Jekyll and Hyde Essay

'The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' is a story of contrast. How effective are Stevenson's techniques in showing these contrasts? The story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson, was published in 1886 and was estimated to have sold over 250,000 copies by 1901. The story is set in the Victorian era and this was the same era in which Charles Dickens lived and he had similarities to Jekyll as they were both into new science and discovering new things. In the novel, Dr Jekyll invents a potion to change him into a purely man when he wants and Darwin invents the theory of evolution. The main settings in the book are full of contrast. For example the contrast between Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The main theme of the book is duality of human nature. This is what a human being is all about. A human is half pleasant and half wicked and in this novel this theme comes up regularly. Other techniques used are included in setting, dialogue, character description and imagery. The setting is the first place where contrast can be seen. One contrast is the setting of where Mr Hyde is first seen. The description of the street creates a pleasurable image. "air of invitation," and "row of smiling sales women,". These phrases suggest the street is welcoming and uses similes to show this. This charming street contrasted to it's own neighbourhood. "shone out in contrast

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Crooks' Importance In Of Mice And Men

Crooks' importance in "Of Mice and Men" In "Of Mice and Men" Crooks is a black stable back segregated from the rest of the men on the ranch because of the fact that he is black. Crooks' name suggests that there is something physically wrong with him. His physical disability is one of the many ways that he suffers on the ranch. We see Crooks mostly in chapter four. He is not shown much in the first three paragraphs and this indicates his position in society as very low because he is not noticed, and therefore is not important. At the begin of chapter four we see Crooks in a room of his own from this we see he is separated from all the other men. His room is simple and small to suit his needs: "Crooks' bunk was a long box filled with hay" The fact that his room is so basic shows that he is lower than rest of the men on the ranch. Although that he is seen as less of a person, he looks after his room which shows he is "a proud, aloof man." Although he is separated from the other men, he still has many personal possessions. Like the other men on the ranch his possessions say a lot about him. In his room he has "rubber boots", "a big alarm clock", and "a shot gun" which shows that although he is a cripple he is very active and practical. He also has many tools; here John Steinback is trying to show that although he is black he is very skilled and capable with his hands. This

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Creative Writing - Gothic Horror

Gothic Horror. I walked cautiously up towards the grand old house, where I read the name aloud 'Hollow Manor.' It had the look of a gothic church with the arched stained glass windows. The doors and windows reminded me of the ancient gothic houses that were so popular in London at the moment. I breathed in deeply smelling wet oak wood reminding me of winter fires and roasting chestnuts. The area was in an old abandoned town by the forest and the old lake, as I went into the house the door creaked open suddenly as if swept by some unseen shadow of a figure. As I ascended through the main archway into the main house, I was me by the sweet smell of fresh baking but, at the same time something deeper like rotting flesh was hidden under the pleasant aroma as if the house itself was human. I soon forgot the smells of the house, when I saw the three gigantic chandeliers and the vast amount of doors all facing into the main hall all made out of willow wood, of which I was fond. As I walked up the stairs they started to creak as if the life was being pulled out of them. There were about a hundred old photographs and ancient portraits hanging on the dully coloured walls, clearly someone with very little imagination decorated this house. As I lit the chandeliers the whole room gleamed with life and I saw that the ceiling was of marble with strange but wonderful pictures and patters

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'How does Harper Lee use the trial scene to show the social divides in Maycomb's society?'

English coursework. 'How does Harper Lee use the trial scene to show the social divides in Maycomb's society?' By Neal Gotecha. Nelle Harper Lee was born on April 28th 1926 in Monroeville Alabama. She was the youngest of three children and her father was a lawyer. Harper Lee's background is almost exactly the same as Jean Louise Finch (Scout) the main character in the novel. Scout was also the younger of two children and her father was also a lawyer, she was born in the fictitious town of Maycomb, the county next to Monroeville. The novel is set in the 1930s and had similar events to those that occurred in Harper Lee's own life. When Harper Lee was only 5, the accusation of nine black men raping two white girls had a high impacted in her life. This showed the racial corruption in her society and also became the main theme in her book. 'To Kill a Mocking bird' can be interpreted as being a semi-autobiographical text, however, Harper Lee denies this and stated. 'People are people anywhere you put them.' (1961 interview) This book was popular then and still is even today as it collects all the aspects of the racial and prejudice mind of society. Of how an event can manipulate the whole town into believing one man just because he is white. This reflects on the period because this book was written in the time of the Great Depression. This was the period in

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An Analysis of "Give all to Love" by Ralph Waldo Emerson.

