thaddeus sholto Flashcards
‘the cursed greed which has been my besetting sin’
major sholto commits crimes due to his ‘greed’.
he describes greed as ‘cursed’ conveying the immorality surrounded by it as even though his uncle left him a lot of money he still steals the treasure which implies that greed consumed him.
this is further accentuated by the metaphor ‘besetting sin’ which portrays the agra treasure as all the more evil. by using the noun ‘sin’ Doyle indicates that if you let greed consume you it could destroy you on a biblical scale.
this relates to how the agra treasure is used as a motif through out the novella to convey the destructive nature of wealth
‘Writhed his hands together… his features were in a perpetual jerk’
Thaddeus Sholto is presented as a very nervous-looking man. This creates tension for readers as we wonder why he seems so anxious. His anxiety is‘perpetual’– it never ends. As readers, we realise that there must be a reason for his nervousness but this reason remains hidden for now.
‘looked as out of place as a diamond of the first water in a setting of brass’
imperialism, wealth and greed
thaddeus’s appartment ‘looked as out of place as a diamond of the first water in a setting of brass’ and this similie ecapsulates the incongruity of the lucury found inside compared with the drabness of the south london setting. brass is a common metal but a diamond ‘of the first water’ is rare and valuable. upon entering the richly urnished apartment, watson is aware that he leaves the ordinary world behind to enter a very different world of exotic luxury. conan doyle uses the simile to convey how the story is taking us from what is drab and ordinary to a world where we will encounter extraordinary strange events. the diamond also foreshadows the agra treasure, an important symbol of the story to come.
Thaddeus’ apartment has the‘richest’,‘glossiest’items of‘Eastern luxury’.
imperialism
Conan Doyle uses the superlatives‘richest’and‘glossiest’to highlight how ornately Thaddeus’ home is decorated. All of the other characters appear to be surprised by the level of wealth and decoration he has in his home – it makes the reader question how Thaddeus obtained this wealth and why he seems to hide it away in this unusual home
we came to heated words. Morstan had sprung out of his chair in a paroxysm of anger… his face turned a dusky hue
the adjective ‘heated’ portrays major Sholto and morstan as greedy and curropt which insinuates that the ‘dirty business’ surrounded by the treasure curropted them
Morstan seems to be engulfed in greed because he believes the money would save their ‘commissions handsomely’. so, he is seen to have ‘sprung from his chair. the verb ‘sprung’ connotes shock, possibly morstan was shocked by sholtos avarice nature. or maybe Morstan really wanted the treasure to help them with their gambling losses.
the noun ‘paroxysm’ is emblematic of captain morstans outburst of greed as he goes from a noble soldier who served in the army to someone who has been corrupted by greed and died from it. Doyle does this to make the effects of the desire for wealth seem woeful as victorian readers would respect a man who served in the army but view him as now corrupted and almost disadvantaged due to the state wealth has gotten him to- repulsing them from avarice people
‘Your servant’
justice
Despite his wealth and elevated social status, Thaddeus Sholto introduces himself to Holmes and Watson as their‘servant’. This noun suggests that he is subservient and could suggest that he is intimidated by them – he appears nervous and worried anyway. By calling himself their‘servant’, he could be attempting to deliberately present himself as unthreatening to avoid any potential conflict.
‘Yellow and irregular teeth’
humour, mystery
Thaddeus is immediately presented as an unattractive and bizarre character. His appearance indicates that he is not one of the main protagonists, as he is deliberately described as having a strange appearance. His appearance could also suggest that it is unclear as to whether or not he is a villain or a hero in the story – his identical twin brother acts almost as a villain, so this could be why the two are described in such an odd way, as the two Sholto brothers portray good and evil characters.
“weak, watery blue eyes”Chapter 4 - Watson’s narrative
the adjective ‘watery’ connotes purity which immediately establishes a contrast between him and his brother as much more mystery is created around him. this also suggests that Thaddeus is nervous and wants to be of the best help but does not know how. alternatively, his anxiousness indicates that the secretes deep within him are making him ‘weak’ which insinuates that his appearance gives away the fact that Thaddeus’s appearance contrasts starkly with his reality.
by using the adjective ‘blue’ Doyle insinuates that Thaddeus is a reliable character which reflects how he wants Justice for mary which relates to how he is a fair man.
the alliteration of ‘weak, watery’ creates a comical image of Thaddeus which affs humor to the story and makes him seem ridiculous. by describing Thaddeus much more often throughout the novella rather than putting him into the main action Doyle indicates that Thaddeus is an innocent man who will be rewarded for doing good.
‘two great tiger-skins thrown athwart it increased the suggestion of eastern luxury
imperialism
conan doyle presents the victorian attitude that the empire was a source of wealth and exotic pleasures. he describes how in Thaddeus’s apartment ‘two great tiger-skins thrown athwart it increased the suggestion of eastern luxury’ the image of tigers hunted and killed for their skins, then brought to England as a decorative trophy is carefully chosen. it is symbolic of how the victorian plundered resources from countries in the empire and how these treasures then became status symbols of the owner’s wealth and power, as indicated by the phrase ‘ eastern luxury’
“it would have been such bad taste to have treated a young lady in so scurvy a fashion”
crime and justice
Thaddeus is the stark contrast to his brother Bartholomew as he believes in the idea of justice and also respects women and believes that they should be treated with generosity and care. this depicts that he disapproves of his father’s greed and that of Bartholomew. he does what is right h=which puts him in a positive light.
as an aesthete, Thaddeus does not want such a young and beautiful woman like mary to be left distraught or suffer anything.
‘same day… very large and lustrous pearl’
thaddeus is a man of justice as on the ‘same day’ she gave her address he went to give her a ‘pearl’ which portrays him as fair. alternatively, he is anxious and Doyle uses this to evoke mood of anticipation causing the reader to be excited.
the visual imagery created by this shows the significant of the treasure, makes the reader wonder what else there could be
due to thaddeus’ generous gesture we view him positively through out the novella
a high piping voice from some inner room’
Doyle creates Humour through this auditory image. However, this element of gothic fiction adds to the mystery also creating a comic effect.
Doyle uses this as a cliff-hanger to add to the suspense causing readers to be excited for the next magazine.
introduction to Thaddeus’ character.
High piping voice reminds us of a child showing how innocent and pure Thaddeus is. possibly naïve as well.
a blaze of yellow light streamed out upon us and in the centr of the glare… stood a small man’
light is used by doyle to symbolise hope or a new clue. thaddeus character is used by Doyle to add to the mystery through his eccentric character and comical image, also his character is used to show that there will be Hope for mary as he has lots of information.
presents thaddeus as a fair man
‘centre’ suggets that he is the savior and answer to majority of there problems.
‘an oasis of art in the howling desert of London
thaddeus’ apartment seems out of place in London which adds to the eccentric nature of his character
the apartment is an ‘oasis of art’ because it has the ‘suggestion of eastern luxury’ which shows that thaddeus has been influenced by his families time in india, we wonder what else he has influenced his actions
i can do you justice’ ‘bold front to brother bartholomew’ ‘annoy brother bartholomew’
seems to have some sort of rivalry with Brother bartholomew possible because he was the ‘favorite son’ and told the most maybe thaddeus wants to put a ‘bold front to brother bartholomew’ to make him feel like he has no power over him.
he cares only for himself and may not be as fair as we think. possibly he acts in the most fair way in order ‘annoy brother bartholomew’
this is quite childish and employs a comic effect creating humour for victorian readers.
