Will Spollen 11-26-13 A6 The Divergent Detective Twins Who Never Met Holmes and Ness From foggy

y mysteries in 1889 England, to the rough, tough streets of Chicago in the United States, mysteries are being solved and the chief criminals are being busted by two remarkable detectives. Sherlock Holmes, a detective from the novel The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Elliot Ness (Kevin Costner), a detective/police officer from the film The Untouchables(1987)-directed by Brian De Palma are both two absolutely brilliant men who both share some common ground but also have many distinct differences. Sherlock Holmes is an extremely intelligent detective who lives in London, England with his friend, John Watson, on 221B Baker Street. He is investigating a very wealthy mans mysterious death in Devonshire, England in the year 1889. Elliot Ness is a n ethical, but sometimes chance taking or controversial Prohibition Bureau agent/detective who lives with his wife and two daughters in Chicago, Illinois. He is looking to get kingpin gangster, Al Capone in jail and rid the city of Chicago of crime (mainly gang-related crime) and alcohol during the time of Prohibition (1920-1932). While they may live in two different worlds (and times, for that matter) they show truly uncanny similarities. As these two characters progress and develop throughout their stories or films, they begin to show new attributes and those attribute can again be similar or strikingly different. Through a series of conflicts-both cold and warm hearted, and a constant display of the components of their personalities in The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Untouchables Elliot Ness and Sherlock Holmes are shown to have similar qualities but also have very independent and singular dispositions. As said before, Sherlock Holmes is very different from Elliot Ness and there are various examples throughout this novel and film. For example, Elliot Ness is very physical- as in he will sometimes use violence and his body to solve his problems. He once chased down a group of alcohol smuggling gangsters all the way to Canada and eventually killed many of them (and arrested the rest) to defend himself, which is certainly an act of violence, and may be considered by many to be exceedingly and unnecessarily violent.. Sherlock Holmes is much more of a gentle figure, he only acts in a way of violence once- when (He) had emptied five barrels of his revolver into the (hounds) flank (Doyle 202). The reason for Holmes act of violence is a very justified one; he saved his client (and possibly many other innocent people) from a gory, gruesome death by the infamous hound who killed Sir Charles Baskerville. Also, Holmes is much more deceiving while Elliot Ness is a very straight-forward, honest man. Once Holmes completely deceived Watson and threw him off, he Thought that (Holmes) (was) in Baker Street working out that case of blackmailing (167) while That was what Holmes wished (him) to think (167). While Holmes may have done this for the better of the case and his client (Sir Henry Baskerville) he completely lied to his closest friends which could be the most deceitful act of all to commit. When Elliot Ness says something, it is most likely very believable. As he makes his

Will Spollen 11-26-13 A6 The Divergent Detective Twins Who Never Met Holmes and Ness introduction to the Prohibition Bureau in Chicago, he tells all the officers that he will not drink any alcohol and that they need to not drink to enforce the Prohibition law. While many of his fellow officers are corrupt and still drink, he holds his statement to be true and does not drink one sip of alcohol. As well as Ness is a more trustworthy figure than Holmes, he is also kinder than Holmes. Holmes is really quite abrasive, he (was) afraid,... that most of (Watsons) conclusions were erroneous, when (Holmes) said that that (Watson) stimulated (him) (he) meant, to be frank, that in noting (his) fallacies (Holmes) was occasionally guided towards the truth (11). He completely disregarded Watsons conclusions and told him that his false conclusions barely contributed to his discovery of the truth. While this may be somewhat true, there are much more gentle ways to put it without being exceedingly acerbic as Sherlock Holmes was. Elliot Ness is much more empathetic than Holmes. Once, Ness was waiting at a train station for possibly their jackpot (Al Capones accountant) who was guarded by many gangsters - creating a very dangerous and threatening scene. Ness proceeded to attempt to help a woman who was struggling to get her baby in a carriage up the flight of stairs, right before his make or break moment. He potentially sacrificed his betterment and capture of Al Capone, just to help a passerby push her infant up a flight of stairs. It is very evident that Ness and Holmes are two very different beings, and that they show blatant differences in character. In spite of Ness and Holmes being very contrastive, it is important not to be fooled that they are not also similar. Furthermore, they both are very confident in their (and/or their teams) abilities. When Holmes and Watson (and eventually Lestrade) were almost at the point of capturing Stapleton (the villain in the crime they are investigating), he stated that they were At close grips at last. This is a very confident thing to say (even if you are Sherlock Holmes) because with at least half a day to a day left in the case, anything could happen which could make everything stop and turn on a dime. So to say that you are close to solving it completely with that many variables left in the equation (or crime scene/case) is a very confident and sure thing to say. Elliot Ness is also not shy of being confident, he makes risky decisions that he knows will probably end well because of his confidence in his team. At the train station, when one gangster and Capones accountant were left, he made the dec ision to tell his partner to shoot the last gangster (who threatened to shoot the accountant if the shot). This was extremely risky because if the gangster reacted quickly enough or if the bullet missed him, then he would have shot the accountant, also the bullet could have accidently hit Payne (the accountant) and killed him. If any of these situations did indeed happen, then the accountant would have been dead and they would have lost a valuable piece in capturing Capone. Ness is shown to be very confident in his own decisions because of the consequences that could have occurred if the situation went wrong. In

