What is your aim? What theme / concept are you exploring? What big question are you trying to answer?
In this text my aim is to explore and compare how language is used in ‘the house of silk’ to present the theme of murder and mystery. I am going to be exploring many articles about murder and unsolved mysteries to compare with my literary text, ‘The House of Silk’ and compare the language used and presented to represent my chosen theme. I will look at how different language devices have been used in comparison to another non-literary text.
How does your chosen literary text relate to this theme? What is the significance of this themes in the text?
My chosen literary text is a book by Anthony Horowitz called ‘The House of Silk’ which is a book written in the 21st century. The author uses language to try and recreate the 19th century atmosphere of murder and mystery. The main character himself was invented in the 19th
century. Mr Sherlock Holmes who is a very famous private detective that has solved many mysteries and murders therefore the book very much evolves around him and my chosen theme. The book depicts the process around murder investigation, including twists and expected turns which builds up mystery. The importance of the themes within the text is the fact that they build the story’s suspense. It makes them reader curious and anxious to find the solution behind the crime and the guilty party.
You could also briefly mention issues of genre, literariness or context here.
There is a huge difference between the fictional crime that we read in everyday books and stories in comparison to the real newspaper articles that are based on crime. The House of Silk is a fiction book that was published by Anthony Horowitz mainly to please novelists and fans, so there was a high expectation of satisfaction. Both texts include stabbings, the representation of UK detectives was portrayed as being not the best since both cases were not bought to justice.
How did you go about selecting your extract(s) and how do they relate to the theme?
I went about selecting my extracts through picking key extracts in the book that related to my murder/mystery theme, e.g. – genre- purpose- audience, every extract that I have chosen relates to my theme therefore I believed it was a great idea to do so. I have chosen ‘the murder of Dave Butterfield’ as my non-literary text which is a newspaper article by the daily mail. I have chosen it because it matches with my chosen theme of murder mystery due to the case never being solved and closed as there was never enough evidence to bring the suspect to justice.
Why did you choose your non-literary text(s)?
I have chosen my non-literary text ‘The Murder of Dave Butterfield’ who was murdered inside his own home because it linked to ‘The House of Silk’ with similar themes however the killer was never convicted as there was not enough evidence. On the other hand a 47 year old woman was on suspicion by the police. I chose this murder article because it relates to my novel ‘The House of Silk’ since both characters have been murdered inside their own home, and the murderers were never bought to justice so the cases remained unsolved. Sherlock Holmes novel and there is no better option than picking a Sherlock Holmes novel to explore how language presents the murder/mystery theme. In the detectives point of view both cases have been very difficult to solve since they evolved around many ‘possible suspects’ and because of that the detectives kept going around in circles, and never really had enough evidence to ever bring their suspects to justice.
How do they link to the literary text and the theme?
The literary texts brings a strong theme of murder and the process of investigation. It depicts how people are investigated and questioned but in a fictional sense. However, the non-literary text brings the same offer to the table but in reality. It shows the process behind a murder mystery but how it happens in real life. Furthermore, its investigative process is based upon someone being killed but the culprit cannot be recognized, linking up to the same theme as the literary text.
The balance in this section is towards the literary text (say 500 words on lit test, 250 on non-lit)
Review (300-500 words)
Explain the background reading you have undertaken. What light has this thrown on your texts and topic for investigation?
Before I started to read The House Of Silk I done some background reading on the character of Sherlock Holmes and how he is portrayed and the type of character he is, I went about reading little stories and articles such as the Guardians about his mysterious character to get a sense of understanding of what to expect when analysing his character in the novel. I read about the author’s take on the book and its nature. ‘\\"I'm not an arrogant person by nature’ he stated, but that did not inhibit from the ability of pulling of the work that he did (Masters, 2011). I was able to learn his motivation of deciding to do the story, so as to understand the effort behind the language and work behind the book.
