Title: “Are you Snoopy’s Father?”

•   Something Big: Bird’s-eye View

Last summer my son was able to drone my mom’s 260-acre property on Kauai. The first time I saw his drone shots of my mere five acres, I was blown away. As humans, we intellectually realize that we do not see the world as birds do, but I doubt we ever realized what they actually did see. Flying in an airplane is not the same thing; only a drone shot can show us what we’ve all been missing. My mother turned 90 years old this year, and I can honestly say that giving her a drone video of the 260 acres that she has created over a span of 30 years, is nothing short of a miracle.

•   Something Broken: Divorce

You never think it’ll happen to your family. Actually, I didn’t even realize it happened to hardly anyone. It was the ‘70s though: the decade of a very high divorce rate. All things considered, it went well. My parents both remarried, I was almost an adult anyway, and the good times continued; just in a different way. But, let it be said that the effects of divorce never end, moving from generation to generation. It’s not bad; it’s just annoying.

                                                   Image credit: https://flic.kr/p/9mREbe

•   Something Artistic or Man-made: My Peanuts siblings

My dad hated the question, “Are you Snoopy’s father?” He knew what they meant, but he always said, “No.” His poor fans looked perplexed. In essence, he was Snoopy’s father, but he was also mine. The Peanuts comic strip was “born” in 1950, and my siblings and I were all born between 1950 and 1958. Because I was the age of the characters, I have to say that they did feel like siblings to me. I always felt kind of dumb thinking of fictional characters as real human beings, but I did. They were very real to me, and I liked having them around. It’s been over fifty years since I grew up with my dad’s other “kids,” and my feelings are still the same: I like having them around. They bring me security.

•   Something Mysterious: Miracle of Birth

It feels too cliche to discuss the “miracle of birth,” but I must. You have to be there to fully comprehend and absorb the miracle of it. Many mothers say that there is nothing like the miracle of their first-born, but I beg to differ. I began to realize, as I made my way through all nine births of our children, that the more I had, the more miraculous it seemed. It was a mystery as to how these little souls could’ve been growing inside me for nine months and then one day just come into this world as a complete being, ready to start their own life.

The First Mystery

The Moonstone offers a fascinating view of the social constructions of the late 19^th century that creates a unique dynamic. Many of the actions made by characters in the book are formal and when there is an outburst, they immediately apologize for “breaking the norm.” I found it interesting that it reflected an almost feudal system where the rich family was waited on by several servants, however, it was much more progressive as the relationship between the characters was not only financially motivated but often out of love or loyalty. Despite potential motivations for their work, the servants were much like an extended family to the nobles they served. This book reflected the strong distinction of social class between these nobles, government officials, and the common servants and lower class, evident during this time period.

This novel seems like one of the original thief stories. I noticed connections between both mystery and crime forms of media.  These connections to mystery include a highly observant detective seeking the truth who is hedged up from every side. Such films, books and tv shows as the timeless Sherlock Holmes come to mind in this department. The intricacies of the plot to steal the diamond remind me of Ocean’s 8, which is a film about an inside job performed to steal a multimillion-dollar diamond. In the real world, we rarely hear about intricate thieving plots.

The Moonstone was a large diamond worth an outrageous amount

While participating in a discussion online at Goodreads.com, I found an interesting viewpoint on what this book brings many firsts to the table by Bill Kerwin. He points out that this book was the first to detective novel with a large guest list of suspects, the first to have a small, suggestive clue have significant impacts, the first crime reenactment at the scene of the crime, and the first pursuit of a disguised criminal through a major city.

I believe that this book opened up a new form of entertainment. While many novels already existed, this genre engages a new market of mystery lovers. This niche of entertainment has become a large part of the entertainment industry with thousands of films, books, and stories utilizing precedence’s set by The Moonstone.

