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Article
Author(s)
Billy Bin Feng Huang (黃斌峰)
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DOI:10.17265/2160-6579/2015.04.005
Affiliation(s)
National Chengchi University, Taipei, Taiwan (R.O.C)
ABSTRACT
Melanie C. Green and Timothy C. Brock have proposed their transportation-imagery model of narrative persuasion. They argue that a narrative can evoke imagery in readers’ mind and then transport readers into the narrative world the author has created, in the course of which the author can persuade readers of the beliefs he’s put into the narrative. This paper employs this model to rethink how Arthur Conan Doyle persuades his readers of British imperialism in his “The Speckled Band”. First, this model considers the vividness of the narrative and readers’ participatory response as key factors in readers’ transportation. The narratives of “The Speckled Band” are picturesque, and Sherlock Holmes’ inferential process has reinforced readers’ participatory response. On the other hand, detective fiction usually has the theme of how the detective/law and order beats the criminal/chaos. That is, Doyle persuades his readers that the British Empire will prevail in “The Speckled Band” when Holmes, representing the British imperialism, solves the case and kills Dr. Roylott, who represents the evil and savagery in the British colony. According to Green and Brock’s model, it simply means that there are two narratives (i.e., one is about how the law of the British Empire is challenged, and the other is about how the British Empire’s stability is restored), and two complementary transportations before Doyle can successfully persuades his readers. However, if we closely read “The Speckled Band”, we can learn that Holmes, who should have represented British law, is guilty of trespassing or taking the law into his own hands. In other words, the complementarity of the two transportations is compromised. Thus, we can conclude that it is highly questionable whether or not Doyle can transport his readers into the bosom of the British Empire.
KEYWORDS
Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Speckled Band”, transport(ation), narrative, persuade(-sion), British imperialism
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