Jekyll and Hyde

How does R.L Stevenson explore good and evil in human nature in the novel 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'? R.L Stevenson's novel, 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde', has been described by many as a parable of the struggle between good and evil, a story of mystery. The single dominant theme in this noel is that of the double, the divided nature of man and that things are not always what they appear. Although the setting for Stevenson's novel appears to be Victorian London, it is clear to see that Stevenson has Edinburgh in mind with, like Jekyll, its twin identities, the prosperous and rich 'New Town' and the 'Old Town' of poverty and desperation. The Victorian Era was a big time of change for scientists and religious followers the world over. Scientific experiments were becoming much more common, and, as with anything which involved science, religion played a big part. Stevenson taps into these changes in his novel, as Dr. Hastie Lanyon, a good friend and fellow scientist of Dr. Henry Jekyll, soon becomes both suspicious and worried about Jekyll's mysterious scientific experiments. Stevenson also taps into the fears and concerns of people living in the Victorian age; using topics such as poverty, death, murder and desperation. Stevenson's novel links with other 19th century Gothic novels, such as 'On the Origin of Species', one of many books which

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Jekyll And Hyde

Kain Lawrence 10CG Robert Louis Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" Evil in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is represented in many ways. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was released as a penny number, cheap magazines. In the Victorian times people were fascinated by crime/detective stories which they would link in with Jack the Ripper. The audience expected books to be filled with suspense and mystery, the triumph of good over evil; this is what the novel challenged. Even the title gave a hint of mystery "strange case". It engages with the religious, moral and scientific mood it was written in, by Stevenson referring to Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution. The significance of this is due to religion. In the Victorian times the 19th Century, a lot of people were Christians and therefore believed that God made the world, and that he created humans, Darwin seemed to say that human beings had evolved from earlier, simpler life forms, such as monkeys and apes. This was obviously hard to believe this as well as the Christian theory; it was quite disturbing for some people: instead of being unique we became just one species among many. Darwin's theory challenged the authority of the Old Testament. He also refers to Sigmund Freud, by using Freud's idea of the ego and the alter ego and turned one into Dr Jekyll, the other Mr Hyde. Stevenson represents evil

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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Jekyll and Hyde

Imagine that Mr Hyde left a "Full Statement of the Case". What Do you think he might have written? This letter is written for anybody who wants to know the story of Mr Edward Hyde. As you will know Dr Jekyll was born in the year 18--. Even as a young person he had professors approaching him for advice. He always worked hard and never did anything that other boys were doing at that age. Thus I was formed. In truth he created me inside him, I would do all the things that he craved but could not, well not if he wanted to keep his reputation. He was an old man and he had not even hit 20 yet! I tried to encourage him to disregard his work and have excitement. Before long I started becoming impatient, the long nights of studying, studying and studying! I started feeling like a trapped animal I needed to be released. I wanted to cause havoc, chaos, and mayhem. I was dying slowly inside. I became a nuisance to him, caused problems and headaches. I tried everything but he just channelled me out! He was too strong! But I knew I would get my chance. He had a weak spot for the nightlife, for the fun, for the drink and especially for the women. Since he was young he dreamed of being married but then studies came into it and marriage went out of the window. Like I was saying, I knew my opportunity would come... I ran through him like the polluted River Thames, dark and poisonous. No

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  • Level: GCSE
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jekyll and hyde essay

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde In this essay I will be looking at how Robert Louis Stevenson was able to show both good and evil in the human nature through his detailed descriptions and complex characters in his novel; The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'. Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh. He was the only son of Thomas Stevenson, a wealthy engineer who designed Lighthouses, and Margaret Balfour, daughter of a Scottish clergyman. Since his childhood Stevenson suffered from tuberculosis causing him to spend much of his time in bed, making up stories before he had even learned to read. Throughout his childhood Stevenson was mainly raised by his nanny, Alison Cunningham. Alison had strong Calvinist beliefs so praying became a big part of Stevenson's early life. Calvinist's thought that sin and evil were deeply rooted in the human soul. They also believed the devil could reappear in human form. This idea is clearly seen in the character Of Hyde, showing how Stevenson was largely influenced by not only his own thoughts but the beliefs that were brought upon him when he was young. In the late 19th Century Stevenson wrote one of his now most famous and well known books, 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' The book today is very unlikely to shock the now modern readers as the story contains very little of the graphic horror that is usual of the modern horror

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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What contributions to the novel "Jeckyll and Hyde" are made by minor characters such as Poole and Sir Edward Danvers?

What contributions to the novel are made by minor characters such as Poole and Sir Edward Danvers? There are many minor characters who play a crucial role in themes and foreshadowing ; they act as triggers for the development of incidents in the story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. These characters are: Enfield, the maid who witnessed Danvers Carew’s murder, Sir Danvers Carew himself, the policeman (Newcomen), the old woman who answers at Hyde’s house and of course, Poole who is Jekyll’s manservant. All these characters are witnesses to events that trigger the movement of the plot. This change in the plot leads to Utterson being drawn back into the mystery. As well as witnesses to events, these characters create an atmosphere of secrecy and hypocrisy – themes that are incorporated in the novella. Enfield is a witness to a cruel act that Hyde commits. He recounts his story to Utterson. In his description of what happened he describes an atmosphere that is deserted and unnerving which makes him “begin to long for the sight of a policeman”. This contributes to a foreshadowing of bad events to come in the future; the word “policeman” suggests these events go against the law. Enfield later tells Utterson about a strange character that brings a sense of disgust and detestation to all the witnesses of a young girl being trampled. He describes him as

