# Mr. Oakes — Short Fiction character guide

> Mr. Oakes in Short Fiction by P. G. Wodehouse.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** young Mr. Oakes, Oakes, IV Young Mr. Oakes, young Oakes

**First appearance:** 0000-when-papa-swore-in-hindustani

## Snapshot

A conceited young detective whose confident solution to a boarding-house death is dismantled by a schoolmistress who has quietly worked out the real answer.

## Who they are

Oakes is Mr. Snyder's headstrong assistant, posing as James Burton to investigate Captain Gunner's death, and he arrives at a solution he considers logical and convincing. Mrs. Pickett calls him a conceited, headstrong young fool and refuses to accept his reasoning, particularly his snake-in-the-room theory, which she dismisses as impossible on the plain facts. He matters because his overconfidence sets up the story's central contest of wits, with a quiet boarder proving sharper than the professional.

## Relationships

### [Mr. Paul Snyder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters/mr_paul_snyder)

_professional_

Mr. Oakes and Mr. Paul Snyder are colleagues or business associates, interacting regularly in a professional setting.

### [Mr. Paul Snyder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters/mr_paul_snyder)

_professional_

Mr. Oakes and Mr. Paul Snyder are colleagues or business associates, interacting regularly in a professional setting.

### [Mr. Paul Snyder](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters/mr_paul_snyder)

_professional_

Mr. Oakes and Mr. Paul Snyder are colleagues or business associates, interacting regularly in a professional setting.

## In the story

### [Death at the Excelsior](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/death-at-the-excelsior)

Involved in the events at the Excelsior Hotel.

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/ii)

Young, tense detective assigned to investigate the mysterious death at the boardinghouse.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/iii)

Submits a frustrated report on his investigation into Captain Gunner's death.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/iv)

The detective investigating the case at the Excelsior Boardinghouse, struggling with self-doubt and baffled by the locked-room mystery.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/v)

Returns triumphantly to the Agency, having solved the Gunner mystery through logical deduction.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/vi)

Referred to as a conceited, headstrong young fool by Mrs. Pickett; his solution to the mystery is rejected.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/chapters/vii)

Young guest at the dinner; surprised by Mrs. Pickett's transformation and receives a mechanical souvenir.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters/mr_oakes
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_42_se/characters