The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde - 1035 Words

Hyde-ing In Plain Sight: The Duality of Dr. Jekyll Robert Louis Stevenson s initial notoriety came as an avatar of expansive adventure fiction, most famously through 1883 s Treasure Island. Just three years later, however, he would cement his status as one of the 19th century s most popular and versatile writers by releasing the horror suspense novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It s a testament to Stevenson s concept of the duality of man-- the pious intellectual and the wanton savage can coexist in the same body--that the book and its characters are still almost universally recognized in the 21st century. As a result, in Stevenson s Jekyll and Mr. Hyde we get an exemplar of 19th century horror-suspense literature, that not only proved popular and influential in its day, but continues to stand spine-to-spine with Bram Stoker s Dracula, and Mary Shelley s Frankenstein as enduring genre classics. By centering his tale in the seething cultural hotpot of Soho in the 1800 s Stevenson was able to seize on the popular fears of well-to-do English readers all too aware of the dichotomy of violence and squalor in the district. In fact, the novel stands as a playful repudiation of polite Victorian society by acknowledging the stench and grime just below the facade. With its complex labyrinth of dark alleyways and teeming, muddy streets, Soho presents the perfect milieu of urban terror for Stevenson s novel. As if to quell any doubts, only two years afterShow MoreRelatedThe Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde1675 Words   |  7 PagesThe Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Essay Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, â€Å"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,† is a type of Gothic literature. In the beginning of the story when Stevenson is describing the lawyer, one â€Å"Mr. Utterson,† the mood is a bit dull. At first glance the reader may think that this story would be a bit boring and drab. Stevenson’s story is far from being another dull piece of British English literature. The setting and mood of this novella are more complexRead MoreThe Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde1440 Words   |  6 Pagescomplexity of human nature in his books, especially in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Kidnapped. The former is about a lawyer named Mr. Utterson seeking out the truth of Dr. Jekyll’s very strange will. He finds out that Jekyll was transforming himself into Mr. Hyde so that he could have the freedom to do whatever he wanted no matter how evil. By the time Utterson finds all this out and findsJekyll, he is too late and Jekyll has already killed himself. The latter is about David BalfourRead MoreThe Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde1196 Words   |  5 Pageswhich do let control you? The good or evil? This was a question that Dr. Jekyll from the book, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, could not answer. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a book about a man who cannot control the two sides of himself, causing him to do terrible things and not even be aware of it. The theme of this book is good versus evil. Dr. Jekyll is fighting his evil side, known as Mr. Hyde, throughout the book. Some people believe that the book’s theme hasRead MoreThe Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde Essay975 Words   |  4 PagesStevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novella that follows the basic outline established by Mary Shelley in Frankenstein. However, Stevenson’s monster is not created from body parts but comes from the dark side of the human personality. In both novels, a man conducts a secret experiment that gets out of control. The result of these experiments is the release of a double, or doppelganger, which causes damage to their creator. While most people think that The Strange Case of Dr. JekyllRead MoreThe Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde938 Words   |  4 PagesVictorian Hopes and Fears Involving Science as Found in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde During the Victorian Era there was a great race to use science to alleviate the suffering of the ill, specifically for those patients who were suffering from ailments of the mind. While some of the methods used to diagnose and treat such afflictions would be considered barbaric in nature by today’s standards, they were considered cutting edge medical science during the time of the Victorian Era. It was also consideredRead MoreThe Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde1505 Words   |  7 PagesDuring the latter portion of the nineteenth century, Robert Louis Stevenson published his novella, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The fin de sià ¨cle saw the rise of different thoughts and ideas surrounding science and society. These concepts and interpretations sparked the discourse surrounding the theory of degeneration; which was the concern that civilization would fall to a lower state of being. This chapter will be reading multiplex personality as a manifestation of th is broader culturalRead MoreThe Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde964 Words   |  4 PagesThe Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson was published in 1886. The story is published during the Victorian era, the Victorian era was an age of repression, there was no violence, no sexual appetite, and there was no great expression or emotion. In the story, Dr. Jekyll creates a potion that turns him into Mr. Hyde, Mr. Hyde is the complete opposite of what people are in the Victorian era. At first, Dr. Jekyll is in control of Mr. Hyde, but towards the end MrRead MoreThe Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde1739 Words   |  7 Pagesnovel â€Å"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde† by Robert Louis Stevenson, the novel â€Å"Frankenstein† by Mary Shelley, the short story â€Å"The Monkey’s Paw† by W.W Jacobs and the short story â€Å"Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. These four texts convey this theme through the use of gothic conventions such as death, madness and darkness. In the novels The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll are wronglyRead MoreThe Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde1290 Words   |  6 PagesThe novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde took place throughout the time period of prosperity, when Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837, due to the expansion of the British Empire and the industrial revolution. Because of this, Great Britain had become primarily the world s most powerful superpower. In spite of Queen Victoria becoming a powerful leader, the social morality changed from rationalism to romanticism, which in turn transformed the society of art, literature, politicsRead MoreThe Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde1012 Words   |  5 PagesRobert Louis Stevenson’s â€Å"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde† is a classic Victorian tale of good and evil. The novel tells the story of Dr. Henry Jekyll, a respected scientist who so desperately needs to separate his morality from his self-indulgence. Aware of the evil side of his own being, he seeks to be free of it through scientific experiments resulting into the â€Å"bestial† Mr. Hyde. It’s a simple tale about the good and evil that exist in all of us. Through his brilliance, Stevenson