The early 19th century was a very influential time in European history, it was a time that everything was changing and people started to actually focus on science and ask questions. This was a time that people actually lifted their heads up and realized that the world around them may actually be a scarier place with this new technology and these new practices of science. This time period is a writers paradise, people were naturally weary of the new-ness of technology and of the industrialization of their towns. When authors such as Mary Shelly and Robert Louis Stevenson were beginning to write these books they made sure to take into account the amount of horrors in the everyday lifestyles of many of the European people, such as high rates of
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Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the second time, I realized the actual scary part of the book for people in the late 19th century. In our lectures we went over how crime in the streets was a major problem and how people all worked in factories and we saw the beginning of a technological revolution. The technological revolution had many scary sides to it itself people were being torn apart by the machines in the factories that they worked in and the standard of living for the poor was very low, there was pollution, crime and this was a dark time in general. Stevenson emphasized the darkness of the time, which was smart of him, it gave the book a more hit home kind of feel. As you said in our Lectures, late 19th century London had a strange fascination in irrational urges and crimes. This was a time that we saw people starting to actually commit crimes more frequently and it was the beginning to a formation of a police force. The interest in crime comes in with Mr. Utterson, Jekyll’s best friend. Utterson is a very nosy man, he wants to know everything about what Hyde has, in regards of blackmail, against the proper, well brought up, gentleman, Dr. Jekyll. Utterson begins to snoop and speculates Jekyll’s past to try and figure out what Hyde has on him, he wonders if it is women, drinking, gambling, or even homosexuality in Jekylls past. Utterson stays hot on Hydes tail for the majority of the book, but it isn 't hard at all for Hyde to get away with these brutal killings, because he can just take the potion and hide in broad day
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the second time, I realized the actual scary part of the book for people in the late 19th century. In our lectures we went over how crime in the streets was a major problem and how people all worked in factories and we saw the beginning of a technological revolution. The technological revolution had many scary sides to it itself people were being torn apart by the machines in the factories that they worked in and the standard of living for the poor was very low, there was pollution, crime and this was a dark time in general. Stevenson emphasized the darkness of the time, which was smart of him, it gave the book a more hit home kind of feel. As you said in our Lectures, late 19th century London had a strange fascination in irrational urges and crimes. This was a time that we saw people starting to actually commit crimes more frequently and it was the beginning to a formation of a police force. The interest in crime comes in with Mr. Utterson, Jekyll’s best friend. Utterson is a very nosy man, he wants to know everything about what Hyde has, in regards of blackmail, against the proper, well brought up, gentleman, Dr. Jekyll. Utterson begins to snoop and speculates Jekyll’s past to try and figure out what Hyde has on him, he wonders if it is women, drinking, gambling, or even homosexuality in Jekylls past. Utterson stays hot on Hydes tail for the majority of the book, but it isn 't hard at all for Hyde to get away with these brutal killings, because he can just take the potion and hide in broad day