The performances of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot: a semiotic approach

• Grant number: 14/22279-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2015
• End date: June 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Linguistics, Literature and Arts - Linguistics - Linguistic Theory and Analysis
• Principal Investigator: Fernanda Massi
• Grantee: Gisele Zorzeto Viani
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Letras (FCL). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Using the canonical narrative schema, a proposal of Discursive-Semiotic, we will analyze the first and the last detective novels, in which the detective's Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, created by Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie, respectively, are the protagonists of research in search of identity criminal. Thinking about the four stages of the narrative program (manipulation, competence, performance, and sanction), our focus, at the analysis of the chosen books, will be the investigation of how the competence of the detective influences his performance. In addition, we will seek to assess whether the way of acting of both characters changes during their career or if they keep the same skills and performances. We also will compare the performances of the two detectives to show how their investigation methods differ on from another, assuming that both realize performance success.