Life Of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Essay

, Research Paper

Life of Sir Arthur Conan DoyleSir Arthur Conan Doyle, a British physician who later devoted his life to writing,has become one of the most popular and widespread authors and creators of all time.Doyle’s early childhood years to his later years in life have allowed him to observe manysophisticated yet adventurous paths, in which have inspired him greatly to become aninfluence on spiritualistic views as an author and crusader. His interests andachievements in medicine, politics, and spiritualism have allowed him to create theiridescent master detective of fiction, Sherlock Holmes. His creation of Sherlock Holmesin his mystery novels has brought him fame amongst many people, even so SherlockHolmes may be one of the most popular and recognized characters of English Literature. On May 22nd, 1859, Arthur Conan Doyle was born at Picardy Place, inEdinburgh, Scotland. His father, Charles, was an architect-clerk at the GovernmentOffice of Works in Edinburgh where he married Mary Foley in1855. Arthur had threesisters and one brother, with quite a large family occasionally times got hard as moneygrew scarce, fortunately his father sold paintings on the side to earn extra money (Jaffe3).When Arthur Doyle was seven years old he was sent to school and for two yearshe was toughened by the schoolmaster and his punishments of lacerations (Pearson 2).The schoolmaster wasn’t the only thing that toughened him, he was also used to getting inquarrels with other children and became quite a fighter, especially if he saw a bullypicking on someone smaller and weaker (Pearson 3). Along with his ruggedcharacteristics, young Arthur loved to read. He found himself caught up in books ofaction and adventure, his favorite one being Scalp Hunters by Mayne Reid which he readnumerous times. Arthur was also somewhat interested in poetry and he showed it bylearning Macaulay’s Lay of Horatius by heart. At the age of nine, Arthur went to Hodderthe preparatory school for Stonyhurst College, which also was located in Edinburgh(Jaffe 8). On a journey to Preston, in Lancashire, he started to feel lonely andexperienced homesickness. When he arrived at Preston, he joined a group of other kidsand was driven the remaining twelve miles with a Jesuit, a follower of Jesus in RomanCatholicism. He stayed at Hodder for two years, where he was partially happy, then theFranco-German War had arisen and gave him something to dream about during hislessons. He would find himself daydreaming about fascinating adventures to escape hisregular days of studies which constantly bored him (Pearson 4). He then went on to Stonyhurst College, where he found himself suffering inclasses of Latin, Greek, and Algebra. Near the end of his life Arthur wrote “I can saywith truth that my Latin and Greek … have been little use to me in life, and that mymathematics have been no use at all.”(Carr 10) Doyle may not have enjoyed Latin orAlgebra, on the other hand he seemed to pick up reading and writing skills automatically.The Jesuits who were guarding and keeping Doyle and the boys in order believed that”dry knowledge could only be absorbed with dry food,” so the nourishment they receivedwas quite unappetizing (Jaffe 16). The discipline they received was pretty brutal,because if the demands for religion were unsatisfied, and if the young men’s behavior wasnot well, the Jesuits applied a more encouraging correction. Doyle remembers thispunishment quite well, through his own experience, he describes it as “the instrument ofcorrection, it was a piece of India-rubber of the shape and size of a thick boot sole….Oneblow of this instrument, delivered with intent, would cause the palm of the hand to swellup and change color.” Arthur had wondered if any other boys had endured more of thebrutal punishment than he. Doyle wrote “I went out of my way to do really mischievousand outrageous things simply to show that my spirit was unbroken.” (Pearson 5) Duringhis stay at the college, Doyle wrote much verse that he thought was nothing but thisshowed to everyone else that he had a literary gift. He was also encouraged to tell storiesto the other boys sitting in a circle, his favorite stories talking about murders andmysteries, and he was able to captivate his audiences with his ability. Upon his last year,he edited the College magazine, and amazed everyone by taking honors in the LondonMatric before he left Stonyhurst at the age of sixteen (Carr 13). When Doyle left Stonyhurst, he realized he had an interest and gift in writing, thatwould later on greatly influence his later career. Arthur enjoyed history and literature,and one day he was completely absorbed in a volume of Macaulay’s Essays, giving him anew aspect of English Literature. Doyle’s last year with the Jesuits was spent at Feldkirchin Austria, and on his way there he stopped in London to visit Westminster Abbey to seeMacaulay’s grave. Feldkirch was much kinder than Stonyhurst, so he eventually stoppedbeing a troublesome youth. On the average, he enjoyed his years there playing footballand tobogganing. When he left Austria in 1876, he stopped in Paris to visit an uncle,Michael Conan, from which he got his name. He saw many wonders including the Arc deTriomphe and other French landmarks (Wood 23). Arthur Doyle then returned to Edinburgh, the place of his birth, and saw hisfamily. Soon after his arrival he decided to study medicine at Edinburgh University,which was widely known from its medical expertise. H