Dialogue

English Lit: AQA GCSE The Sign of the Four, topic 5.1.2

The novella relies heavily on the use of dialogue.

Dialogue is used to reveal relationships and connections, to divulge key information which moves the plot along, and for Holmes to explain his reasoning and investigative techniques to the reader.

Dialogue is actually very effective in establishing the credibility of the story and the reader’s trust in Watson.
The use of quotations suggests that Watson is recounting these comments exactly as they happened, which adds to the truth of his story.
As the narrator, Watson appears confident in his retelling of each characters’ mannerisms and speech, which develops our trust in him as our storyteller.

The use of dialogue also makes the story appear to be more realistic, making the characters and the story come to life.

We learn a lot about each character through their use of dialogue – how they communicate with one another is very telling.
We learn that Holmes can be insulting to Watson at times: ‘Honestly, I cannot congratulate you upon it. Detection is, or ought to be, an exact science’.
We learn that Inspector Jones is dismissive and disrespectful to Holmes: ‘Mr Theorist’.
We learn that Jonathan Small is very aggressive: ‘"Justice!" snarled the ex-convict’.

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