...Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the narrator, Mr. Utterson, struggles to identify a strange relationship between his good friend, Dr. Jekyll, and the evil Mr. Hyde. At the end of the novella, it is revealed to the reader that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were the same person all along; Dr. Jekyll had created a solution that disfigured his appearance when he took it, which became Mr. Hyde and allowed him freedom from any moral consequences that he would have faced if he were Dr. Jekyll when he performed his evil actions. In order to understand some of Dr. Jekyll’s behavior that is portrayed in the novella, it is important to consider several of the scientific and social conventions of the nineteenth...
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...The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde MR. UTTERSON the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance, that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary, and yet somehow lovable. At friendly meetings, and when the wine was to his taste, something eminently human beaconed from his eye; something indeed which never found its way into his talk, but which spoke not only in these silent symbols of the after-dinner face, but more often and loudly in the acts of his life. He was austere with himself; drank gin when he was alone, to mortify a taste for vintages; and though he enjoyed the theatre, had not crossed the doors of one for twenty years. But he had an approved tolerance for others; sometimes wondering, almost with envy, at the high pressure of spirits involved in their misdeeds; and in any extremity inclined to help rather than to reprove. 'I incline to, Cain's heresy,' he used to say. 'I let my brother go to the devil in his quaintly: 'own way.' In this character, it was frequently his fortune to be the last reputable acquaintance and the last good influence in the lives of down-going men. And to such as these, so long as they came about his chambers, he never marked a shade of change in his demeanour. No doubt the feat was easy to Mr. Utterson; for he was undemonstrative at the best, and even his friendship seemed to be founded in a similar catholicity of good-nature. It is the mark of a modest...
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...In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Stevenson) Dr. Jekyll is the good man and Mr. Hyde is the evil man, the murderer. As with other characters in the story, the description of the characters sets the tone and mood for the reader, directing the emotions of the reader in how to feel about each character. Mr. Hyde is described as “pale and dwarfish” (1684) while Dr. Jekyll is described as “a well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a stylish cast” (1686). The descriptions of the males are described as more dominant over the females. The female characters throughout the story are weak and very passive. In the chapter Carew Murder Case the female character is identified as the made servant. That immediately places the female character in a lower, subservient role (1687). After the murder, the scene reads “at the horror of these sights and sounds, the maid fainted” (1688). In other words she obviously too sensitive to deal with the situation, unlike the men. On the flipside, the men throughout the story are a bit rough around the edges and the strong silent types. The various words used to describe Mr. Utterson, for example, set the tone such as he drank gin and his bachelor house (1677, 1681). This puts Mr. Utterson in the light of being very independent, living on his own, a drinker who can handle himself....
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...Many people say they have a dark side to them. What if that dark side came out as a physical trait or a another person inside of you. Well in the book The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde they show that there is not always and wonderful side to a new scientific discovery. The novel suggests that limitations to science and self limitation should have a boundy. Some science is not to be discovered. In the book they show the arrogant mind of Dr.Jekyll and the mysterious life and personality of Mr.Hyde. All goes well unit the mysterious and curious Mr.Hyde draws attention to himself by trampling a little girl and not showing any interest and paying no attention to the little girl whatsoever. Later on Mr.Utterson discovered that the Mr.Hyde...
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...Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde The Red Baize Door in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde * Among the many semiotically charged doors, doorways, and doorkeys in Stevenson’s novel there are three references to a ‘red baize door’ that stands between the derelict operating theatre of Dr Jekyll’s predecessor, the surgeon Dr Denman, and the ‘cabinet’ or private office in which Jekyll performs most of his transformations and where, as Mr Hyde, he makes his last stand.1 To early readers of the novel, the associations of this door and its cloth covering would have been somewhat richer than for most modern readers. Baize is a kind of felt that is best-known nowadays as the fabric on billiard tables, but beginning in the eighteenth century it was also used as a covering for certain doors, specifically the traditional ‘green baize door’ that separated the domain of servants from the public areas of any house grand enough to support the distinction.2 This baize door (usually green but found in other colours as well) was synecdochic for all upstairs/downstairs class dichotomies, but the cloth covering also had a practical effect in that it muffled impolite noises, such as banging pots in the kitchen, and supposedly controlled unwelcome aromas of cleaning and cooking as well. Stevenson no doubt emphasized the baize covering on the door to Jekyll’s cabinet as a way of evoking the powerful social/psychological metaphor of the green baize door, which separates polite and public from...
