Edinburgh Festival Fringe

Insanity seemed to be a matter of great fascination to those of the Victorian Era. Mental illness was the subject of many novels and scientific journals published during the second half of the 19th century, many of which went on to become quite popular. Amongst the most famous of these works is Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, which depicts an individual suffering from a personality split and extreme impulses towards evil. Even to a modern reader who has never…

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…

Individuals live in a world that is imperfect. There are good versus evil sides, in one person. People try to control their good and bad personalities, but can evil be controlled. In this classic of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson shows the difference between the gentleman Dr. Jekyll and his alter ego Mr. Hyde. In the year of publication in Victorian England because of crimes many people were frightened after reading the novel. This novel takes readers on a mysterious journey…

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…

One internal conflict is Jekyll’s ability to perceive that what Hyde is doing is also somewhat his own fault. Because Jekyll had created Hyde, he must feel guilty every time Hyde commits a felony. The murder of Carew, being because of his own accord, was a very remorseful event. Jekyll saw that he had killed a highly respected man for no good reason other than his own ambition to be a youthful Hyde again. After the involuntary transformations and the massacre of Carew, Jekyll knew he must put an…

“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…