Proposal
Equality and fairness has always been advocated for by human rights activists and even implemented in the law. However, this remains to be theoretical as discrimination continually eats up society. Domestic animals are being used and misused for the benefit of individuals as people termed as servants face risks of death just to protect the esteem and status of the rich. Areas of concern are how domestic animals are bullied and even used to enrich the rich and how they are valued more than the very people that are put in charge of their safety. Silver blaze provides a typical example of the attitude that the society holds towards servants and animals. The central theme of this story is that of differences in social class; Silver Blaze is used as an object of pride for the rich, to the detriment of other animals and people.
Silver Blaze is a story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle that highlights the events of a lost and found horse. It is an investigation into the disappearance of the horse as well as the death of his trainer. Through the story, the author discusses various events and issues in society. Readers come to learn more about the attachment that people have towards animals, and the extent to which people can go to accomplish selfish missions. The focus of the story is not necessarily the death of the trainer but rather the disappearance of the horse. Furthermore, readers learn that, in this environment, things are respected in accordance to their value. This is the main reason why the disappearance of the horse was more important than the death of the trainer (Doyle, 43). In fact, the motive behind the investigation of who and what could have killed John Straker was to find out on the whereabouts of the horse.
A horse is usually a symbol of pride and is associated with the high class. In Silver Blaze, apart from the sheer pride that the horse brings to its owners, there is also something more that makes the story revolve around it. The horse always takes first position in races. This, therefore, puts its value high above other horses in the novel. The incident happens on the eve of a horse ride where Silver Blaze is expected to race with other horses. It is the fear that comes with knowing that Silver Blaze is likely to win. The only way that such can be stopped is by getting rid of him to give other horses the chance of winning. Readers realize that the concern of the horse and its rider is mainly because of the race where Silver Blaze will definitely bring to its owner, Colonel Ross, a great deal of pride. Apart from the prize that will be awarded to the owner of the horse, he will earn and retain the privilege of having the best horse around.
The opponents, who were responsible for the disappearance of the horse and for the death of the horse trainer, realize that they will never get to win the prize unless Silver Blaze is kept out of the race. Realizing that it is not an easy activity all together, they plot out everything very strategically to minimize on any suspicion. Mr. Silas Brown together with his family had plotted out everything keep the horse from the race. His social status and greedy nature makes him try to get rid of Silver Blaze to influence the outcome of the race for financial gains. We realize one aspect of using the lowly in the society for such missions (Doyle, 43). The victims here are the horse trainer and the guard. Mr. Brown uses two individuals, who play a great role in ensuring the safety and victory of the horse, to facilitate its disappearance.
Interestingly, the inductive reasoning of Holmes in Silver Blaze has been discussed and applied to real life scientific and political issues and, as Borer and Baron point out, “to foreign policy analysis.” They are referring, of course, to the famous conversation in the story about the curious incident of the dog in the night time which has, incidentally, inspired elements of modern culture in other ways, such as the title of Mark Haddon’s novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (Haddon).
It is hoped that the investigation department will show some justice at least to the horse trainer and the guard who were the most affected. However, the story takes a different shape when finding the body of Straker diverted their attention to finding Silver Blaze. This is more especially when they realize that the reason behind the death of the Straker is the disappearance of the horse, which is considered more important than the death of its trainer. The police follow up on his ware bouts until when they realize that there is an important horse missing. They therefore start routing the horse by following its footprints. It is in the process of finding the horse that they realize there was much more than just to the death of Straker. They come to learn that it was a plot by Mr. Brown to have the trainer disappears with the horse by drugging the guard. This would ensure that there is no evidence whatsoever to how the horse disappeared and who was responsible for his disappearance.
As the investigation through the case progress, we also realize negligence on some animals just to get rid of the horse. We learn that in the process plotting to harm Silver Blaze, a sheep and other animals are harmed. The crime scene had a knife, which had been previously used by Straker to injure the sheep just to see how the same will be applied on the horse (Redmond, 67). The selfish nature of Mr. Brown and his determination to have Silver Blaze kept out of the race makes him injure other animals and make them lame. The dog was left in amazement of what had occurred yet the criminal was a person familiar to the compound. This is a clear indication of how far an opponent of high social class can go just to have their way. Of course, Holmes eventually discovered the murder culprit. As Ted Palys points out, “it is thus with no small sense of satisfaction that Holmes fills in the last piece of the puzzle: the murderer was none other than Silver Blaze!” (Palys). It is with a lot of surprise that even after knowing the culprit behind the death of Straker and the drugging of the guard, all this appears to be forgotten once the horse is recovered and he wins the race.
The expertise of the police has been revealed yet the bottom line remains: the kind of discrimination that society has towards those who rank low. The success of the horse mainly depended on the trainer who made all efforts to ensure that the Silver Blaze was fit for the race. Even though he was directly involved for the alleged disappearance of the horse, Mr. Brown influenced him. We see no justice for Straker and the guard who were the main losers in the story. This also depicts the kind of value that people hold towards animals at the expense of animals. It is expected that humans rank higher than animals yet the kind of concern that the police and the horse owner have towards the horse cannot be compared to what they feel towards the trainer and the guard (Doyle, 43). However, when the case is looked at keenly, we realize that it is not all about the horse but the horse owner and Mr. Brown. The excitement is not on recovering the horse but rather the pride that he brings to the owner.
The story mainly reveals to us the attitude that those who are ranked high in the society have towards animals and their servants. We realize that their attachment for animals and their servants is mainly for the fame, pride and price that come with it. This means that if the horse did not have any financial value, the case would have been different. It was not about the death of the horse trainer, the guard, the limping animals, the mesmerized dog nor the disappeared horse. It was about the pride of winning the horse race and gaining the price that come from it (Doyle, 43). That is how unfair the society can be, people and animals will be valued according to how they benefit their owners. No matter how much the family of Straker was affected by his death and other harm that occurred, his mattered less than the horse owner getting the price.
Conclusion
Pride is a vice which is mostly associated with the high class of society. This is earned through money, which the rich would do anything to obtain even if it means causing harm. The story is a clear depiction of the level to which people can use people and animals just for some monetary gain. It is as if everything that the rich are involved in is to uplift their social class. What had been considered to be the biggest crime, death of Straker, happens to be trivial after the police realized that there was a more important course to be fought. To Mr. Ross, nothing mattered to him more than having his horse win the race. Once he obtained the victory and confirmed that the horse was his, he forgot about the death of his trainer as well as the drugging of the guard.
Works cited
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