The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Essay Example

Is It Better To Spend One’s Life Perfecting A Single Talent Or To Branch Out?

Over the years, people have been dependent on their talents and careers for provision. The exploitation of individual talents is one of the best ways for a person to earn an income. There are those who do not have talents while other have several of them at their disposal. In the professional world, there is a never-ending debate on whether it is right to specialize on one talent or branch out into exploiting more than one aptitude. Those who support specialization argue that once one has perfected a talent, it is easier to gain more from it than wasting time trying to branch out. On the other hand, it is believed that branching out is good for risk management because a person will always have a contingency plan (Talent) in the event they fail in one field. With a focus on the story of The Man with The Twisted Lip, the contents of this paper draw inspiration to support the belief that branching out is better than perfecting a single skill. Aside from insight borrowed from the story, economic and business theories support diversity as a recipe for success.

As a start, branching out is important when there is need to generate extra income. People with one talent must put all their efforts into developing it and risk failure if their endowment does not produce financial satisfaction. Most people explore the depth of their talents for financial gain. In Sherlock’s encounter with Mr. Boone in the story The Man with The Twisted Lip, it is evident that the reporter was using his acting talent as a means of generating extra coins (Doyle and Macaluso 2). The reporter, one Mr. Neville St. Clair, had disguised himself as a beggar because he realized that it could earn him more than his salary as a reporter. Having several sources of income provide financial security in hard times when alternative sources fail to produce as expected. This supports the thesis of the paper that developing more than one talent is better than having only one.

There is satisfaction drawn from perfecting one’s talents. Talents are gifts, abilities that are unique to each person. These abilities influence a person’s character and behavior. A talent is like an extension of a person. Through practicing one’s talent, most find satisfaction and continue to build on their persona.  One can have more than one talent and to discover each of them, diversification and practice of the other talents are needed. Mr. Boone was good at what he did, and the people who knew him described him as different from the other beggars, in character and appearance. He liked doing this job because it provided more for his family than his actual job.

If a person is athletic and at one point ends up breaking his legs, there is a high possibility that the person will die poor. As said earlier in the text, diversification of a person’s talents helps in providing options, as well as finding one’s strength. From the story, it is evident that until Mr. Neville ventured into acting like a beggar; he did not know the limits of his acting talent. He would have been stuck as a beggar. Everyone knew him for his witty comments (Doyle). Diversification and trying out new hobbies and interests is the best way for one to point out their weaknesses and strengths. If the main character in the story had stuck to his office job, he would never have known the bound of his acting. For instance, “No, sir, but the facts might be met speciously enough. Suppose this man Boone had thrust Neville St. Clair out of the window; there is no human eye that could have seen the deed” (Doyle 6). He managed to stage a scene faking his death in a few moments notice.

In conclusion, everyone is always discouraged to put all their eggs in one basket. This is to ensure security. Talents are like assets to those who possess them. If used properly, most, if not all talents, have the fitness to support a person financially. Developing more than one aptitude means being relevant always. Is as much as the focus will be given to one talent, there is always need to be diverse and develop other talents to increase the chances of survival. An evaluation of the case study shows that Mr. Neville would not have been able to provide for his family he had not turned to begging. The amount he made from the act was more than he could ever have made he worked as a reporter only. In as much as the story of the beggar ends with him giving up one of his identities, he was safe because he still had a job as a reporter. Essentially, he had options when he decided to be diverse. His outcome would have been worse had he let go of reporting to pursue begging.

Works Cited

Doyle, Arthur Conan, and P. James Macaluso. The man with the twisted lip. Vol 6. Andrews UK Limited, 2016.

Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: A Case of Identity. Andrews UK Limited, 2014.