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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What view of human nature does Stevenson present in the novel, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

What view of human nature does Stevenson present in the novel, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is written with the purpose of showing the author Robert Louis Stevenson's theory that everybody has a good and bad side. Stevenson views people as being capable of evil, and that "evil is just as much a part of human nature as good is". His upbringing would have influenced his theory, Stevenson would have been familiar with the story of Deacon Brodie during his childhood. Which coincidentally has a similar storyline of that of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this is because Deacon Brodie also has a split personality just like Dr Jekyll, his evil side Mr. Hyde was created by Dr Jekyll's most darkest and evil side. Hyde is described as an "ape-like creature" that appears to not care about people surrounding him. Evidence of this is the fact that Mr. Hyde "with ape-like fury, he was trampling his victim under foot and hailing down a storm of blows, under which the bones were audibly shattered". But Dr Jekyll gives the impression that he is proud that he is able to turn into this evil creature Mr. Hyde as he say that it is his greatest pleasure and achievement. Jekyll and Hyde is written as a casebook in order to make the story more believable and interesting. Stevenson explains his theory of human nature of every person having a good and

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  • Level: GCSE
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What view of human nature does Stevenson present in the novel "The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"?

The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Question: What view of human nature does Stevenson present in the novel "The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"? Throughout Stevenson's life he experienced things by looking at them in two different perspectives. He later went on to exhibit his experiences by writing a novel about split personality called "The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde". This essay will comment and explain Stevenson's view of human nature within the novel. What is human nature? In my opinion human nature is the natural disposition of a human being, his/her inborn inclination to act, speak and so on. However, his/her behaviour, social attitudes, thoughts and concepts of life can be cultivated and nurtured by his/her parents/guardians. In the novel "The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" a number of themes are explored, one of the most important theme is the duality of human nature and from which the novel is centred. Although the theme does not emerge fully until the last-chapter when the Jekyll- Hyde relationship is revealed we confront the theory of a dual human nature explicitly after having witnessed all of the events of the novel, including Hyde's crimes and his ultimate eclipsing of Jekyll. The text not only posits the duality of human nature as its central theme but also forces us to examine the properties of this duality and to

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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What view of human nature does Stevenson present in the novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde?

Essay Draft 1 Assignment 2 - What view of human nature does Stevenson present in the novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde? The title chosen by the author, Robert Louis Stevenson is, 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde'. From the title the reader can predict that the novel is a form of horror fantasy. The word 'Case' in the title suggests either a possible police investigation, some type of medical study or law. Also the name, 'Dr. Jekyll', inflicts upon the reader that Jekyll is of importance and authority. In the novel both perceptions from the title are true. However, the title shows no indication that 'Jekyll and Hyde' are two characters within one person. The book is based on human nature and concentrates on the mixture of good and evil in people. In the Cambridge dictionary the definition for the word, 'human nature' is, 'The natural ways of behaving that most people share'. It also states that 'You can't change human nature'. Robert Louis Stevenson was born in 1850 and died in 1894 at the early age of 44. His birthplace was on the outskirts of Edinburgh's New Town. Stevenson is best remembered nowadays for his repeating theme of the duality of human nature. 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' was one of his most successful novels and was written in 1885, nine years before his death. For that reason, Stevenson is mainly remembered for using

  • Word count: 1261
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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What view of human nature does Stevenson present in the novel, The Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

What view of human nature does Stevenson present in the novel, The Strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? The story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde psychologically explores the dual nature of the human personality and represents a conflict between good and evil. It suggests a co-existence in the human body and soul of goodness, morality, and idealism along with evil, depravity, and sadism. In the novel are four men of similar character and social standing, Mr. Utterson, Mr. Enfield, Dr. Lanyon, and Dr. Jekyll, who should all be quite capable of subduing their evil impulses. But Dr. Jekyll fails to do so, and the novel is the story of his failure and the problems and dilemmas he faces. In this piece of writing I aim to explore the views of human nature that Stevenson conveys to the reader through his writing. I am also going to look at how the strong Victorian values influenced Stevenson and his writing. Dr. Jekyll believes "All human beings... are commingled out of good and evil." However Stevenson's protagonist, Dr. Jekyll, manages to isolate and separate his evil side from his good side, creating in the process two very different people; Jekyll, who represents not pure good, but the whole of a person, and Hyde, who represents pure evil, and contains little, if any, of Jekyll in him. These two characters stand in stark contrast to one another; both Stevenson, through the

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  • Level: GCSE
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The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 'The strange case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde', had originated from one of Stevenson's dreams, he dreamt of a mans split personality and the concept of the evil side over-powering the good side. He was first encouraged in writing this novel, as he told his wife and she was most certain that this idea written down as a novel would be an excellent storyline. The tale displays how two things are put together to show clearly the differences between them. Robert Louis Stevenson's novel explains the terrible effects of scientific experiments on people, which bring out both good and evil sides to them. When Jekyll states that "man is not truly one but truly two," he is not only stating on peoples' double personality but also on the society that controls them. The use of detail of the gothic setting in the novel evokes terror and fear. This is achieved as he carefully describes the place, weather, season, time, characters and the incidents in the jokes related by Mr Enfield. The effects of these descriptions build up a sinister atmosphere that prepare us for the characters and the incidents that happen later in the book. The gothic setting increases the effect of horror in the novel, it is a perfect element as the book itself is exploring the evil of men; this type setting had touched many people because of what Britain was suffering. The

  • Word count: 1280
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: English
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