The Hound of the Baskervilles 365Such activities, it is thought, affirm their inferiority
and powerlessness.
Racial codes imposed by whites also create racial
distinctions within the slave community. Special
privileges, such as being sent to work in the “big
house,” create hierarchies among slaves, for those
working indoors are considered to be “the smartest
and most trustworthy,” because they had obtained
the trust of the master. Slaves longed to be house
attendants and worked diligently, wholeheartedly,
and subserviently, competing among themselves to
obtain this privilege. Douglass also notes that slaves
ranked themselves based on the class background
of their owners. A slave belonging to a poor white
slaveholder is considered a disgrace by fellow slaves.
Race relations heavily influence conversations
and interactions between slave and slave master.
The slave is required to enter a slave master’s pres-
ence with fear and reverence; they must “stand,
listen, and tremble.” Douglass gets whipped by
his former slaveholder, Mr. Covey, for refusing to
behave in this manner while performing outside
duties. Because of his physical resistance, he receives
a lashing. Later, Douglass refuses again to “stand,
listen, and tremble” when Mr. Covey demands that
he do so after he has collapsed from exhaustion.
After continuous threats, Douglass “stands” but
fights, causing Mr. Covey to “tremble.” In the end,
Douglass ends up winning; Mr. Covey refrains from
physically harming Douglass for six months after-
ward. Douglass’s defiant behavior has turned race
relations upside down.
Slaveholders treat slaves as chattel because their
race gives them the power to do so; blacks endure
their whippings because of their powerlessness and
belief that suffering was their fate. Established race
relations kept whites slaveholders and blacks slaves
for life. Whites remain white and blacks black. It
was their identity and the norm, and understood as
the standard way of living.
Patrice Natalie Delevante
DOYLE, SIR ARTHUR CONAN The
Hound of the Baskervilles (1901–02)
The Hound of the Baskervilles was published seri-
ally in the Strand Magazine between August 1901
and April 1902 and marked the return of Sherlock
Holmes after his presumed death in “The Final
Problem.” Doyle had intended to end Holmes’s
career and return to his more “serious” historical
novels, but financial and public pressures forced him
to revive his hero and return to the detective story.
In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Holmes is
consulted by James Mortimer, who believes the
new owner of Baskerville Hall, Sir Henry, to be in
grave danger due to the mysterious circumstances
behind the death of the previous owner, Sir Charles
Baskerville, and the family legend of a great fiery
hound, brought about by the evil deeds of an ances-
tor, Hugo Baskerville. As Holmes’s representative,
Watson is sent to Baskerville Hall to watch over
Sir Henry. There he meets the Barrymores, an older
couple who work at Baskerville Hall; Stapleton, the
naturalist, and his sister; and Frankland, an elderly
neighbor and lawsuit enthusiast. Watson also dis-
covers that Selden, the Notting Hill murderer,
who has escaped from prison to the moors around
Baskerville Hall, is Mrs. Barrymore’s brother.
Holmes discovers that Stapleton is actually
Rodger Baskerville, a previously unknown heir to
the Baskerville estate. Stapleton has forced his wife
to masquerade as his sister and has created a “hell
hound” through the use of a giant, starving mastiff,
painted with phosphorus. Stapleton’s deeds are
revealed when Holmes, Watson, and police detective
Lestrade shoot and kill the hound, saving Sir Henry.
Stapleton escapes into Grimpen Mire, where he is
presumed to fall victim to its quicksand.
The Hound of the Baskervilles follows Arthur
Conan Doyle’s well-established format for the
detective story: A crime is committed, no clues are
found by local authorities, and through a process of
logical deduction and investigation, Holmes reveals
the truth behind the crime and saves the day. How-
ever, within this otherwise traditional detective story,
Doyle explores complex themes such as cruelty,
fate, social class, death, guilt, and heroism.
Kelly Connellycruelty in The Hound of the Baskervilles
In The Hound of the Baskervilles, Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle examines the contagious nature of cruelty and
its wide-ranging impact. The cycle of cruelty begun