Hi Everyone!! This article will share The Dying Detective Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions and answers of King Lear, After Twenty Years and The Enchanted Pool so, you can check these posts as well.
The Dying Detective Questions & Answers
Question 1: Describe the sad spectacle seen by Dr Watson.
Answer: Dr Watson saw that his friend Sherlock Holmes was in a sorry state and his eyes were bright with fear and his voice was affected so much that he was cracking.
Question 2: What did Holmes tell Watson he was suffering from?
Answer: Holmes told Watson that he was suffering from a disease that had its origins in Sumatra and that it was deadly and horribly contagious.
Question 3: Who did Holmes ask Watson to fetch? What reasons did Holmes give Watson for referring that person over others?
Answer: Holmes asked Watson to fetch a man by the name of Culverton Smith because this man was not a doctor but he had been a planter in Sumatra who knew much about his ailment.
Question 4: What did Watson observe about Smith’s behaviour when he told Smith about Holmes?
Answer: Telling Smith about Holmes, Dr. Watson observed Smith’s anger had passed and when he told him that Holmes needed help, Watson observed a malicious smile appearing on his face.
Question 5: What had happened to Victor savage?
Answer: Victor savage had come succumbed to an unknown illness. He had been deliberately infected by Mr Smith, his uncle.
Question 6: Read and answer the questions:
(a) Where did Holmes ask Watson to hide himself?
Answer: Holmes ask Watson to hide himself behind the head of his bed.
(b) Who was Holmes waiting for?
Answer: Holmes was waiting for Mr Culverton Smith.
(c) What did Holmes tell Watson to do while hiding?
Answer: Holmes asked Watson not to budge from his hiding place and also to listen to Smith with open ears. He wished to trap Mr Smith into admitting his involvement in murdering his nephew as well as to his attempt to murder Holmes. Watson was to serve as a witness.
Question 7: Read and answer the questions:
(a) Who said this and to whom?
Answer: Mr Culverton Smith said this to Sherlock Holmes.
(b) What was the joke the speaker is referring to?
Answer: Holmes had received a small ivory box which contained a sharp spring that sprang up whenever the box was opened. The speaker was referring to this box and the spring as the joke.
(c) What does the speaker mean by ‘cross my path’?
Answer: Sherlock Holmes had suspected Mr Smith of being guilty of foul play in the death of his nephew, Victor Savage. Naturally Smith had not wished Holmes’ interference in this matter. Mr Smith set out to remove the detective from his path.
The Dying Detective Questions & Answers
Question 8: Read and answer the questions:
(a) What part did Holmes play?
Answer: Holmes played the part of a very sick adversity about to die from a deadly and contagious disease from Sumatra.
(b) What did Holmes do to play it well?
Answer: Holmes had not eaten or drunk anything in three days in order to play the part well.
(c) Why did Holmes play the part?
Answer: Holmes was convinced that Smith had murdered his nephew, Victor Savage but he had no evidence to prove his conviction. He knew he had no other option but to make Smith admit to it and hence, he played this part.
Question 9: In your opinion, why did Holmes keep his plan a secret from Watson?
Answer: Holmes kept his plan a secret from Watson because he knew that Watson had to sound convincing when he approached Smith informing of Holmes illness as Smith was a very shrewd criminal.
Question 10: Describe the part that Watson played in Holmes’ plot. What does this say about Watson’s character and his attitude towards his friend, Holmes?
Answer: Holmes entrusted Watson with the most important duty of bringing the criminal to him, without which solving the mystery would not have been possible. This clearly shows that Watson was very loyal towards his friend and even though he often questioned Holmes’ activities, he nevertheless abided Holmes’ convictions.
Question 11: What signal did Holmes have Smith give? Who was the signal meant for? Describe what happened after the signal was given.
Answer: Holmes asked Smith to turn up the gas which acted as a signal. The signal was meant for inspector Morton who had been waiting for it. a few moments later, inspector Morton came inside Holmes’ room and arrested Mr Smith on charges of murdering his nephew.
Question 12: What do you think is Holmes attitude to life? What do you learn from it?
Answer: Holmes believes in taking matters in his own hands and does not wait for luck to come knocking on his door. When he realised that he had no evidence to prove Smith guilty, he made the criminal confess his guilt so that he could be arrested. The important lessons that one can learn from Holmes’ attitude to life are his dedication to his aim and his ability to bring the criminal around to confess his own crime without going beyond the law.
Question 13: List all the things that could be used as evidence in the trial of the murder of Victor Savage. Write in about 300 to 350 words a description of Holmes’ plan for catching Smith red-handed.
Answer: Holmes hatched a plan to bait Mr Smith into confessing the crime. He stopped eating and drinking for three days so that he could convince his housekeeper and Dr Watson about his illness. However, he had taken inspector Morton into confidence and had asked him to wait for signal before coming arrest murderer. Holmes advised Dr Watson to bring Mr Smith to him because Holmes claimed that he knew more about his disease than anybody else in London.
It was a clever trick that Holmes used to leave the criminal into his lair of his own Accord. Mr Smith admitted murdering his nephew Victor Savage and thus, he could be charged and arrested by the inspector with Watson as witness to his confession. Moreover, the Ivory Box with the poisonous thing could act as important evidence.
So, these were The Dying Detective Questions & Answers.