Do the pressures of society and external influences determine one’s disposition, or is everyone born with his or her own good and evil tendencies? The novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde establishes and discusses the question of nature versus nurture. The author, Robert Louis Stevenson, prompts the reader to inquire how an individual can determine his or her place on the spectrum of good and evil. To establish the universal struggle between good and evil, Stevenson introduces the…
It is no secret that everyone is not who they say they are, whether that be with hobbies, likes or dislikes or what they want to do when they grow up. All people have another side, some are less interesting then the one they show to the world while others have a deep, dark, hidden side that when released can be damaging. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a an example of how having another side, is life changing. This story is about the tragic happenings of a human who needs to keep…
Appropriations of successful texts often make critical changes to the original novel for a variation of intentions. These changes often reflect the cultural values of the time period and upon analysis the similarities and differences between the cultures are revealed. The film Mary Reilly (1996) is a recent appropriation of the 1886 classic novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Stephen Frears, director of Mary Reilly, has cinematically and creatively chosen…
“Sometimes you don’t realize you’re drowning when you’re trying to be everyone else’s anchor,” -Unknown. In Robert Louis Stevenson’s prominent novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a dispute between good and evil is present throughout the outstanding book, especially in Henry Jekyll and his struggle with the two sides of life. Dr. Jekyll seems to be endeavoring to find himself and figuring out who he truly is, but loses himself and falls from grace in his lifetime. Not everyone is…
There are multiple types of archetypes that are present in all forms of literature. In the book, “Of Mice and Men,” by John Steinbeck, he demonstrates each archetype in a different character. There is the hero, the innocent, the wise man, the femme fatale, the outcast, the villain, and the caretaker. Some common characteristics of the Innocent are that they are pure, full of virtue, honest, and full of positive energy. Since they are so innocent and likable, they are often taken advantage of,…
The horror and hallucination factor of the first film is greatly decreased in the second. In Batman Begins Scarecrow uses a toxin on his victims that makes them hallucinate and see horrifying things such as a horse breathing fire and monstrous versions of characters’ faces. In the second film there is nothing like this. The most horrifying thing in The Dark Knight is the appearance of the burnt face of Two-Face. Christopher Nolan could have done this to attract younger audiences and leave more…
In Robert Louis Stevenson's novella The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde the classic reading is that the two characters Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde symbolise the struggle between good and evil in each person.Yet, in an age where the view of criminality shift the focus from lower classes to higher classes, created a change in perspective where men's reputation was not as easily kept as it was before. Therefore, another reading of the text is that it exposes the changing late Victorian society…
WILLY WONKA- SCHIZOTYPAL PERSONALITY DISORDER About the character Willy Wonka is one of the main characters in Roald Dahl’s famous books, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. The character was portrayed by Gene Wilder in the 1971 film adaptation, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and was portrayed by Johnny Depp in the 2005 film adaptation, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Both the films and the books describe Willy Wonka as a phoenix-like man who…
Throughout the novel The Perfume- the story of a murderer, the author Patrick Süskind explores and displays his protagonist Jean-Baptiste Grenouille’s journey from an orphan to the greatest perfumer in France with an array of different ways, ranging from an animal to a God. Süskind uses a variety of literary techniques such as zoomorphism, allusions, and imagery to reveal Grenouille’s fickle disposition. Consequently, the effect of making divine, animalistic and childlike comparisons of the…
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Robert Louis Stevenson’s, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is probably one of the best known works to come out of the Victorian Era. This short novella griped the audiences of the late nineteenth century Britons, and its popularity has not wavered. You would be hard pressed to find an average person who does not know the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In 1894 Joseph Jacobs wrote that “it stands beside The Pilgrim’s Progress and Gulliver’s Travels as one of the three great…