Since the beginning of time, a battle between good and evil has been occurring. It may be between people or within. This topic is elaborated on in “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, written by Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson. Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet, and travel writer. Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850 and died on December 3, 1894. He wrote “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” which was published on January 5, 1886. This book describes a horrific tale of a lawyer, Mr. Utterson, searching for more connections between his friend and a criminal after they are linked together with a bank transaction. The friend is wealthy scientist and Doctor Henry Jekyll and the new criminal roaming the streets
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Instead of being depicted as the beautiful place it is, Stevenson displays an aura of mysteriousness over London. “London hummed solemnly all around; but nearer at hand, the stillness was only broken by the sounds of a footfall moving to and fro…” (Stevenson, 96). Although London is known to be filled with a numerous amount of people, this empty and somewhat scary portrayal of this area was greatly needed to contribute to the full effect of making this book suspenseful. “London was startled by a crime of singular ferocity…” (Stevenson, 43). Stevenson stylistically personifies the setting and shows the consistent image of London being a still, empty landscape that accompanies the criminal, Mr. Hyde’s presence. Characters in particular that will be discussed are Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde because they depict more than just central characters in the plot, but rather stand for something else bigger and more important in society. Henry Jekyll, friend of Mr. Utterson, is a wealthy, handsome scientist whose renown is cherished by many friends in London. Edward Hyde is introduced by the describing of other people’s words. “And then all of a sudden he broke out in a great flame of anger, stamping with his foot, brandishing the cane, and carrying on (as the maid described it) like a madman” (Stevenson, 45). Hyde is illustrated as a hideous, aggressive, and evil gentleman. He lacks regard for people he comes into contact with and he …show more content…
The book is filled with my stylistic devices and figurative language which were all used to make the story interesting for the audience. Similes like “moved like a damned Juggernaut” and ‘as empty as a church” were present. “Daylight would glare into the swirling wreaths” (Stevenson, 48). Personification is used pervasively throughout book. Examples like “sneering coolness” give the text an imaginative feel to it in the midst of a dark plot which is very interesting. The most important literary device used in this story was an oxymoron. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde represented good and bad. Throughout the book, aa contrast between their moral ideals are avidly shown. The purpose of this book was meant to inform people to be aware of all aspects of “dual nature”. Stevenson presents Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to represent peoples’ constant battle between the good and bad within one’s morality. “With every day, and from both sides of my intelligence, the moral and the intellectual, I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth, by whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two” (Stevenson, 127). Jekyll comes to the realization that all people contain innocence and darkness within them. Stevenson uses Jekyll’s reflection to make his central message clear that everyone has evil in them. He makes this
Instead of being depicted as the beautiful place it is, Stevenson displays an aura of mysteriousness over London. “London hummed solemnly all around; but nearer at hand, the stillness was only broken by the sounds of a footfall moving to and fro…” (Stevenson, 96). Although London is known to be filled with a numerous amount of people, this empty and somewhat scary portrayal of this area was greatly needed to contribute to the full effect of making this book suspenseful. “London was startled by a crime of singular ferocity…” (Stevenson, 43). Stevenson stylistically personifies the setting and shows the consistent image of London being a still, empty landscape that accompanies the criminal, Mr. Hyde’s presence. Characters in particular that will be discussed are Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde because they depict more than just central characters in the plot, but rather stand for something else bigger and more important in society. Henry Jekyll, friend of Mr. Utterson, is a wealthy, handsome scientist whose renown is cherished by many friends in London. Edward Hyde is introduced by the describing of other people’s words. “And then all of a sudden he broke out in a great flame of anger, stamping with his foot, brandishing the cane, and carrying on (as the maid described it) like a madman” (Stevenson, 45). Hyde is illustrated as a hideous, aggressive, and evil gentleman. He lacks regard for people he comes into contact with and he …show more content…
The book is filled with my stylistic devices and figurative language which were all used to make the story interesting for the audience. Similes like “moved like a damned Juggernaut” and ‘as empty as a church” were present. “Daylight would glare into the swirling wreaths” (Stevenson, 48). Personification is used pervasively throughout book. Examples like “sneering coolness” give the text an imaginative feel to it in the midst of a dark plot which is very interesting. The most important literary device used in this story was an oxymoron. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde represented good and bad. Throughout the book, aa contrast between their moral ideals are avidly shown. The purpose of this book was meant to inform people to be aware of all aspects of “dual nature”. Stevenson presents Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde to represent peoples’ constant battle between the good and bad within one’s morality. “With every day, and from both sides of my intelligence, the moral and the intellectual, I thus drew steadily nearer to that truth, by whose partial discovery I have been doomed to such a dreadful shipwreck: that man is not truly one, but truly two” (Stevenson, 127). Jekyll comes to the realization that all people contain innocence and darkness within them. Stevenson uses Jekyll’s reflection to make his central message clear that everyone has evil in them. He makes this