Jonathan Small - Quotations

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Key Quotations about Jonathan Small

Here are five key quotations about Jonathan Small:

Wooden-legged man

‘The wooden-legged man’ (Chapter 5).
- The noun phrase, ‘wooden-legged man’ adds mystery to Small’s character.
- He seems somewhat anonymised, as he is identified only by his leg – he is an unknown villain, which adds intrigue and causes fear around his character.
- Throughout the novella, the wooden-legged man is mentioned repeatedly – each time, this is around the time when something bad happens.

Mysterious and terrifying

'Keep him out! For Christ's sake keep him out!' (Major Sholto).
- The pronoun ‘him’ is used here twice to add to the anonymity of the mysterious villain. We do not know his name, but the reader knows that this man must be terrifying because of Sholto’s reaction.
- Major Sholto’s repeated use of the imperative ‘keep’ and the exclamation mark suggest that he is utterly terrified about Jonathan Small being nearby, which adds danger to his character.

Remorseless

‘He looked up at me with a gleam of something like humor in his eyes’ (Chapter 11).
- Jonathan Small is shown to be a terrifying character and a horrible criminal as, just after he has been arrested (and Tonga has been killed), he seems to find the situation funny, which causes readers to fear him even more – he seems completely remorseless, which makes him incredibly dangerous.

Inhuman

‘The somewhat flippant and careless way in which he narrated it’ (Chapter 12).
- From Watson’s viewpoint, we are told that Jonathan Small speaks in a ‘flippant and careless way’ about his involvement in the case.
- Watson finds this horrifying because Small murdered a man, stole his treasure, and then almost stalked Sholto until he died, before being involved in another murder. However, he does not seem to feel any remorse about his actions – this makes him seem almost inhuman.

Alienates from audience

‘Where is the justice that I should give it up to those who have never earned it? Look how I have earned it!’ (Chapter 12).
- Small alienates himself from the audience and removes any possible empathy from the reader – in his eyes, true justice would mean that he should be allowed to live happily with the treasure now because he has worked so hard to obtain it.
- He does not seem to realise that his actions were wrong in the first place – he murdered a man to steal his treasure.

1Context

1.1Victorian England & British Empire

1.1.1Author Background

1.1.2Victorian Crime & Police

1.1.3Historical Context

1.1.4Victorian London

1.1.5Women

1.1.6The British Empire

1.1.7End of Topic Test - Author & Victorian Police

1.1.8End of Topic Test - Victorian London & Empire

2Plot Summary

2.1Chapter Summaries

2.1.1Chapter 1

2.1.2Chapter 2

2.1.3Chapter 3

2.1.4Chapter 4

2.1.5Chapter 5

2.1.6Chapter 6

2.1.7Chapter 7

2.1.8Chapter 8

2.1.9Chapter 9

2.1.10Chapter 10

2.1.11Chapter 11

2.1.12Chapter 12

2.1.13Chapter 12: Jonathan Small's Stories

2.1.14End of Topic Test - Chapters 1-6

2.1.15End of Topic Test - Chapters 7-12

3Characters

3.1Key Characters

3.1.1Sherlock Holmes

3.1.2Sherlock Holmes: Quotations

3.1.3Dr John Watson

3.1.4Mary Morstan

3.1.5End of Topic Test - Key Characters

3.1.6Exam-Style Questions - Mary & Dr Watson

3.2Other Characters

3.2.1Thaddeus Sholto

3.2.2Jonathan Small

3.2.3End of Topic Test - Thaddeus and Jonathan Small

3.3Grade 9 - Key Characters

3.3.1Grade 9 - Key Characters

3.3.2Extract Analysis - Tonga

4Key Themes

4.1Key Themes

4.1.1Corruption

4.1.2Criminals & Victims

4.1.3Victorian Fear

4.1.4British Empire & Imperialism

4.1.5Duality

4.1.6End of Topic Test - Key Themes

5Writing Techniques

5.1Writing Techniques

5.1.1Narrative Voice

5.1.2Dialogue

5.1.3Structure

5.1.4Structure & Characters

5.1.5Pathetic Fallacy

5.1.6End of Topic Test - Writing Techniques

6Recap: Main Quotes

6.1Characters Quotes

6.1.1Sherlock Holmes - Quotations

6.1.2Dr John Watson - Quotations

6.1.3Mary Morstan - Quotations

6.1.4Thaddeus Sholto - Quotations

6.1.5Jonathan Small - Quotations

6.2Text Structure - Quotes

6.2.1Chapter 1 - Quotations

6.2.2Chapter 2 - Quotations

6.2.3Chapter 3 - Quotations

6.2.4Chapter 4 - Quotations

6.2.5Chapter 5 - Quotations

6.2.6Chapter 6 - Quotations

6.2.7Chapter 7 - Quotations

6.2.8Chapter 8 - Quotations

6.2.9Chapter 9 - Quotations

6.2.10Chapter 10 - Quotations

6.2.11Chapter 11 - Quotations

6.2.12Chapter 12 - Quotations

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