Chapter 8 - Quotations

English Lit: AQA GCSE The Sign of the Four, topic 6.2.8

Key Quotations from Chapter 8

Here are two key quotations from Chapter 8:

‘No… I never remember feeling tired by work, though idleness exhausts me completely’ (Sherlock Holmes).
Despite investigating for twenty-four hours without a break, Holmes thrives on mental challenge.
He struggles when his brain is unstimulated but loves the thrill of mental stimulation.
You could argue he is the ideal detective here because he lives for his work and finds it hard to function when he has no work to do. He also thrives on finding accurate results.

‘They are naturally hideous, having large, misshapen heads, small, fierce eyes, and distorted features… These massacres are invariably concluded by a cannibal feast' (Sherlock Holmes).
We cannot argue that Holmes’ attitudes are especially racist here – he is voicing Victorian attitudes towards other cultures, which were generally very racist.
This description is used to terrify the reader – there is a small, sneaky man on the loose, who is from a fierce culture and who apparently engages in ‘cannibal feasts’.