‘Explore how Stevenson creates a sense of intrigue and engages the reader’s interest in Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.’ The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde was written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1886. This book is a classic and has been very successful; therefore it has been turned into several films and theatre productions. The book seizes the reader’s attention and gets straight into drama and action, making it hard to put down. This well thought out and complicated book touches on many topics and themes. There are many reasons why Stevenson has done such a good job of making it very hard to put down this novel, for example, Stevenson’s strong characters, the setting, the plot, how the book is written and the several themes. There are …show more content…
From this description of Mr Utterson, we get a real sense of who he his and how he is a strange and lonely character. Stevenson has been clever the way he worded his description, because he has used alliteration which creates a certain effect and mood. ‘Lean, long, dusty dreary.’ Stevenson has also used hard sounding words which grab the attention of the reader. Stevenson’s characters are not normal, average characters; they are strange, or evil with secrets. Therefore making the reader want to find out the secrets of the characters and what they may be hiding. The theme isolation and loneliness creates mystery for the reader and the reader knows that Utterson is lonely for a reason, so this encourages the reader to find out in depth what the character has been through. The setting relates to the genres and themes and also intrigues the reader to read on as the setting creates the mood for what is going to happen next. For example there are lots of descriptions of the weather, particularly in chapter four. Stevenson describes the weather, as ‘a fog rolled over the city in the small hours, the early part of the night was cloudless, and the lance was brilliantly lit by the full moon’. Stevenson has set chapter four at night, as night is the scariest and gothic time and particularly with a fog, as it makes it hard to see any faces, which could be
Stevenson writes ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ with the intention of showing the reader the duality of man and explores this through the juxtaposition of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In this novella, Stevenson also uses the environment and setting of the story to represent the contrast between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
Stevenson used the contemporary setting of Victorian London to write his gothic horror novel. The streets with the gas lamps were the perfect setting following the true horrific stories of Jack the Ripper. He refers to Mr Hyde well as he wanders the streets of London not knowing who he’s going to meet. The elements in gothic horror include irony, movement, time, senses, horrific
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novel written by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and published in 1886. It concerns a lawyer, Gabriel Utterson, who investigates the strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the reclusive Mr. Edward Hyde. This novel represents an ideology in Western culture; the perpetual conflict between humanity’s virtuosity and immorality. It is interpreted as an accurate guidebook to the Victorian era’s belief of the duality of human nature. This essay will explore Mr. Edward Hyde and whether Stevenson intended for him to be a mere character in the novel or something of wider significance.
“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is a novella written by Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scottish author. Written and published 1886, this novella reflects on the individual, and societal behavior during the Victorian era. During the Victorian era people, were supposed to behave like a normal person. Certain behaviors were highly restricted for example, showing evil. Instead, they were expected to give respect for everyone. People who acted out against the norm during this period were usually sent to asylums because such behaviors were unacceptable. People in this society did just that, they behaved as if they were perfectly normal. This does not mean that their bad side did not exist. Instead, they hid their
Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a complex and tricky novel to fully grasp, but the reader can come to understand many parallels to their own lives. Stevenson’s creation has stood the test of time because of its power to astonish; even if one previously new the outcome. This power has made Jekyll and Hyde, a pair that will continue to provoke thought in many readers in generations to
Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
with him again. Also in the later Dr Jekyll wrote that he was going on
The key ideas in chapter 1 of ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was wrote in 18th centuries, the times that were defined as ‘Gothic revival’. The literature in this times had similar thematic elements include supernatural or ‘fantastic’, violent crime (death and murder), passionate romance (often with death). The novel Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was considered as typical Gothic literature. Particularly, repression and hypocrisy are highly emphasized in the novel. Repression is undoubtedly a cause of conflict between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The root of this repression can be found in Victorian England where there was no sexual appetites, no violence and no freedom of expressing emotion in the public sphere. Everything should be restrained and people in that times all behaved solemn and were not allowed to show their joys and sorrows. This repression can be well reflected within Dr. Jekyll in the novel. According to quotation of Stevenson’s description:
The sophisticatedly-constructed novel ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ was devised in 1886, during the revolutionary Victorian era, by the author, Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson developed a desire to write in his early life and ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ cemented his reputation. The novel is widely known for its shocking principles that terrified and alarmed the Victorian readers. ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ plays with the idea of the dual nature of man, his two identities. On the surface, Dr Jekyll is a conventional, Victorian gentleman, but below the surface lurks the primitive, satanic-like creature of Mr Edward Hyde. One of the elements that play a significant part in the novel is setting. Stevenson subtly uses the setting to
Stevenson suggests the sense of fear and cultural anxieties of late Victorian England through depiction of the unreal city, in particular, fog in the novella. "The fog has gripped London", and it "swirls" and "eddies through the gloomy neighborhoods", describing them seem "like a district of some city in a nightmare." Stevenson shape an eerie aura through portrayals of the "great chocolate-coloured pall lowered over heaven ... here it would be dark like the back-end of evening; and there would be a glow of a rich, lurid brown ... and here ... a haggard shaft of daylight would glance in between the swirling wreaths." The haggard and swirling fog and somber hues combine to form a murkiness that displays
Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
In the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde it is regarded that these identities are two different persons but this is not the case, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are one in the same. There is much confusion when reading this literary work by Robert Louis Stevenson; this piece is regarded as horrific and disturbing in many ways. But the biggest twist is when it is reveled to the reader that these two people are the same and that below the surface of Dr.Jekyll is an evil man who enjoys committing evil acts. Mainly that Dr. Jekyll believes he has no choice but to commit these horrid acts because he has no control over is evil side. I don’t believe this is the case, Hyde isn’t a real person and doesn’t exist, nor is he someone who commits
Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic novella, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde unveils various gothic elements. It is a mesh of different stories into one. The several narratives embraced by Jekyll do not exist separately, but instead rely on one another, (Germana, 2011). The Gothicism in, and concept of the novella shocked readers of its time. The novella offered new scientific thought, which many feared and could not accept.
Language used by Stevenson helps show how the busy street is vastly different from the dingy neighborhood. The street is see as a busy and well-maintain by the passage that say, “The street’s residents were successful and ambitious. The shops, their good displayed in the front window, had an inviting air, like rows of smiling salespeople.” The word choice of Stevenson to using the phase “had an inviting air” The word “inviting” shows how the street has a positive view; also, it shows others flock to the street. In addition to the phase, “had an inviting air” Stevenson also shows the bustling street to be well maintained by how on Sundays, a person out and about is able to see how the street is largely colorful. An example of the street