An Analysis of "Give all to Love" by Ralph Waldo Emerson The thoughts and feelings of Ralph Waldo Emerson are uplifting, empowering and can make one feel like their actions matter in a world surrounded by cynicism and despair. His poem "Give all to love" hints briefly at the pain he experienced in his life and his views on love and the human experience. It also demonstrates the style of writing of the transcendentalists. In order to understand Emerson's writing one must first understand the man. Emerson is a deeply spiritual man, owing mainly to his background. He was a Unitarian minister, until he realized that Unitarianism was yet another box or construct out of which he needed to break. Influenced by such schools of thought as English romanticism, Neoplatonism, and Hindu philosophy, Emerson is noted for his skill in presenting his ideas eloquently and in poetic language. Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Seven of his ancestors were ministers, and his father, William Emerson, was minister of the First Church (Unitarian) of Boston. Emerson graduated from Harvard University at the age of 18 and for the next three years taught school in Boston. In 1825 he entered Harvard Divinity School, and the next year he was sanctioned to preach by the Middlesex Association of Ministers (Lesburg 4). Despite ill health, Emerson delivered occasional sermons in churches in the

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How Do The Two Poets HighlightThe Difficulties Of Living In A Different Culture In the two poems 'Unrelated Incidents' by Tom Leonard and 'Half-Caste' by John Agard?

Rachael Elliott 11D. How Do The Two Poets Highlight The Difficulties Of Living In A Different Culture? In the two poems 'Unrelated Incidents' by Tom Leonard and 'Half-Caste' by John Agard the obvious connection is the language is written phonetically to emphasise the dialect and contrast in culture to the real English language. In order to convey their opinions on the prejudices they face they take an almost humorous approach to ridicule their opposers. Both the poets' use of punctuation means that when spoken aloud there is an aggressive tone as in 'Unrelated Incidents' there are no capital letters, this emphasises the 'wrongness' of his dialect. He pokes fun at the way people would presume that news given by someone who doesn't speak with a 'voice of authority' is lying, it is clearly wrong and he shuns this assumption: 'n thi reason I talk wia BBC accent iz coz yi widny wahnt mi ti talk aboot thi trooth wia voice lik wanna yoo scruff.' As the poem progresses the language becomes more and more dialect-like, this is to make it seem as though the poet is translating the 'BBC accent' into his own way of speaking. The words run together to convey the characteristics of colloquial language. Te poet ends the poem with 'belt up.' It seems that either he is disinterested with anyone who labels him because of their accent or he's directly telling them to shut up. The poet

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Explore the relationship between George and Lennie in Chapters 1-3 with relevant comparisons.

Explore the relationship between George and Lennie in Chapters 1-3 with relevant comparisons. Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men deals with the plight of migrant labourers in California during the Great Depression, with the focus on two random migrant workers, George and Lennie. The first chapter sharply establishes the relationship between the two primary characters. George is a realist who must care for the simple child-like Lennie. George consistently reprimands and gets angry with Lennie for his actions, while Lennie strives to please George. We see this in the scene by the pool where Lennie imitates and copies George's every move. Their relationship can be immediately compared to a father-son relationship. The arguments between the two characters reveal a great deal about each of them. George is careful and controlled; he formulates a plan for every situation and acts to prevent any bad occurrences. His careful planning comes from past experience; Steinbeck implies that Lennie has placed George into so many precarious situations that he must now consider every possible tragedy that might occur. "Well, look Lennie - if you jus' happen to get in trouble like you always done before, I want you to come right here an' hide in the brush" Although George and Lennie are similar in age, George acts as a parental figure. He guides Lennie through almost every situation, supplying

