Sample exam question - AQAThe Sign of the Four - Sample exam question
The following questions will help you prepare essays and practise for exams. Try re-writing each example in your own words, making improvements as you go.
How does Conan Doyle present the character of Sherlock Holmes in this extract?
Write about:
how Conan Doyle presents Holmes in this extract
how Conan Doyle presents Holmes later in the novel
The extract
"Why should you, for a mere passing pleasure, risk the loss of those great powers with which you have been endowed? Remember that I speak not only as one comrade to another, but as a medical man to one for whose constitution he is to some extent answerable."
He did not seem offended. On the contrary, he put his finger-tips together and leaned his elbows on the arms of his chair, like one who has a relish for conversation.
"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. But I abhor the dull routine of existence. I crave for mental exaltation. That is why I have chosen my own particular profession, - or rather created it, for I am the only one in the world."
"The only unofficial detective?" I said, raising my eyebrows.
"The only unofficial consulting detective," he answered. "I am the last and highest court of appeal in detection."
From Chapter 1
Before you go on to the next page, make some initial notes on the extract.
Hints
What is Holmes like in this extract?
Which words or phrases show us that he is an intelligent character?
How does this portrayal of Holmes compare to the other times when we meet him in the story?