I also read the previous works on Sherlock Holmes such as “A Study in Scarlet” which is one of the earliest books in which Sherlock appeared. It created the very first image of the individual, an explanation of his characteristics and quirky behavior (Doyle \\" Goodenough, 1985). I understood the traits of both protagonists, Holmes and Watson, and connected the key theme that the books contain. In that manner, I learnt about some of the more hidden literary devices in “House of Silk” that were easy to spot in the smaller, earlier book. Furthermore, I investigated texts which the “House of Silk” main protagonist is based upon. The investigative nature of the book is based upon the character of Auguste Dupin, who was the first “detective” like character in literary history. He was sharp-eyed, witty and noticed the minutest of details (Poe \\" Schwartz, 1931). Learning the connection between the two individuals was an eye opener as it made me realise one important character of Holmes; he enjoys engaging with the world and placing himself in puzzling in the external environment. It gave an understanding on how the writer wrote his language and style of talking; he did not want to hide his true nature by locking himself inside like Dupin. He showed his true nature through his witty and bity speech. Understanding a character helps you understand what their bigger picture when they use literary devices such as metaphors.
Notably the background reading I undertook shed light on what I was to expect when reading the Sherlock Holmes novel.
How has your background reading influenced your analysis?
The research has made me understand the murder and mystery nature of my literary text. It has made me have a firm grasp on how the character Sherlock Holmes behaves and acts. His sharp mind and high intelligence gives him the desire for mysterious and puzzling activities such as the detective works he invests in. It has made understand the style of language used in the “House of Silk” as it amplifies the mood of the reader while they are engaged with the content.
You need to refer to at least 3 sources and make sure they are referenced correctly.
Analysis (roughly 1250 words)
Use your language focus questions as sub-headings.
Verbal language
How is language used to describe the scene in the two extracts? The narrator uses verbs to describe how the murder scene was set out and what had happened, in my non-literary text, the man was ‘stabbed to death’ in his own home, in contrast to my literary text ‘the house of silk’ Anthony Horowitz uses passive verbs to show interest in the person or object that experiences an action rather than the person or object that performs the action ‘Benjamin Harrison was murdered in his hotel room ‘he was taken by surprise and killed with a single blow’ the noun ‘blow’ is used effectively to describe the force and strike used to murder Benjamin Harrison. He creates the story to make the reader to concentrate on the individuals affected by the story. In that way, the reader has the front seat as part of the entire narrative rather than the watcher.
Tension
How does the writer create tension? In the build up to dramatic scenarios Anthony Horowitz uses short and long sentence structures to build up pace towards dramatic scene. The short sentence structure are succinct and short, as if the reader is pausing every moment the situation unfolds. Short sentences create a feeling of trepidation within the reader, wondering what is going to happen next. Long sentence structures are used for more descriptive purposes, or for feeding sufficient information to the reader. When the author wants to develop a clear perspective of a scene, he uses long sentences that are not too cumbersome but contain enough words to build up the scene. The reader is able to create a clear picture in their moods is going on. They develop a deep connection to the story as they become immersed to the language used by the writer. The long sentences also create the desired mood that Horowitz wants to create in the scene. In situations where Watson is trying to create a context to the situation, it creates a mysterious mood to the narration. However, in the non-literary text the sentence structure are longer. The writing is mostly used for informative purposes and giving information on the murder and investigation, not creation of tension. It only seeks to use its language to portray the story of the murder.
Mood and Tone
Both of the texts are based on murder and mystery as their stories revolve around crime and investigations. The moods used in the stories are more somber in tone as they revolve victims who have lost their lives. However, the tones differ in “The House of Silk” compared to that of the non-literary text. The former has humor in certain instances as a means of demonstrating the characteristics of Sherlock Holmes, which is a sarcastic one. For example, in one occasion an individual compares Holmes to the character Dupin who was a protagonist in a certain crime novel. Holmes sarcastically responds that he is irritated by that comparison as he is not on a level similar to his. The language used in this case has an undertone of deadpan humor that is a common trait of the narrative’s character. Also, the tone is used from keeping the reader from becoming bored due to the continuous dark tone of the story. Witty light hearted exchanges between the characters is used as a means of providing comic relief from time to time, but not deviating from the overall theme of the story which is murder and mystery. The non-literary text however does not recognize this in its work. Its language does not use intended light tones in its theme as the victims in the narrative are real life individuals. Use of anything sarcastic in that form of factual narrative would not only seem sadistic but also disrespectful. Works of fictions gain the liberty of using lighter tones even when approaching issues such as murder as the content they handle is not too sensitive. The moods in both texts are mysterious as the perpetrator of the crime are being investigated. The details given are broken down step by steps and not all at once, making the reader to be entranced and captivated with the thought of knowing the individual behind the criminal actions.
