In the popular Sherlock Holmes series image, text and context worked together to convey character interactions that help the reader to better understand the scene. When looking specifically at the story The Adventure of the Speckled Band, the black and white illustrations held several similarities that displayed the crime scenes and characters. They worked together to also show perhaps the social class of the characters, family life, and the race. The illustrations all depict specific moments in the narrative, allowing readers to better understand expressions and reactions to the scene. While these images may not provide the reader with further information about the plot of the story, they help with visualizing the context of the interaction. When looking at other volumes of Sherlock Holmes, such as The Adventure of the Blue Carnuncle, they all provide similar illustrations that consist of characters engaging with one another. The images for these texts all help the reader to better understand the emotion and context of the narrative while not adding anything additional to the storyline. Sometimes when reading a story, it can be hard to visualize the interation for yourself, but with an additional image, it provides a break for the reader and allows them to create more images in their head when continuing to follow along with the plot.
Submitted by Melissa Emanoilidis on