Sherlock and Ichabod Crane: the Unlikely Protagonist

Sherlock may be brilliant and attractive, but his admirable traits wane from there. He's rude and completely disregarding of other people's feelings. His empathy skills fall far below the norm. Although the audience may chuckle at his undermining comments, many of the characters in BBC Sherlock despise him. I mean, just imagine being told this constantly:

It's so bad to the point that even Sherlock himself, the pretentious jerk, admits his lack of social skills:

Such qualities make Sherlock an anti-hero, much like Washington Irving's Ichabod Crane. Both Sherlock and Ichabod are blinded by what they want. In Ichabod's case, it's his desire to be wealthy. He has no regard for Katrina, but rather the delectable life he longs to live.

In Sherlock, Sherlock himself points out that, "There was one feature, and only one feature, of interest in the whole of this baffling case, and quite frankly it was the usual. John Watson – who, while I was trying to solve the murder, instead saved a life." Indeed, Sherlock desires the thrill of solving crimes, not helping others out. To him, murders are a logic game, and nothing more. Therefore in that sense, both are extremely selfish.

Like Ichabod Crane, Sherlock also has little regard for morals. After Sherlock's staged fall, for two years, Mrs. Hudson, John Watson, and Greg Lestrade are left in the dark about Sherlock's survival. A single phone call or just a small sign could have sufficed, but instead, he let them grieve because he doesn't know any better. Likewise, outside of the classroom, Ichabod also seems to care very little about morals: he gluttonously consumes food of others and his only desire is to be wealthy. He only truly believes he is in love with Katrina when he finds out of her wealth, a sign that his intentions are wrong.

Finally, Sherlock is insensitive. He often says things that are incredibly harsh; most of the time, he is pretentious and condescending. Clearly, he could care less about the feelings of other people. As he so eloquently put it:

 Similarly, Ichabod is just as callous. All the time he spends wooing Katrina is simply for her affluence, showing he has little care for how she feels. He does not have any concern of her happiness, just to be good enough to secure his inheritance.

All in all, neither Sherlock nor Ichabod are conventional heroes: admirable and respectable. Of course, they have their positive attributes-- Sherlock, for his intelligence, and Ichabod, for his strict morals in his classroom and his honorable pursuit as a teacher. However, they are anti-heroes because their actions are not always righteous. They are not role models.

In essence, they are human, never really knowing what to do. Never really flawless, not always likable.

And now, I'm off to save the world. And by that, I mean to watch more of BBC Sherlock.

-Yue