The Hound of the Baskervilles Lesson Plan

Why is much of the action summarized in Watson’s reports?

Beginning with Chapter 8, the story becomes Watson’s report to Holmes. Watson knows Sherlock wants to hear the facts quickly and succinctly. He is less interested in Watson’s deductions or the emotions of the events. He also will not want a long, drawn out description of events. Watson’s tendency to summarize is likely because the story is tailored to meet Sherlock’s desires. Students may also surmise that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle chose to summarize the action scenes rather than draw them out in order to keep readers interested and because the story was appearing in a magazine rather than in book form.

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