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How does Holmes's outlook on life at the beginning of "The Red-Headed League" compare or contrast with his outlook at the end of the story?

At the beginning of "The Red-Headed League," Holmes displays a positive and enthusiastic outlook on life. He speaks "cordially" to Watson, for example, and he refers to the narrative of his visitor, Jabez Wilson, as "one of the most singular" that he has heard for some time. In short, the "unique" facts of Wilson's story revitalize and rejuvenate Holmes.


By the end of the story, however, Holmes's outlook on life has changed significantly. His enthusiasm...

At the beginning of "The Red-Headed League," Holmes displays a positive and enthusiastic outlook on life. He speaks "cordially" to Watson, for example, and he refers to the narrative of his visitor, Jabez Wilson, as "one of the most singular" that he has heard for some time. In short, the "unique" facts of Wilson's story revitalize and rejuvenate Holmes.


By the end of the story, however, Holmes's outlook on life has changed significantly. His enthusiasm is replaced by "ennui" (boredom/ lethargy), and his thoughts return to the "commonplaces of existence." For Holmes, life is meaningless if he does not have an interesting and unique case to work on, and this is shown by the quote Holmes tells Watson: "L'homme c'est rien—l'oeuvre c'est tout." This roughly translates to "man is nothing and work is everything." This typifies Holmes's attitude at the end of the story: he feels like a man without purpose. 

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