The themes “evil” and “justice” are vital in detective fiction – without people committing evil deeds, there would be no need to employ detectives whose job it is to restore justice by identifying the criminals. However, this is only the basis for the plots. At the end of the novel we do get to know the villain, but by then we also know who was believed by the various characters to be that person.
In the two novels I chose, The Sign of Four by Arthur Canon Doyle, first published in 1890 and Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith, first published in 2001, these villains are greedy, seek revenge or are savage. People fear them because they feel they do not have any social control over them. I will also deal with anthropological criminology which is discussed in both novels, more or less obviously. Throughout the essay I will show how the detectives and their helpers are used to contrast the wrongdoers. Closely connected to the evil is the wish to restore justice. In both novels it is not the police or the judiciary that deal with this task. The detectives are needed to detect the wrongdoers and therefore they can decide how they will punish them – for example, it is their decision whether they want to take the matter to the police or not. Another statement that the novels make is the fact that evil people are punished directly by their own evil deeds, because they influence their later life.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Perception of evil persons
2.1 Selfish people
2.2 People seeking revenge
2.3 Indirect Revenge – “Evil in return”
2.4 The savage
2.5 Anthropological criminology
3. Restoration of Justice
3.1 The detection of evildoers – the detective’s job
3.2 The consequences of evil deeds
4. Conclusion
Research Objectives and Themes
This essay explores the literary representations of "evil" and "justice" in Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Sign of Four and Alexander McCall Smith’s Morality for Beautiful Girls, analyzing how these themes reflect societal fears and the role of the detective in restoring order.
- Characterization of "evil" through traits like selfishness, greed, and revenge.
- The influence of 19th-century anthropological criminology on the depiction of the "savage."
- The role of the detective as a trustworthy outsider distinct from official police forces.
- The philosophical distinction between criminal acts requiring state intervention and personal moral failings.
Excerpt from the Book
2.4 The savage
In both novels we encounter a person who is by no means integrated in society. These persons are uncontrollable, because they do not seem to have any knowledge of the rules of society, fundamental for people living together. This shortcoming makes them appear dangerous, because we cannot be sure that they will not follow the unwritten rules that we inherited from infancy – how can we be sure, that they will not harm us without any reason?
In The Sign of Four Tonga represents a wild, animal-like bestiality. Holmes states that: “the savage instincts of his [Small’s] companion had broken out” (Doyle 2001: 58). This description is very interesting: Tonga did not choose to kill; something inside him that he cannot control simply “broke out”.
Additionally, his behavior is not seen as an individual outburst, but as a feature of his tribe. A gazetteer entry about Andaman Islanders that Holmes quotes says:
So intractable and fierce are they, that all the efforts of the British officials have failed to win them over in any degree. They have always been a terror to shipwrecked crews, braining the survivors with their stone-headed clubs or shooting them with their poisoned arrows. These massacres are invariably concluded by a cannibal feast. (Doyle 2001: 69)
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: The introduction establishes the vital role of evil in detective fiction as the catalyst for justice and introduces the two primary novels under analysis.
2. Perception of evil persons: This chapter analyzes how evil is manifested through individual character traits such as greed, vengefulness, and social detachment in both literary works.
3. Restoration of Justice: This section explores how detectives function as moral agents who decide when to involve the police and how they restore order in contrast to the villains.
4. Conclusion: The conclusion synthesizes the findings, highlighting how evil acts are inherently self-destructive and how detectives serve to contrast the moral failings of the antagonists.
Keywords
Detective fiction, evil, justice, The Sign of Four, Morality for Beautiful Girls, selfishness, greed, revenge, anthropological criminology, Cesare Lombroso, Sherlock Holmes, Mma Ramotswe, morality, savage, social control.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core focus of this research paper?
The paper examines how the concepts of evil and justice are developed and contrasted in two specific detective novels from different eras: The Sign of Four and Morality for Beautiful Girls.
What are the primary thematic areas explored in the text?
The key themes include the nature of selfishness, the psychological origins of revenge, the impact of 19th-century anthropological theories on literature, and the moral duty of the detective.
What is the central research question of the study?
The study investigates how detectives in these novels contrast with wrongdoers and how the concept of "justice" is exercised outside of official legal systems.
Which scientific or theoretical framework is applied?
The author references anthropological criminology, specifically the theories of Cesare Lombroso, to analyze how literature has historically portrayed "criminal types" and "savagery."
What does the main body of the work cover?
The main body is divided into the perception of evil—covering greed and revenge—and the restoration of justice, focusing on the detective's discretion in handling cases.
Which keywords define the work?
Important terms include detective fiction, moral agency, anthropological criminology, and the dichotomy between the detective and the criminal.
How is the "savage" character depicted in the analyzed literature?
The "savage" is portrayed as an uncontrollable entity acting outside societal norms, often associated with perceived inherent biological or tribal traits rather than personal choice.
Why do the detectives in both novels often avoid the police?
The detectives avoid the police because they seek to solve problems personally or wish to protect the reputation of their clients, viewing the police as ineffective or prone to errors.
What conclusion does the author reach regarding evil?
The author concludes that evil acts are often self-defeating, initiating a cycle of consequences that ruins the lives of those who commit them, independent of external punishment.
- Quote paper
- Sonja Kaupp (Author), 2008, The development of the themes "evil" and "justice" in "The Sign of the Four" and "Morality for Beautiful Girls", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/123413
