, we discover why Sherlock Holmes had previously describe Irene Adler as "the love of his life" and as of "the woman." (Pg 40).

Holmes had returned to Mrs. Adler's household to fetch the photograph which he had located earlier in the week, by setting up a fake fire near her home and seeing what she would grab first, of her belongings before leaving her household. When Holmes left her household, he had hopped into a taxi cab and picked up Watson. As they drove, they discussed the entire situation of Holmes finding out where Adler had the scandalous photos stored. It turns out the taxi cab driver, was a person hired by Adler herself to spy on Holmes. Adler had gotten hints through a source that remains anonymous in this story, that Holmes would be spying and sneaking near her in hopes of taking the pictures. That is why she hired someone to spy right back.

Knowing that the woman had extreme curiosity to see what Holmes was up to, and having the wit to hire someone to spy right back on him, is what helps us understand Holmes so much more. Holmes loves to be near a witty person, regardless of whether or not they outsmart him. But if Holmes loves to be around these witty people, why does he constantly spend time with Watson who just isn't quite the sharpest crayon in the box? In fact, being outsmarted does not damage Holmes' ego. In this case, he simply stated to Watson, "I have a lot to learn."

Doyle, Sir Aurthur Conan. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1996.

Anotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Ostrom, Carol M. "Initiative 1000 would let patients get help ending their lives." The Seattle Times 21 Sept. 2008.

In this article, Mrs. Ostrom explores the different opinions that people held in regards to Initiative 1000, which was introduced to Washington state law for people to vote on, during the 2008 elections. Initiative 1000 was passed with 58% of Washington's citizens approving it. The reasons for why they did or did not approve it however, varied greatly. Duane French who spent 40 years of his live paralyzed, stated that Initiative 1000 is going to be used as a tool to kill off people who are terminally ill or disabled. However, Initiative 1000 is closely based off of the policies that Oregon uses for their citizens who would like to participate in assisted suicide. In Oregon, no more than 30 people per year have ever taken advantage of the freedom to commit assisted suicide, so French's fears are thought to not become an issue in Washington.

ProQuest Staff. "Assisted Sucide and Euthanasia Timeline." Sirs. 2008. Sirs. 7 Dec 2008 .

This database time line helps the reader get a rough estimate of when assisted suicide was first a common thing to be discussed not only in America, but worldwide. In Ancient Greece and Rome, it was already defined that suicide itself was a horrible not to mention illegal act to pursue. During the enlightenment in Europe from the 17^th to 18^th centuries, the general public was not very concerned with suicide, so it was not a widely discussed item. However, the year 1828 was the year when the American colonies first established laws saying it was illegal to give or aid in supplying drugs, weapons, or any other item that could help aid a person in taking their own life.

Q2: Blog Entry #4

Today, in the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, we are already on the brink of solving our first mystery in the book's first sixty pages. There's a few things to consider after realizing the book moves just -that- quickly.

How does Sir Conan Doyle manage to keep the novel engaging and not overwhelming the reader with information, when it moves to fast? It's like a long short-story, if that makes any sense at all. What ended up happening though, is that Holmes was never shot when he collapsed in the street. He had set off a fake pistol noise, collapsed on the ground, and brought his hand to his face. His hand was painted red so that when it made contact with his face, red paint would get all over his face and look like he had been bleeding. It just so happens that the Woman who has the King of Bohemia's photo, was the same woman that saw Holmes collapse in the street. The Woman ends up allowing Holmes to recover in her home. Holmes requests that she open the window, so she does, and Watson comes out of no where and throws a smoke-bomb into the home. Seeing the smoke, Sherlock shrieks "Fire!" and the Woman immediately runs off to grab her most important item- The photo which the King of Bohemia has wanted so long so badly.

If Sherlock can find a way to get back into the Woman's house to steal the photo, then that will be the end of his first case in this novel. The man truly does quick work- He only had about three days total to get the photo back.

Doyle, Sir Aurthur Conan. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. New York: Barnes & Noble, Inc., 1996.