A quote that struck a chord with me was when a character of the book was announced to have killed herself, Gabriel, the narrator at the time, made the quote: 

“Your tears come easy, when you're young, and beginning the world. Your tears come easy, when you're old, and leaving it. I burst out crying.” - Wilkie Collins, The Moonstone

Image: 17914, by PublicDomainPictures/Images, Licensed by Pixaby from CC 2.0 

Figuring Out The Moonstone

               The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins is categorized under the detective mystery genre. I am about to begin reading it to better understand the emergence of novels that came from the Enlightenment era. I am under the impression that it is an epistemological book, which means that is it is largely made up of letters from different people, combined to make up a storyline that can be followed.

The clock, the paper, and the writing tools each relate to the
emerging mystery and epistemology genre

I believe this will relate strongly to the Republic of Letters as the mystery is publicized about the stealing of the diamond and rumors begin to flow. I would not be surprised if this book changes a frame of reference. Stories in the enlightenment age were rarely told from a conglomeration of letters. This provides a different form of literature that casts a new light on the way stories can be told. It also relates to this era as the order the letters are written, sent, and received could greatly affect the content of the plot. This relates strongly to the clockwork universe that begins to surface. Timing can make all the difference in the content of the novel. Will it be a chronological list of letters or will it be letters written by observers long after the events have taken place?

This epistemological genre of The Moonstone intrigues me as it relates to a part of my life. I lived for two years in Quebec and Ontario as a volunteer missionary for my church. To remain focused on my work, I would only write an email or letter home to my family once a week to let them know how I was doing and what events had transpired. Many times, we would be helping people to overcome addictions or trials in their lives and I would have the chance to tell my family all about their progress. However, a lot can happen in a week and so the story of my experiences was always progressing as each week would pass. 

This book seems to contain several enlightenment themes. I have learned that this is one of the first mystery books written and I will likely set a precedent for the genre. 

Image credit: Still Life by Mozlase__, licensed under CC 2.0 by Pixaby

The Darwinian universe and the supernatural

Of all the great detectives, surely none is better known that Sherlock Holmes. There is something magnetic that pulls us toward his logical way of thinking, his ability to make sense out of the senseless. The Hound of Baskervilles is the third novel written by Sir Conan Doyle about Sherlock but is significant and different from his other books for several reasons. Although Doyle had already killed Sherlock Holmes (spoilers for a book that is over a century old?) in his previous novel and had taken an 8 year break to focus on other writings, Doyle decided to return to the narrative. Although he had originally intended to use other characters, he found that Sherlock fit too well, resulting in a structured and sustained narrative that most detective novels rarely achieve. 

The Hound of Baskervilles is a blend of the detective, Gothic, and even thriller novel. As we are taken outside of London into the Devonshire moor, far away from civilized society we feel a loss of order. The sweeping and gloomy landscapes present in Gothic novels adds to the tension as we can see primal nature exerting its influence over our small and insignificant lives. There is a clear contrast between the present danger of the hound and the timeless universe and sense of finality as all living things eventually die, creating a sense of a Darwinian universe. It also makes his characters more vulnerable and alone, in a way that could never be achieved while in a city like London.

Yet it is ultimately a careful and reasoned approach that is able to overcome the supernatural. We are shown through Watson that although it may be easy to dismiss the very idea of supernatural powers in the safe "modernized" world, when confronted with primordial nature far away from the warmth and safety of our own homes, it is easy to start wondering. This is something that still resonates with me today. All to often when we are frightened, alone, and in the dark, we forget science and reason and let our imaginations run wild. In our society we are insulated from most of the dangers of the natural world and it is easy to be detached. Yet there is still a primal part of our nature that is awakened when we are out and something goes bump in the night.

In the end, it is Sherlock's modern, empirical, and scientific mind are able to show us that our fears. When confronted with these tools, we are shown that our fears were nothing more than illusion. Order and security are returned as we are taken away from the moor, to London and civilization, and back to comfy chairs next to fireplaces to the backdrop of a busy city.

The Hound of Baskervilles by Sidney Paget is a public domain image.