Firstly Stevenson presents Mr Hyde as a Frightening outsider through the portrayal of an impulsive unevolved person. This creates a sense of a frightening outsider as Hyde’s attitude was unfit for his society. Hyde is often described through animalistic imagery to emphasise how he is unfit in the society and how unevolved he is and to create the image of a troglodyte a word by which he is described in in the Carew murder case. As the theory of evolution became popular in the Victorian times Stevenson gives Hyde the attribute of a troglodyte which would frighten the society as Hyde was someone in an earlier step of evolution. It also creates fright as people in Victorian times were religious and the theory of evolution was something blasphemic which would frighten the society as it dared to …show more content…
As Stevenson was fascinated by Darwin theory of evolution he decided to portray it in his work. Due to the fact that in Victorian times the idea of rationalism was popular and that people weren’t supposed to show their strong emotions their darker sides were repressed and The locked doors and curtained windows of Jekyll’s house form the imagery of a man locking away the truth that lurks inside; Jekyll turning into Hyde is a metaphor of what happens when the unconscious mind is revealed; the murder of Carew symbolizes the repressed mind striking out at the conscious mind. The whole narrative is about unpeeling the layers that hide the repressed desires inside Jekyll Stevenson also uses several narrative points of view to intensify the feeling of a frightening outsider. As Hyde is often narrated in a mysterious way through different characters perspectives which slowly reveals horror a feature used in gothics. Even though he is narrated through different points of view the descriptions seem to coincide which creep people out as it is unnatural for people to view someone in the same exact
Jekyll and Hyde Good vs evil Stevenson presents the idea of duality through the differences between Dr Jekyll and mr Hyde. Throughout the novella, there is a repeated antithesis as the good of Jekyll is compared to the “detestabillity” of Hyde. Jekyll has a highly respectable front and is known for a having a good reputation, however Hyde is infamous he known for being evil and is strongly disliked by all he meets. Hyde is described as “like Satan” and “devilish” empathising his pure evil and his dangerous and deplourable nature. Whereas Jekyll is often described as a respected man and is “well built”.
The use of imagery helps the reader imagine certain things such as characters or settings, helping the reader understand the text better. From the first full paragraph on page 51 to the second full paragraph on page 53, imagery is used to help show the strangeness and the evilness that just pours out of Hyde. Stevenson describes what Hyde looks like and how Lanyon reacts to him. For example, it's stated that the appearance of Hyde would’ve been laughable had it been on someone else, but as Lanyon wrote, “Rather, as there was something abnormal and misbegotten in the very essence of the creature that now faced me - something seizing, surprising and revolting - ... ” What should’ve been funny and light-hearted is described as revolting due to
Significance of Reputation in Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde illustrates the significance of concealing your secrets and desires in order to maintain a flawless reputation. He creates distinctive characters with various reputations and contrasts their abilities in retaining one. Stevenson emphasizes this through Hyde’s actions, when portraying Utterson’s flawless reputation, the contrasting vulnerability to desires between Utterson and Jekyll and the creation of Hyde.
Dr. Jeckyll chose by himself to create the more “wicked” and “disordered” version of him. This version of himself longs to be free of the facade he puts on when he is seen as the organized and friendly doctor, this covers up ultimately contributes to his overwhelming need for a less obligated life. By extending the exposure of the real reasoning behind Hydes behavior Stevenson is able to create a horrific feeling inside the character's
In the gothic novel “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, Robert Louis Stevenson depicts an idea of the supernatural realm. It is a tale of a man that is well-known among the townspeople as Dr. Henry Jekyll. The doctor transforms into a being completely opposite of himself. Being a man of science, he feels a compulsion to create a potion that will release his alter ego, Mr. Hyde, while protecting his true identity. Throughout the story, many examples of symbolism are presented to the reader.
There is something wrong with his appearance; something displeasing, something downright detestable. I never saw a man I so disliked, and yet I scarce know why. He must be deformed somewhere; he gives a strong feeling of deformity, although I couldn’t specify the point (Stevenson, 1886, p. 5) The quotation above is important to the book because the initial description of Hyde given by Enfield is consistently given by others as well. As Hyde is a being of pure evil, he sets others on edge yet his creation is entirely scientific.
