Ghost Map second post- Rachel Kassabian

As the case for the cause of the Cholera epidemic comes closer and closer to being solved by a man named John Snow, everyday people in London continue to make conditions worse. While most people were concluding that the Cholera epidemic was being caused by air particles, Snow determined that the drinking water was the problem. In this book Dr. Snow is acting as a type of Sherlock Holmes character by going out and researching after formulating questions. He made his own experiments such as the contaminated water and alcohol trial. Field research was also very important in this aspect of detective work. The facts were that cholera was affecting people in certain neighborhoods and less in others and that air can not stick to one confined place, confirming, in Snow’s mind at least, that the epidemic was not an airborne disease. He tested the water in certain areas and in all determined that the part of the river where one lives is directly related to catching the disease as well as congestion in the area. 

Ghost Map 1-55 Rachel Kassabian

In the first 55 page of Ghost Map, we are introduced to an epidemic that is affecting London. Johnson describes London at the time as being a very crowded and dirty place to be living. Cesspools would overflow with human excrement making it easy for one to deduce that the smell of London was horrible with such filth. Development in the cities had not been well planned out and concepts of design which we take for granted today, such as sewage systems, were absent.

The Cholera epidemic hit London and thousands were dying especially in Soho. Nobody was really sure what was causing this outbreak and most presumptions were wrong, such as the theory that it came from the bad smell of the city. 

World’s Fair Exhibit– Rachel Kassabian

After watching clips from the documentary on the World’s Fair in Chicago I realized how incredible the exhibit really was. The most extraordinary thing to me in the Fair was the lighting. It is incredible to imagine at a time where candlelight was the main way to illuminate the dark, that so much money was spent to showcase electricity. It must have been amazing to see the place glow at night for the first time. Edison was a main contributor to the electrical parts of the world fair and built an entire column of lights illuminated behind colored stones which lit up choreographed to music. The second thing that I found to be the most intriguing about the World’s Fair was the Ferris Wheel. To be able to imagine the complete size, view, and reaction to it would be difficult to capture. I think that the Ferris Wheel did dwarf the Eiffel Tower in France because of the element of movement while the wheel revolves.

Master and Commander- Rachel K

Master and Commander kept my attention through the movie. It was much more enjoyable to follow as compared to the other movies since there was a story line and plot. The movie was about the British fighting the French and about the struggle that they went through to make their final say. The story follows the British and mainly the captain who goes through both a change of attitude and strategy to fight. At the end he lets a friend go onto the Galapagos Islands while displaying an uncharacteristically amiable behavior and in return gains military knowledge. At the end of the movie the British won the battle at the loss of some. The movie was interesting but sometimes confusing at parts.

Devil In The White City–Rachel K

The Devil in the White City is written as two different stories that end up coming together to create the events of the World’s Fair in Chicago. The first part of the book is about a man by the name of Burnham who is a well known architect of skyscrapers in Chicago and his partner named Root invented the way to build on the goop so that buildings could withstand it over time. The other focus of the book is on a mysterious character with many different names. The most familiar to use is H. H. Holmes. He is described as a peculiar character who enjoys the chase of women but once he attains them, soon gets bored. While Burnham awaits and then achieves the goal of building for the World’s Fair, Holmes is making plans of his own and thinks ahead to gain allies and cover up his traces. Both Holmes and Burnham share some thigns in common. They both are concerned with the fair, are known as handsome men, and have a knack for agreeably getting things from people that they both need in their separate worlds.

Book 7- Rachel Kassabian

Book VII starts off in the land of Konstantiniyye with Sultan Selim and his head doctor, Ismail. Both the doctor and sultan study the human body by dissection. Ismail is known among other doctors and has made many advances by looking at work from Ancient Greece and then adding key elements that were unknown before. One day, ships from India which are propelled by steam come to Konstantiniyye and start to bomb the Sultan’s palace. Instead of defending his lands, he is instead caught up in the new military advances that India is using against him, such as the hot air balloon. After the land is conquered, Ismail is invited back to India and has an invitation to meet the Kerala and exchange information on health and the human body with them. He is introduced to their empire and shown the ways that these people live in prosperity. 

Newton’s Dark Secrets

The documentary Newton’s Dark Secrets, talks about the life and discoveries of Isaac Newton. When Newton was younger, he was described as a troubled boy who was very often alone and without many friends. With all of this alone time to think, it is not hard to understand how he discovered such invaluable things such as gravity or the creation of the telescope. Even in college Newton was mostly kept to himself. He was very loyal to his studies and was always interested in learning more. After having watched the movie, I was surprised to learn about the many other subjects that Sir Isaac Newton dabbled in such as Alchemy. I thought this movie was beneficial to see especially when applying it to the opinion paper assignment. I am glad to have learned more about such an important person to our history. 

Sherlock Holmes and the Supernatural – Rachel

            Sir Arthur Conan Doyle took on a different kind of mystery when writing the Sherlock Holmes story, The Hound Of The Baskervilles. The case examines the possibility of a supernatural phenomenon, which is unique to the story since Holmes likes to deal with practical things like facts and human suspects. In the beginning of the book, Holmes and Watson are visited by a country doctor named Mortimer who brings the mystery of the Baskervilles forward. He tells them about the curse set on the family many years back and how the recent death of Sir Charles, an heir, was linked with this curse of a devilish hound. As Mortimer relayed the story and his personal investigation of the scene, it was easy to see that he believed in the myth of the hound and a supernatural presence. Mortimer also said “several people had seen a creature upon the moor which corresponds with this Baskerville demon, and which could not possibly be an animal known to science” (Doyle 22). The whole town of Devonshire seemed to have a perception that there was no other explanation for the death of Sir Charles Baskerville other than a demon hound.