Will Spollen 11-26-13 A6 The Divergent Detective Twins Who Never Met Holmes and Ness addition to being so confident, Ness is also extremely observant; he picks up on and notices things that others would not unless that said person is Sherlock Holmes, who is also very observant. Ness is walking on his street towards

his house when he realizes something is not right. He sees Frank Nitti (one of Capones top henchman) stalking him and his family outside their house before Nitti even says a word of his threat to his family. He truly has to be observant and notice little things like this because if he does not, then he will not be able to capture Capone, and he and his family and team will be dead at the hands of Capone and all of his gang members. Sherlock Holmes is extremely observant, he notices the littlest, most meticulous and least important (and also of course- the most important) things. He (Observed) from (Mortimers) forefinger that (he) (makes) (his) own cigarettes, even though this is not spectacular or important, it is these little things almost train Holmes for observing the big, important things. Holmes seems to be naturally observant, almost like he was born with these powers, but being in his position as a very important detective forces him to have this talent and use it frequently. Additionally, Sherlock Holmes and Elliot Ness both are quite impulsive to an extent. When Ness chased Frank Nitti up to the rooftop of the court where Al Capone was being tried on accounts of tax evasion, he got into a dangerous cat and mouse chase with him. After the two calmed down, they were about to head back down to the courtroom until Nitti made an offensive remark about Ness s dead friend and co-untouchable. This set off Ness and pushed Nitti off of the rooftop, causing him to fall into a car and die. This reaction was not given a second thought and was done on pure instinct, and when those two factors are put together, they create an impulsive reaction. Holmes can also be a very impulsive figure, especially when he And (Watson) both fired together (at the hound). If the hound was immortal, and could not be killed, then would have given himself and Watson and Lestrade a sure death sentence. If the hound had not been able to be killed then the gunshots and bullets would have caused it to get even more angry and kill not only Sir Henry, but also Watson, Lestrade, and of course, Sherlock Holmes. This is surely a very impulsive decision because he either would injure and kill the hound (which he did) or kill himself and two other partners. While these two detectives may be quite a bit different, they do show some striking similarities. At first, it does seem that these two detectives are completely different, and that they live two completely different lives in two completely different worlds. This is true, but only to a certain extent. As the character progress through their lives and stories more differences arise but they are shown to have significant similarities that are not seen on the surface of these stories. Throughout their interactions with friends and foes alike, their decisions from kind to rather contentious, and statements which they make, they are clearly shown to be similar, with apparent differences.

Will Spollen 11-26-13 A6 The Divergent Detective Twins Who Never Met Holmes and Ness Many people who have similar jobs/do similar things, even if they live in different environments, can be shown to have almost identical attributes two their personas. The distinctions are still present because of the way their surrounding environment and other countless variables affect the way they live. You can find this idea many times throughout your life, but to sum it all up, human beings are created equal, so undoubtedly, they will have at least a few similarities, and obviously also a handful of differences because of how they were brought up an raised through their lives. Sherlock Holmes an Elliot Ness were raised in two completely different countries, and really lived two completely different lives until they became detectives/agents, they still apply very well to the idea of almost all humans differentiating and being alike at the same moment. It is critical to understand this idea to fully comprehend the portrayal of Sherlock Holmes and Elliot Ness in this story and film and to understand a very important factor in life itself that is often shown in your everyday happenings. References Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Hound of the Baskervilles. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, 1959. Print. Costner, Kevin, perf. The Untouchables. Paramount Pictures, 1987. Film