Use the passage to answer the question.

Question

How might this mystery story from the 1800s have influenced literature in the 20th and 21st centuries?
(1 point)

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Mr. Sherlock Holmes, who was usually very late in the mornings, save upon those not infrequent occasions when he was up all night, was seated at the breakfast table. I stood upon the hearth-rug and picked up the stick which our visitor had left behind him the night before. It was a fine, thick piece of wood, bulbous-headed, of the sort which is known as a “Penang lawyer.” Just under the head was a broad silver band nearly an inch across. “To James Mortimer, M.R.C.S., from his friends of the C.C.H.,” was engraved upon it, with the date “1884.” It was just such a stick as the old-fashioned family practitioner used to carry—dignified, solid, and reassuring.

“Well, Watson, what do you make of it?”

Holmes was sitting with his back to me, and I had given him no sign of my occupation.
“How did you know what I was doing? I believe you have eyes in the back of your head.”

“I have, at least, a well-polished, silver-plated coffee-pot in front of me,” said he. “But, tell me, Watson, what do you make of our visitor’s stick? Since we have been so unfortunate as to miss him and have no notion of his errand, this accidental souvenir becomes of importance. Let me hear you reconstruct the man by an examination of it.”

“I think,” said I, following as far as I could the methods of my companion, “that Dr. Mortimer is a successful, elderly medical man, well-esteemed since those who know him give him this mark of their appreciation.”

“Good!” said Holmes. “Excellent!”

1. Modern mysteries do not always have a crime right at the beginning of the story but have one later to build tension.

2. Modern mysteries follow similar story patterns with a detective being presented with a crime or problem that must be solved.

3. Modern mystery stories draw on the same myths to set up their story problems the detectives must solve.

4. Modern mysteries have a male detective who gets a mystery to solve with the help of an all-male team.

Answer 1

The mystery story from the 1800s by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring Sherlock Holmes, has significantly influenced literature in the 20th and 21st centuries in various ways. Among the options provided, the most relevant influence is:

2. Modern mysteries follow similar story patterns with a detective being presented with a crime or problem that must be solved.

Doyle's works established a foundational structure for detective fiction, which includes the methodical approach to solving mysteries, the introduction of a central detective figure, and the presentation of clues that lead to a resolution. This narrative template has been widely adopted and adapted in modern mystery stories, reflecting the lasting impact of Doyle’s storytelling on the genre.