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...How has your study of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and an appropriation of your own choosing enhanced your understanding of how and why cultural values are maintained and changed? “The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson, follows the duplicitous notion of a single body containing both the erudite Dr. Jekyll and the depraved Mr. Hyde. Stevenson’s novella imagines an inextricable link between civilization and savagery, and the palpable influence of cultural value and standard. Set within the height of the Victorian era circa 1886, this duality of human nature is examined by a specific Eurocentric interpretation, narrated by the mild-mannered lawyer Mr Utterson. Steven Moore’s filmic appropriation of the original novella is the BBC television series “Jekyll”, which encapsulates the similar split personality of Dr Tom Jackman and his alter ego ‘Mr Hyde’, within today’s current context. Through analysis of both the novella and the first episode of the film adaptation, a clear similarity between both protagonist’s circumstances is observed. However, the effects societal interpretation has on this controversy is varied in such a way, which distorts the very nature of duplicity, and thus the definition of the classic trope of Jekyll and Hyde. Social respectability and the desire to pursue pleasure both offer the fantasy solution of having a second self to carry the burden of one’s vices. Dr Jekyll explores the circumstance of an educated, Victorian...
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...Representation of Victorian Values in Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a well-renown novel written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1808. Stevenson was always fascinated with the idea of a split personality, so he includes this concept into the heart of his story. But despite the novel focusing on the de facto detective case of Mr. Hyde’s whereabouts and his connection with his polar opposite, Mr. Jekyll, the context presented in the plot and characters of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde criticizes the morality and respectability of Victorian values in the late nineteenth century. The book approaches this through its recurring themes of the upholding of one’s reputation, regression of thoughts and ideas beyond logic, and conflicting nature of duality. In the novel, both the main and supporting characters prioritize more in defending the reputation of themselves and their peers than taking the right course of action. This act confines with the principles of Victorian respectability in which preserving order, etiquette, and appearance was vital. An appropriate example of this sort of mentality is with Dr. Jekyll, one of the prominent characters of the book. The doctor holds a prestigious reputation and is well-respected by his friends and colleagues. When Jekyll throws a dinner party at random, background characters who live in the dark, fictitious setting of London attend in large numbers. However, when his reputation is put on...
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...Louis Stevenson’s book, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, duality is the main theme. Stevenson explores the concept of duality with the setting, events that take place throughout the story and this character’s dialogue. William Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, also demonstrates the inherent duality of the world. The dualities in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde consist of the duality of human nature and the duality of society; Romeo and Juliet ties in with some of these dualities. Dr. Jekyll, a character in Stevenson’s novel, is used a common example of the duality in human nature. Dr. Jekyll was thought to be an entirely good person, by the Victorian...
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...Title: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Author: Robert Louis Stevenson Type: Short Story The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a classic tale written by Robert Louis Stevenson. This book is structured as a mystery/thriller, told from the perspective of a lawyer named Utterson. Utterson’s steady, rational approach to life lends credibility to the strange and ultimately horrifying events he reports. Utterson is a lifelong friend of the famed surgeon Dr. Henry Jekyll, who has some deep, inexplicable association with a mysterious sociopath who goes by the name of Hyde. Utterson is bothered by a will written by his friend that completely benefits the strange fellow named Mr. Hyde. Utterson believes Hyde is blackmailing Jekyll and tries to persuade Jekyll to confide in him, so that he might help free his friend from this baleful influence. But Jekyll refuses to reveal anything of his relationship with Hyde. Utterson relates the progression of Hyde’s criminality, and the effect this has on Jekyll. One mystery piles on another as Jekyll breaks his association first with another physician friend, and then isolates himself entirely from the outside world. In a climactic scene at the end, Utterson breaches the walls surrounding Jekyll, and learns the truth. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a mystery that brings into question the basic duality of the human personality. The character which I found the most fascinating was Dr Henry Jekyll’s alter ego Mr Edward Hyde...
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...Jacob Bowman Mr. Romick British Literature March 11, 2016 Guilty Until Purged God and evil, they both lie within us all. The duality of man is a major topic that has been discussed for centuries. Throughout the story of “The Strange Case Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, Stevenson presents his idea of the duality of man- where we all have a demonic side within us. Evil is held within waiting to surface, but we ignore our impulses, we act as if it does not exist. Stevenson presents this idea by using two characters, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, who are essentially the same person. One of these characters, Dr. Jekyll, symbolizes the good side of man, and the other, Mr. Hyde, signifies the purest of evil. Conscience, the inner sense of what is right or wrong in one's motives, it’s what refrains us from fulfilling all of our impulses.Without a conscience, all hell would break loose and everyone would abandon the moral laws of life. The theme of good and evil is a topic that is talked about in length in books, movies, stories, and in real life. Good vs. evil is referred to in “The Bible" many times. “As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” (Romans 7:17-19). This quote from “The Bible” relates to the idea of the duality of man laced within “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”. This quote talks about how the evil...
