The Adventure Of The Blue Carbuncle By Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

The story that I have read this month is The Adventure Of The Blue Carbuncle by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. This is a story about a precious stone, the blue carbuncle owned by Countess of Morcar, was stolen in Hotel Cosmopolitan. John Horner was arrested and jailed for the crime based on the testimonies of James Ryder and Catherine Cusack, but the gem was not found. But with some bizarre events the gem landed on the hands of Sherlock Holmes, and with the help of a goose he found out the real culprits.  Here are a few lessons that I have learnt after I finished this novel.

One of the lesson that I have learnt from The Adventure Of The Blue Carbuncle  is do not judge a book by its cover. In life, we should not judge people by their looks because looks can be deceptive. In this novel, we see the problem of  identity and reputation. This can be seen when John Horner, the plumber, is wrongly accused of stealing the Countess of Morcar’s blue jewel, for he holds a reputation of being a robber. Meanwhile, James Ryder, the actual thief, takes advantage of Horner’s tarnished reputation by placing the blame on him. James Ryder is also in a better situation because he holds a higher position in the hotel employee hierarchy. This is the reason why James Ryder did not been suspected by the police. Therefore, we should be careful of appearance by get to know people well before you trust them.

Besides, I also learnt that we should not jump to conclusion without investigating all the evidence we have. We must not make harsh decisions without careful examination and meticulous observations. For example, we can see that the police is not very analytical and simply jumped to conclusion. However, Holmes solved the case with an open minded and worked hard to seek the truth. He is not easily swayed by public hearsay and what is in the newspaper. He used his logical thinking and takes into account all the evidence at the murder site. Once he had taken all the evidence into consideration, he drew his conclusion based on the facts. He was then able to figure out that the actual thief is James Ryder, not the plumber John Horner. Thus, we must always remember not to jump to conclusions based on just what we hear or see. We must always think carefully to seek the truth before making any decisions.

Furthermore, I have learnt that we should be committed and dedicated in whatever we do. From the reading of this novel, we can see that Holmes is a dedicated and committed detective. Although Holmes did not been hired by anyone, he try to solve the mystery with his partner, Dr. Watson.  They even sacrifice their dinner and rest time to find out what is happen behind the mystery. They also stayed out for a whole night to find out the truth. Heaven will not disappoint the person who tries, they finally made their mind clear after they visited a lot of places. They got a lot of valuable information from Mr. Breckinridge, a salesman at Covent Garden. As a result, Holmes is able to give the profile of the real thief and finally solve the case. Therefore, any task given to us should be done to the best of our ability.

Moreover, this novel taught me that we should be kind to other people. Holmes did not take the standard action against James Ryder, the real thief. This is because he think that John Horner will be safe, since Ryder would not testify against him. Holmes also believes that Ryder would never commit any more crimes, since he was too frightened. But the main reason Holmes did not take any action is because Christmas season was a time of forgiveness. Sometimes, it is important that we use our judgement and show kindness where and when we can.

In conclusion, The Adventure Of The Blue Carbuncle is a very interesting novel. It  had taught me plenty of lessons. The lessons that I had learnt from this novel can also conduct in my daily life. Thus, I really think that it is worth to read this novel when you are free.

“I suppose that I am committing a felony, but it is just possible that I am saving a soul. This fellow will not go wrong again. He is too terribly frightened. Send him to jail now, and you make him a gaolbird for life. Besides, it is the season of forgiveness.”- Shelock Holmes

Koo Chong Jing

4 Cergas

23th April 2014