            Throughout the story we see opposing views in the sense of the supernatural versus science. Watson and Holmes seem to be the only ones in the area trying to look past this hound and find the man that’s responsible for the acts. Both men refuse to believe that there is no connection to a human motive for these strange occurrences and that the hound is actually a ghostly being. Many characters that they are in contact with in the story are caught up with the supernatural, some more than others. Holmes and Watson have to sort through all the fanatical suspicions and find the cold hard facts. Sir Henry’s position in the beginning on the supernatural and science spectrum is somewhere in the middle but in one night he has a change of attitude. The night when Watson and Sir Henry go out to find the escaped convict and bring him to justice, the sound of the hound is louder and nearer than ever. Sir Henry reacts in a way that we have never witnessed before. When he is trying to be dissuaded from the cause of the sound he replies, “No, no, it was a hound. My God can there be some truth in all these stories? Is it possible that I am really in danger from so dark a cause?” (Doyle 96). At this moment, we also see that Watson is becoming uncomfortable with the sound and of Sir Henry’s reaction but he knows that there is no supernatural cause. Dr. Mortimer and Stapleton are trained men in science like Holmes and Watson but they believe in something outside the laws of nature. This may be so because they live within the area that is currently being affected and therefore succumb to this outlook. Although Watson has been living at Baskerville hall for a while he has not agreed with the local opinion on the matter.

“A spectral hound which leaves material footmarks and fills the air with its howling is surely not to be thought of. Stapleton may fall in with such a superstition, and Mortimer also; but if I have one quality upon earth it is common sense, and nothing will persuade me to believe in such a thing. To do so would be to descend to the level of these poor peasants who are not content with a mere fiend dog, but must needs describe him with hell-fire shooting from his mouth and eyes. Holmes would not listen to such fancies, and I am his agent.” (Doyle 101).

There is a difference however between Mortimer and Stapleton when compared to the other people in town. Mortimer and Stapleton think that there could be a possibility of a devil dog but they do not go around professing its existence. It is only evident that they believe it enough to think it could be possible but also disagree enough with the theory to keep from saying it confidently. Holmes reaction towards these amateur scientists was that he felt superior to them. He determined that Dr. Mortimer, although a learned man who is “a dabbler in science [or] a picker up of shells on the shores of the great unknown ocean” (Doyle 8), was not as intelligent or qualified as him or Watson because he was wrapped up in finding something that didn’t exist. His ideas were based on fiction and not the facts. He is a scientist in respect to investigating the scene at which Sir Charles was murdered. Mortimer had deduced both that he was killed by a heart attack when he was horribly frightened (by the devil hound) and also that after some secret investigating, dog prints were found nearby the body. It is obvious that he came to the conclusion the hound of Baskervilles killed Sir Charles because he did not come to Holmes to solve that part of the case. When Holmes recognized this and asked how he could assist him, Mortimer replied, “By advising me as to what I should do with Sir Henry Baskerville, who arrives at Waterloo station” (Doyle 23). Stapleton was also not highly reliable as a scientist, not only because he became the culprit, but also because he was one of the town people who were concerned with the supernatural. As a result, Watson and Holmes left them in the dark as to the plans of the investigation. They did not trust anyone and at points Holmes even kept Watson in the dark just to make sure that the investigation was successful and in the end it proved to be that way.

The Hound of Baskervilles 2- Rachel K

The interaction between Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes is like one I have never witnessed in Doyle’s stories before. Watson seems to be the main character where in The Sign Of Four, all the attention for the case was on Holmes. In the story, Holmes sets Watson on a mission to stay by Sir Henry’s side while at the Baskervilles Hall since Holmes is busy back in England with other detective work. We follow Watson throughout the story in letters and diary entries on his accounts of the strange happenings in the moore. I have noticed that Watson’s investigative style has become a lot like Holmes’. He followed Barrymore toward the window after devising a scheme with Sir Henry and found out the reasoning for his sneaking around, that being the escaped convict. Watson has also learned how to not divulge too much information but say enough to get them to stop asking questions, as seen with Mortimer. I think the next step in the story is for Holmes to actually come down and visit since it seems like many things are going to develop soon. 

The Hound of Baskervilles- Rachel K

The Hound of the Baskerville was a very interesting story to read. It sounds like this could be the most difficult and interesting case that Watson and Holmes have yet run into. The first 50 pages of this story have to do with a murder, but unlike most Sherlock Holmes stories, there is apparently a supernatural force involved. Holmes being the strong science minded man, refuses to give into folklore and concentrates on realistic life. His methods are both the same as in The Sign of Four and different. I think that we are just being shown a greater magnitude of his abilities. In this story, we see more forensic like science investigating where it was slightly more limited in The Sign of Four. I think this story will really surprise me and I can’t wait to see what happens once Holmes gets to the bottom of it.