Mr. Hyde is the embodiment of Jekyll’s repressed homosexuality. Firstly, Hyde’s victims reflect Jekyll’s repressed feelings. The first victim is “a girl of maybe eight or ten” (Stevenson 3). His act of trampling the young girl shows his resentment toward women. This is because the Victorians try to force their views onto him and that he should be
And thirdly, but not less important, the author uses a lot of foreshadowing. Especially at the beginning of the story, Stevenson uses dialogues to hint at something that will come later on in the story. In chapter two, for example, Lanyon is talking with Utterson about his friendship with Dr. Jekyll, and when he reveals that he hasn't heard of him in a while, he declares and defines what Jekyll has been doing and caused him to go wrong in mind as “unscientific balderdash”. With this, Stevenson is unavoidably referring to Dr. Jekyll’s experiment that brought out Mr. Hyde. The reader now knows that Dr. Jekyll is up to something strange and mysterious, and the suspects also fall on Mr. Hyde, since he has already been introduced as an enigmatic
This exact nature of their relationship premises the novel as Stevenson’s critique of the 19th century Victorian society, its hypocrisies and its anxieties. It is noteworthy that although Stevenson presents a particularly dichotomic nature of things, upon deeper analysis, he also suggests that human nature is multiplex and the many layers are permeable and so is the social realm despite all our efforts at dichotomic fragmentation. Jekyll and Hyde represent a collusion between two seemingly separate sense of selves, each fulfilling its own assigned role. J.R.
In the novel, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson explores the complexity of human nature. He uses characters and events in the novel to present his stance on the major theme: “man is not truly one, but truly two” (125). Branching from this major theme are many more specific views on the idea that human nature is divided into good and evil. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are two very different people who occupy the same body. Human beings struggle with good and evil and Stevenson goes to the extreme to to show this relationship.
In Horror Literature we have learned the various aspects of horror and the different kinds of stories. In horror, they’re are so many ways to explore and discover the ways horror strikes fear into people. Horror has a strong influence and affects the reader. In horror stories, we’ve learned the various ways the authors use real-world fears to play an important role in the stories they write and the effect the fears have on the characters they create. Real-world fears are represented in various and unique ways in the art of horror literature In the story Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson the main idea talks about it being similar to mystery and eventually showing the reveal of Jekyll and Hyde is the same showing the darker side of people.
Deception in ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ ‘The strange case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ is a novella by the scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1886. Stevenson, born November 13, 1850, is also the author of the well known book; ‘Treasure Island’. Robert L. Stevenson, who died December 3, 1894,, was said to be influenced by authors such as Charles Dickens and Edgar Allen Poe. This book is part of the gothic genre, a genre of literature that combines fiction, and horror, death and at times romance. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or simply Jekyll and Hyde is about a London lawyer named Mr, Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend Dr. Jekyll and the evil Mr. Hyde.
Irresponsible Use of Knowledge & Consequences Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein and Robert Stevenson 's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are two horrific tales of science gone terribly wrong, it emphasizes the saying, with great power comes great responsibility. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tells the story of Dr. Jekyll who, while searching for a way to divide his good self from his bad impulses, creates a potion using science that transforms himself into a man without a conscience. Frankenstein tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a bright young doctor who, devastated by the death of his mother, becomes obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. In the texts, authors Robert Stevenson and Mary Shelley use multiple literary elements to emphasize that knowledge
“The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson is a book that intrigues one’s mind, because it makes us question ourselves about the balance between the two opposing forces. The story starts out with Mr. Utterson, a lawyer and a great friend of Dr. Jekyll, hearing about Hyde for the first time, who is very shady and somewhat misconfigured. Mr. Utterson hears about Hyde’s bad reputation, and his usage of Dr. Jekyll’s laboratory; therefore, Mr. Utterson suspects some kind of relationship between Hyde and Dr. Jekyll. Mr. Utterson’s friend Lanyon, who is a doctor, dies after Dr. Jekyll goes into seclusion; Mr. Utterson goes to Dr. Jekyll’s house to seek the truth behind Lanyon’s death, but he instead sees Hyde dead. Mr. Utterson
Stevenson also warns readers of the all-consuming nature of evil. This is indisputably epitomised in the character os Dr. Jekyll as he succumbs to his “other self”, Hyde, and is unable to escape from the insidious nature of Hyde. Only death was able to relieve Dr. Jekyll of his immoral and “wicked” side (Stevenson 1689). Therefore, the text could be viewed as a 19th century social novel that allegorises the evils and immoral vices of