Sherlock Holmes—The novel’s protagonist, a genius detective who hates the “dull routine of existence” and loves to be
challenged. Sherlock takes a cold and unemotional approach to his work.
Dr. John Watson—The novel’s narrator, an ex-army surgeon and Sherlock Holmes’s close friend colleague. He helps the
reader to see Holmes’s powers of observation from a close perspective.
Mary Morstan—She is a ‘damsel in distress’ character who brings the case of the Sign of the Four to Holmes and Watson.
Thaddeus Sholto—An eccentric art collector and son of Major Sholto. He leads Holmes on the first steps to finding the
treasure.
Jonathan Small—The antagonist of the novel. He is a soldier who had his leg bitten off and became a thief. One of the
original ‘four’.
Major Sholto—The villain of the novel. He leaves India with the treasure but dies with it.
Captain Morstan—Mary’s father, who dies of a heart attack during a dispute with Major Sholto.
Tonga—Jonathan Small’s sidekick, who represents savagery.
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4.
Miss Mary Morstan arrives to Sherlock and Watson’s home and asks for
help. She has a mystery for them to solve. Her father, army officer
Captain Morstan has been missing for ten years. She has received a
valuable pearl on the same date each year from an unknown sender and
has been invited to a mysterious meeting at a theatre later that night.
Mary Morstan takes Holmes and Watson to meet the coachman at the
theatre and they accompany her to Thaddeus Sholto’s house and learn
about the Agra treasure. Thaddeus recounts the story of his father’s
death.
We find out that Captain Morstan and Major Sholto came upon a fortune
in India, but disagreed over the division of the treasure when they
returned to London. During the dispute, Morstan has a heart attack and
Major Sholto disposes of the body so he is not implicated.
Bartholomew Sholto (Thaddeus’s brother) is found dead at Pondicherry
Lodge. A note and map referring to ‘The Sign of the Four’ are found at
the scene. Holmes finds a poisoned thorn and creosote prints at the
scene and begins to draw together these clues.
5.
Holmes investigates the clues and calls the police. Athelney Jones
arrests Thaddeus Sholto. Holmes sends Watson to borrow Toby, the dog.
The dog follows a trail but it leads to a ‘red herring’.
6.
Holmes employs the Baker Street Irregulars as spies and eventually puts
on a disguise to track down the Aurora launch, where Jonathan Small and
Tonga are hiding with the treasure.
7.
Watson, Holmes and Inspector Jones pursue the villains along the River
Thames and catch up with them. The treasure chest is empty.
8.
Jonathan Small is arrested and confesses his whole story. Watson and
Mary Morstan are engaged to be married.
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Evil is embodied by the character of Tonga, who
represents savagery.
Evil is present in the form of murder and crimes
committed.
Justice is sought on behalf of Mary Morstan.
Thaddeus feels that Mary has been treated
unjustly by not having access to the treasure.
Jonathan Small also feels injustice as he thinks
the treasure is his.
Fear of ‘the other’ or things that are ‘foreign’,
symbolised by Tonga.
Fear of darkness—murder, crime and betrayal
happen at night in the novel.
Fear of social boundaries, explored through
Morstan’s inheritance and her potential
relationship to Watson.
Set against backdrop of Victorian Empire.
The treasure comes from India (under British
rule)
Thaddeus’s house represents luxuries from the
empire
Sense of threat to the empire (uprising of 1857,
Tonga’s threatening appearance)
Imperialist attitudes towards Tonga
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a rational and intelligent detective
a companion for the detective (usually less intelligent than the detective)
a mystery – sometimes involving murder
clues to the solution which the reader can enjoy as a puzzle
build-up of tension
a satisfactory resolution in which the mystery is solved
“My mind,” he said, “rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most
intricate analysis, and I am in my own proper atmosphere. I can dispense then with artificial stimulants.” (Sherlock Holmes)
“The emotional qualities are antagonistic to clear reasoning.” (Sherlock Holmes)
“But love is an emotional thing, and whatever is emotional is opposed to that true cold reason which I place above all things.”
(Sherlock Holmes)
“The window of my father’s room was found open in the morning, his cupboards and boxes had been rifled, and upon his chest
was fixed a torn piece of paper, with the words, ‘The sign of the four’ scrawled across it.” (Thaddeus Sholto)
“This is all an insoluble mystery to me,” said I. “It grows darker instead of clearer.” (Watson)
“On the contrary,” he answered, “it clears every instant.” (Holmes)
“His name, I have every reason to believe, is Jonathan Small. He is a poorly educated man, small, active, with his right leg off,
and wearing a wooden stump which is worn away on the inner side…He is a middle-aged man, much sunburned, and has been a
convict.” (Sherlock Holmes)
“…It does seem a queer thing to me, that I who have a fair claim to half a million of money, should spend the first half of my
life building a breakwater in the Andamans, and am like to spend the other half digging drains at Dartmoor.” (Jonathan Small)
“The division seems rather unfair,” I remarked. “You have done all the work in this business. I get a wife out of it, Jones gets
the credit; pray what remains for you?” (Watson)
“For me,” said Sherlock Holmes, “there still remains the cocaine-bottle.” (Sherlock)
“This savage, distorted creature.” “The unhallowed dwarf with his hideous face.” (describing Tonga)
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Robert Peel establishes Metropolitan Police in 1829. Development of detection: The Jack the Ripper case saw a public
outcry against the police, who were seen as unreliable.
Development of new forensic techniques, e.g. fingerprints (hinted at through Holmes’s analysis of footprints)
The British Empire, colony and imperialism. Britain had accumulated enormous wealth through overseas empire. Growth
in import/export of people and goods across the empire.
Tension and fear about the impact of people from the colonies on Britain. Fear of ‘the other’.
Uprisings in colonies. Fear that Britain might lose control over the empire.
Drug use. Cocaine was both legal and widely used in a medicinal way.
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Contrast
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Narrative viewpoints
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Context
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Emotive language
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Characterisation
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Savagery
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Simile
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Symbolism
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Society
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Metaphor
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First person perspective
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Imperialism
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Personification
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Victorian
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Colony
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Foreshadowing
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Science
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British Empire
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Animalistic language
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Pathetic fallacy
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Detective genre