Hound of the Baskervilles

''But it was not the sight of her body, nor yet was it the body of Hugo Baskerville lying near them which raised the hair upon the heads of the three dare-devil roisterers, but it was that, standing over Hugo, and plucking at his throat, there stood a foul thing, a great, black beast, shaped like a hound yet larger than hound that ever mortal eye has rested upon. And even as they looked the thing tore the throat of of Hugo Baskerville, on which, as it turned its blazing eyes and dripping jaws upon them, the three shrieked with fear and rode for dear life, still screaming, across the moor'.

The first of the two texts I read for this English task was 'Hound of the Baskervilles'. This novel was written by Sir. Arthur Conan Doyle, the writer and creater of the hugely recognised Sherlock Holmes.  It was published in 1902.  

This novel is set in Dartmoor, a small town near a moor, or a port. This crime fiction novella tells the story of an attempted murder, inspired by the local legend of a huge, fearsome hound. 

This novella shows many recurring traits of the crime fiction genre, such as foreshadowing, red herrings, moments and climaxes creating tension, as well as the themes of good versus evil, and truth and lies.

How are these various traits  shown?

FORESHADOWING:  Foreshadowing is shown in a scene in Hound of the Baskervilles when the death of various wild horses prefigures Stapleton's death when he drowns in the mire. Foreshadowing is in fact all throughout Hound of the Baskervilles. It is hinted that all the clues in the novella are foreshadows for later discoveries, and later deaths. 

RED HERRINGS:  The main red herring of Hound of the Baskervilles is actually any of the lore and mystery surrounding the Hound, as the Hound is not responsible for the murder. An early red herring is the bearded man in a cab, whom Holmes notices is following Henry Baskerville. Also all the trips that Holmes and Watson took out to the moors with the food, are red herrings.

CLIMAXES: There are many moments in this novella that cause tension and worry. However, Holmes remains diligent and somehow brave in the issues he faces. For example, Holme's plan to catch the murderer works only because of Holme's bravery against the beast. When Henry Baskerville heads home across the moor and is attacked by the hound, Holmes and Watson, though surrounded by thick fog and with sheer fright, shoot the beast and can then solve the mystery.

It's interesting to see different portrayals of the Hound, and Sherlock.