Narration
The narrative language used in the two texts is different but still similar in several ways. In the literary text, the story is narrated in the perspective of Watson, which is a first person perspective. He tells the ordeal of his experiences with his partner Sherlock Holmes as a personal account. The report of the mystery is told as if he speaking directly to the reader of the text. Due to this, the language used is very fluent and eloquent. Watson’s vocabulary use is eloquent and easy to understand albeit the word style is Victorian English. It is due to the time period that the story was based upon which is the year 1890. Furthermore, he is method of telling the entire experience is based upon his knowledge and experience as a detective. It is a means of appealing to the reader’s ethos, to create trust in him due to his investigative achievement. Furthermore, due to his occupation as an investigator, the occurrences are explained down to the smallest details. His personality is used to fuel the flow of the story and the theme of a murder mystery. On the other hand, the non-literary article is based on third person narrative. In the case of the “House of Silk”, the story is said in a manner that takes someone through a journey. However, the murder article is given in a report-based format. The themes that are tackled are very much the same but the non-literary text takes a different approach. The language used makes it obvious that the crime is something that already occurred. The fictitious novel makes it feel like all the occurrences are unfolding moment to moment. The crime article explains a scene in a few sentences but the book breaks down the incidents into narrations from the characters. One is given the opportunity to witness the murder and crime occur in their very eyes or at the very least, see every second of the situation surrounding it. One can see how Holmes met with person whose art was stolen, the dynamic of the conversation between them and how it led to the next scene. However, the two stories have some similar language qualities based on their theme. They open up with recounting of incidences on which the story will be based upon by creating a setting and a context. In the non-literary article the content is introduced by a backstory of what has occurred, whose the murdered victim and the situation surrounding the death. Through that approach, the reader has a foundation of the story so they will understand the context in which following events happened.
Metaphors
One of the key contrasting characteristics and language use between the two sources is the use of metaphors. “House of Silk” utilizes the device as a means to convey the significance of the messages it wanted to convey. For example, ‘miasma of evil’, a term that was used to explain the source of all problems that could cause hectic issues for the people involved in solving the crime’s puzzle. The use of metaphors adds on to the intricate vocabulary that is heavily used in the book. Its metaphoric nature is synonymous with how the mysterious theme tries to solve puzzles, as the language style are puzzles themselves. The article uses a direct communication style that is easy to understand and comprehend. Rather than hiding the meaning of a context behinds metaphors, it plainly spells out its intended message showing a clear difference in language use.
Conclusions (200-500 words)
What have you discovered by bringing these literary and non-literary texts together?
I have come to realize that a lot of similarities exist especially when the theme is the same. Albeit several differences in this case, they had similarity in the manner by which the content is explained in a way that is mysterious and keeps the reader guessing. However, literary texts have a lot more liberty and space to wriggle with different language styles and devices. Non-literary work have to ensure that they realise since the information being offered is based on real individuals, one has to be sensitive with how the content is handled. “House of Silk” contained moment of comic-relief something that the other text lacked. The difference was due to the fact that a real person had lost their life and the article was reporting; The fictional work was using murder and mystery as entertainment value to keep a reader entertained.
What have you learned about the idea of ‘literariness’ by doing this?
The devices used in literary and non-literary works make them different. Literariness makes one to be able to differentiate to some degree between the two narratives. It creates a clear that is required when writing works of literature. In this case, non-literature work was much more formal in language and portrayal of its content about murder. The other was informal and took liberty in it, which makes it easier for someone to understand one that one work is for enjoyment value while the other is more educative. Hence, they can be read and the information synthesized appropriately.
On reflection, how well do you think making connections between these texts worked?
Making the connections worked out very well as there were a lot of language features to analyse. Especially based on the fact that I had done a suitable amount of research and background check on both pieces, creating connection was more easier. They were also based on a similar theme giving a solid ground of similarity, while at the same time having several differences enough for the purpose of contrasting them.
Bibliography
Doyle, A. C., " GoodEnough, S. (1985). A study in scarlet: a Sherlock Holmes murder mystery. London, Peerage Books.
Masters, T. (2011). Anthony Horowitz resurrects Sherlock Holmes. [online] BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-15553421 [Accessed 27 Jan. 2018].
Poe, E. A., " Schwartz, J. (1931). The purloined letter. London, Ulysses bookshop.
