Explore how Stevenson creates a sense of intrigue and engages the readers interest in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.

Explore how Stevenson creates a sense of intrigue and engages the readers interest in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a book written by Robert Louis Stevenson set in 19th century London. It is a story about Mystery and if humans personality's can be split.

In Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde the author, Stevenson, makes it interesting for the reader in a number of different ways, through the language he uses, the characters and the main theme which engage the reader’s interest.

Firstly Stevenson creates a sense of mystery to draw the readers in through his use of language. The author uses a wide variety of descriptive words which create contrasting scenes in some parts.

Another technique used by Stevenson to make the book exciting for the reader is by the setting used and the atmosphere created. London, at the time the book was written, was disease ridden, dirty and over-populated which I believe the author portrayed very well “the low growl of London” represents London well and makes it interesting for the reader if they haven’t been to this allusive place will wonder what it’s like which is exciting. London was where everything was happening and everyone knew it so were interested to read about it too. It was described by Stevenson as a “nocturnal city” which shows that at night it comes alive which seems very creep and sinister. The contrasts he uses in the scenery “the street shone out…like a fire in a forest” creates a beautiful scene for the reader of this wonderful street in contrast to London as the bleak forest. Also in ‘The Story of the Door” the door is described as a “a certain sinister block of building thrust foreword its gable on the street” and The Door “twith neither bell nor knocker was distened and distained” which shows how this door is interesting for the reader as it creates the ambiance of this area very sinisterly with different parts. Another main contrasting part is that Dr Jekyll lives in a very expensive part of London whilst Mr Hyde lives in dingy Soho, this also shows how the personality's are different.

In a similar way, Stevenson uses Mr Utterson’s narrative to make the book intriguing for the reader. Mr Utterson is the omniscient narrator throughout the book, he tells the reader of everything that has happened which is intiging for the reader to find out more and the things the narrater knows but hasn't told them.We take on his opinions on certain subjects as that is the easiest to side with. He tells the tale of our first look at Mr Enfield when he is caught stepping on a young girl in the street completely oblivious to her cries.

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In contrast to the setting, Stevenson uses the characters to create a sense of mystery for the reader. The characters a described in detail, firstly Mr Utterson was introduced, the narrator, who was said to be “cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse” which shows that he was unwelcoming and generally uncomfortable.

As well as the characters, Stevenson uses the events that take place to create a mystifying feel for the reader…The Carew murder case…

Alternatively, Stevenson uses the mystery of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’s connection to form a sense of intrigue for the reader. Stevenson’s makes it look like Jekyll and Hyde are two different people at the start and Utterson seems to believe this too long after the reader finds out. Throughout the novel there are small hints which make it facinating for the reader,

Another method used by Stevenson to make the novel feel mysterious is through the scientific theme that continues throughout the book. In Victorian times Science was very exciting and new so this would have been interesting for the Victorian reader. It explores the idea that a man's personality could be split but throughout is unsure if this is even possible. The possibility of a dual personality and being able to split it sounded extraordinary to them at the time, Jekyll said, whilst reflecting on life, "All human beings... are commingled out of good and evil". Stevenson’s creates many questions for the reader and this is intriguing as it makes them want to read on and find out the answers. It gets more intriguing as the story continues as Jekyll begins to loose control over Hyde which is tense for the reader, "I was slowly losing hold of my original and better self, and becoming slowly incorporated with my second and worse.”

This can also be seen in the events that take place throughout the book. The letter, the door, the Carew Murder case…

At the time this book was set their was a great divide between the rich and poor in London which intrigued readers to learn about the other side