#RED HERRING FALLACY MEANING SERIES#

It connects into a series of events in which one man disappears only to be discerned drowned in the ocean rather than slinking around as the killer.Įxample #3 Hound of Baskervilles by Arthur Conan DoyleĪnother example of a red herring that appears in a mystery story is in ‘Hound of Baskervilles by Sir. In this poem, there is a line that suggests that one person will be sealed up at sea by a “red herring”. One of the main features of the story is a poem called ‘Ten Little Indians’. The circumstances are strange and mysterious as each death leaves the survivors with more questions than answers. The story revolves around ten people who die one by one on a remote island. It creates added tension and drama as it results in Holmes being left alone with Moriarty.Įxample #2 And Then There Were None by Agatha ChristieĪnd Then There Were None is one of Christie’s best-known novels and has a wonderful example of a red herring within its pages. In this example, the reader and the characters in the novel are taken in by the note and convinced that the hotel is the best place for them to go. It was done intentionally in order to lead the characters down the wrong path. Rather, when they return to the hotel it turns out that the note was written by James Moriarty, Holmes’ nemesis. This note informs them that there is a woman in their hotel whose in need of medical assistance. One of the most popular stories in the Sherlock Holmes series, ‘The Final Problem features Holmes and Watson falling victim to a red herring in the form of a note. There is no actual species of fish known as a “red herring” but the phrase is used to refer to a hazily smoked kipper that has a strong smell and flesh that turns red.Įxamples of Red Herrings Example #1 The Final Problem by Arthur Conan Doyle The phrase appeared in an article he wrote for the Political Register. The term was made popular in February of 1807 after William Cobbett told a story that depicted dogs distracted by the smelly fish. But, more recently it has been determined that the practice was actually in relation to training horses by dragging a dead a cat or fox. They would follow the scent and learn through practice what they then put into use during an actual hunt. Originally it was thought that the phrase came from the very real practice of using a red herring, a kind of dried red fish, in order to train hunting dogs.

The origins of the phrase “red herring” are slightly complex. A reader who engages too fulsomely with the distraction might be led to false conclusions about what a passage means or what is coming next in the story. The “red herring” in a story is an intentional distraction. When writers use red herrings a reader’s attention moves from the main characters/central drama to something peripheral and in the end meaningless. This technique is used most prevalently in literature where writers employ it as a dramatic device to increase the suspense and complexity of a work. This is done in order to purposely divert the reader’s attention from the main subject or real issue of a passage, poem, or book.

Red herring fallacy meaning