Edison Tian Shuo
English 09Q2 20093007044
The Man with the Twisted Lip-----A Portrayal of a
Degenerating England when she was at the TopNeville St.Clair was a gentleman with a decent life.He, however, would like to make up himself like a beggar for begging rather than getting a job consistent with his status because he found it was much more profitable than the so-called decent journalist work he had before.His wife was completely kept in the dark until one day she thought his husband was murdered in an opium den.The police could not solve it, and Sherlock Holmes cracked this case and disillusioned the beggar to be Neville St.Clair in the end.This story vividly portrays a society full of evil and conflicts, such as moral degeneration that one would masquerade himself a beggar just in pursuit of wealth even if he was wealthy enough, the abuse of opium that thousands of people was addicted and a high crime rate that the police could not deal with but resort to detectives such as Sherlock Holmes, during the late Victorian era, when England was at the top of its game imperially.
When Britain’s economy was at the top of the world, her morality downed
however.The great industrial revolution in the early Victorian era brought all kinds of science and technology that greatly improved the productivity and made England a \"world factory\".At the same time, there remained serious social problems behind the thriving and prosperous appearance.In social life domain, the most obvious feature of
this time was the social moral decay and the worship of money, which were both reflected out in this story.Wanting something for nothing, Neville St.Clair,
well-educated, gave up his previously decent journalist work and disguised himself to beg in the street every day with cheating his family his interests of companies in the town.Money was superior to reputation, credit and other moral compa.From this character, readers could clearly see the moral landslide in Britain during the late Victorian era.
In this story readers could also feel the tremendous negative impacts of opium abuse on British society in this time.It is known to all that, in the Victorian era, the British government sold large quantities of opium to China to reverse its trade deficit, which brought trials and tribulations to Chinese people.China\'s economic thus
continuously declined, and the national health was increasingly deteriorating.Lots of young male adults could not work because of their opium addiction, and society was on the brink of collapse.The situation was not rosy in Britain.There were lots of
examples of substance abuse ruining lives and destroying otherwise noble people.See, for instance, the opium addict Isa Whitney at the beginning of this story.
“the practice is easier to attain than to get rid of, and for many years he continued to be a slave to the drug, an object of mingled horror and pity to his friends and
relatives.I can see him now, with yellow, pasty face, drooping lids, and pin-point pupils, all huddled in a chair, the wreck and ruin of a noble man”(Twisted.1).
The opium use of poor people was even striking.Unaffordable to opium, what they could do to raise money was stealing and robbery.Overall, these aggravated the disparities and caused social revolt.Consequently, the crime rate arose, and the police could do anything but preventing it.Social conflicts were intensified by opium abuse, disparities, moral corruption and so forth.British society during this time was thus increasingly divided into to two
opposite parties-----the rich and the poor.It was reflected in this story to some extent.“What! You do not mean bodies?”
“Ay, bodies, Watson.We should be rich men if we had 1000 pounds for every poor devil who has been done to death in that den.It is the vilest murder-trap on the whole riverside, and I fear that Neville St.Clair has entered it never to leave it more.”
Confronting this dilemma, the police had to turn to private detectives such as Sherlock Holmes.
“Inspector Barton, who had charge of the case, made a very careful examination of the premises, but without finding anything which threw any light upon the matter.”“he was seized and searched, without anything being found which could incriminate him.”
“Sherlock Holmes was well known to the force”
“ ’Great heavens!’ cried the inspector, it is, indeed, the miing man.I know him from the photograph.’ \"
In the story inspectors were decipted as silly as idiots, but it was in line with reality.
Detectives could only make a limited contribution, and social security got worse bucause of police’s incompetence.
The Man with the Twisted Lip is a mirror of Britain society during the late Victorain era.It contributes to portrayals of a Britain in a me and in jeopardy when the Empire was at a point which she pretty much never gets better than.So novel, to a large extent, is a lively annal, and it gives a right and precise portrayal of its times and society.