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...in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Mary Reilly Everyone has a different way of trying to help someone they care about. It all depends on whether the person in trouble is a friend, a relative, a love interest, or even a stranger. In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Mr. Utterson was a close acquaintance of Dr. Jekyll, while in Mary Reilly, Mary was Dr. Jekyll's servant. While the two of them, Mr. Utterson and Mary, had two different relationships to Dr. Jekyll, they both had a common concern for Dr. Jekyll's strange behavior and overall well being. However, Mr. Utterson's concern involved judgment, while Mary was compassionate. While both protagonists are looking out for Dr. Jekyll's best interests, his friend Mr. Utterson is more objective and makes more honest judgments while Mary cares for him passionately and cannot acknowledge the true harm that he has done. Who cared for Dr. Jekyll more? Was it Mr. Utterson, who used his smarts and his skepticism to figure out what was going on with Dr. Jekyll? Or was it Mary, who was loyal almost to a fault for Dr. Jekyll, her master, and the man she loved? They both wanted Dr. Jekyll to be healthy and safe. Both wanted what was best for him. However, was one looking out for his best interest more than the other? In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Mr. Utterson seemed puzzled that Dr. Jekyll would ever associate himself with someone as toxic as Mr. Hyde. In the beginning of the novel, Mr. Utterson...
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...Jake Klonsky 5/20/15 English Paragraphs Addiction: In the novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson explains a terrifying story depicting the power of addiction. Stevenson uses Jekyll and his addiction to becoming Hyde as an exploration of physiological and physical addiction. There are many ways the novella shows addiction, one of the clearest being the conversation between Jekyll and Utterson regarding Utterson’s worry for Jekyll health. Jekyll explains to Utterson, “just to put your good heart at rest, I will tell you one thing: the moment I choose, I can be rid of Mr. Hyde’”(58). This is Jekyll paraphrasing the cliched phrase where addicts claim they can stop any time they want. Every time he attempts...
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...One Body, Two Minds. The novel Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson is a gothic mystery story based around addiction. By the title one would assume Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are two people, strangely this is not the case. Dr. Jekyll was a well-known doctor in London, England; Mr. Hyde was his evil alter ego. An anonymous narrator in a third person point of view tells the tale. Jekyll while in his laboratory creates a potion that is able to change him inside and out. This potion destroys his physical appearance and erases all sense of mental stability. As Jekyll, the man was a smart successful and popular doctor, as Hyde he was a murderer, criminal, and intolerable ugly man. Jekyll drinks the potion and is miraculously changed, but over time the transformations become uncontrollable. Stevenson shows the man’s life becoming more degrading as the addiction becomes more prominent and depended. This is a very problematic topic in the story. Robert Lewis Stevenson demonstrated in his novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that any form of addiction can have catastrophic results such as becoming addicted to power, running away from reality, and temptation. The novel Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a story that deals with a prominent and well-respected person that acts in two completely different ways. The main character, Dr. Jekyll, from the story was a gifted doctor and a brilliant scientist. Whereas the alter ego, Mr. Hyde was a dark person who was compared...
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...CHARACTER EVALUATION STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL and MR. HYDE (Robert Lewis Stevenson, 1886) BERTHA THOMAS PSY/230 FEBRUARY 12, 2012 PURVI PATEL CHARACTER EVALUATION: STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL and MR. HYDE, (Robert Lewis Stevenson, (1886)) “I learned to recognize the thorough and primitive duality of man . . . if I could rightly be said to be either, it was only because I was radically both” (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Lewis Stevenson (1886). Dr. Jekyll’s self-description of his personality, toward the beginning of his impending and irrevocable metamorphosis, fit comfortably into the category of what is known as psychoticism. Hans Eysenck (1952) proposed that a susceptibility to psychosis represented an important dimension of Personality and might, in fact, be present, in mild form, in the general population. Consequently, Dr. Jekyll seems to be the subject of this mental disorder, coupled with scientific product. Although it is safe to say that most of us would score somewhere at the low or high end of the Big Five characteristic traits, there is usually a plateau upon which we can be scored. Contrarily, Dr. Jekyll fluctuated between these two extremes, enjoying each in its totality, until the pressure of the duality became too much to bear. I believe the concept of humanity’s sense of good and evil (our duality) can be represented by the low and high ends of the Big Five characteristic traits that dwell within...
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...Robert Louis Stevenson’s 1886 novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde delves deep into the topic of duality. It follows a London lawyer by the name of Gabriel John Utterson who investigates the odd circumstances surrounding his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and Jekyll’s evil counterpart, Mr. Edward Hyde. Like many other gothic novels from its time, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde shows a prevalent theme of duality, in that it centers on the polarity between good and evil. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde deals with a Dr. Henry Jekyll who is widely respected, successful, and possesses a brilliant intellect but is only too aware of the duplicity of the life that he leads, and of the evil that resides within him. Dr. Jekyll covertly...
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