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Discuss the role of Mitch in 'street car named desire' Tennessee Williams first introduces Mitch's character in the poker scene as one of the players with the other three

Discuss the role of Mitch in 'street car named desire' Tennessee Williams first introduces Mitch's character in the poker scene as one of the players with the other three guys including Stanley. Mitch's character is portrayed differently to the other male characters in the book for example all the players speak coarsely, enjoying primitive, direct humour, mixing it with the cards, chips, and whiskey except Mitch because he 'keeps wondering' how his mother is .He is first distinguished from the other three males when he shows his concern for his mother. 'I gotta a sick mother .she don't go to sleep until I come in at night.' But other players tease him saying 'then why don't you stay home with her' and the bad-tempered Stanley tells him 'go home'. Briefly in scene three Mitch's gentlemanly behaviour stands out from the other male characters. Mitch appears to be a kind, decent human being who we later learn in Scene Six hopes to marry as his mother 'worries because' he is not 'settled' as 'she won't live long'. Blanche describes him as having 'a great capacity for devotion' because of the love for his mother. Tennessee Williams shows Mitch's emotions through his actions when he is talking about his mother dying soon 'his voice is horse and he clears his throat twice, shuffling nervously around with his hands .....'This description clearly shows his love and concern for his

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Comparing Poems "Eve of Waterloo"

Sunday, 12 May 2002 Sam McDevitt Comparing Poems The "Eve of Waterloo" is about a surprise attack on a British army. The soldiers and commanders are enjoying a party when the French attack them interrupting their celebrations and forcing them to defend themselves. War soon followed. The poem is organised into eight stanzas with an "ababbcbcc" rhyming scheme. Looking over the poem, we see that it starts off in a very cheerful mood, but stanza two's latter lines, the mood begins to swing. They suspected noises but nervously denied them until they heard the cannons "opening roar". Paragraph 3 changes drastically and an all out battle unfolds. The "Battle of Waterloo" took place on June 18th 1815. Waterloo is situated in Belgium but the Britain's and French soon changed the place into a battlefield. The battle was a very significant one in historic context. It meant the end to the Napoleonic Wars. Infantry, cavalry and artillery were used in these wars. Throughout the poem there is an emphasis on tension. It starts off quite slow but by line 15, the tension begins. "That heavy sound" got the British denying the sound until the canon fires. This builds up the tension incredibly and urges the army into battle. Lines such as, "He rushed into field, and, foremost fighting fell", creates a scene of tension, excitement and speed. Napoleons attack is very quick and unnoticed

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Act 1 Scene 3 the merchant of venice

Act 1 Scene 3: Consider the meeting between Antonio and Shylock and show how language and delivery combine to indicate the relationship between these two characters. Does Shakespeare prepare us for the struggle that will develop between them later in the play? The play is about two men, Antonio and Shylock. Shylock is a Jew and Antonio is a Christian so already the audience can see the antagonism that will build up between the two characters. The bond is a deal that Shylock can take 1 pound of flesh from anywhere on his body if Antonio doesn't pay back the 3,000 ducats that he borrowed in time. Antonio is confident that his ships, (with the money), will arrive in time, but they sink. As the play goes on the drama unfolds. This could be life threatening for Antonio. The audience expect a friction between Shylock and Antonio because of their religious backgrounds. There is the past conflict and fury between Jews and Christians in Elizabethan Times so already the scene is set for a big battle between them. Obviously we all know that the Jews killed Christ and so the Christians have always hated the Jews. Jews could not eat pork and they were also very mean with their money. They had to wear a gabardine, which is a traditional Jewish coat. Jews weren't treated with respect or acknowledgement. Also, both Antonio and Shylock are stereotypical so the conflict will be to the

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