University of Edinburgh

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…

"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are clearly two different personalities because of their physical, mental and moral differences. As Stevenson said in his story Dr. Jekyll is “a large, well-made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness — you could see by his looks that he cherished for Mr. Utterson a sincere and warm affection.” Dr. Jekyll is a scientist from London. He is also a well-known, well liked middle aged scientist as…

Bloom has been teaching at Yale University since 1955. The American Academy of Arts and Letter Gold Medal for Criticism was given to Harold Bloom in the year 1999. Both good and bad sides have their own ways of changing one’s identity either permanently or temporarily. “Dr. Jekyll and Mr…

In the book The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson and the Cherokee Myth, there is compared evidence of duality supported by the ideas that good and evil exists in everyone, appearance creates identity, and giving into temptation allows for weakness. There is the duality of good and evil, right and wrong, happiness and sadness. Robert Stevenson creates the idea that every character has two sides to them: good and evil. Similarly, there is duality between Dr.…

Jekyll’s first person perspective of getting ready to give a scientific lecture at a local university in Victorian London. This narrowed lens gives Dr. Jekyll a sense of God-like, self-centeredness that helps foreshadow the horrific action to come. After his lecture, Dr. Jekyll reveals to his friend, Dr. Lanyon that he dreams of pushing the boundaries…

Gothic Analysis Essay Witchcraft, magic and occultism, such known and mentioned subjects, especially in Gothic literature. Stories that have been documented overtime have become mere entertainment to today’s public, constantly incorporated into movies, remade stories (with happier ending, like Disney’s interpretations) but it was only a few decades ago that these stories tormented any believers thoughts from time to time. In these myths, the characters whether being accused…

Grenouille as Anti-Hero Patrik suskind’s choice of Grenouille's characteristics in the Perfume made him successful on creating an anti hero whom the reader wants to see succeed despite the character's negative qualities. In Patrik Sunkind’s book Perfume: the story of a murderer, the main character, Grenouille's Grenouille; the protagonist in Perfume: the story of a murderer, is a human being with a supernatural ability which is his extraordinary sense of smell. Patrik suskind insists…

In the novella, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde the ingenious author, Robert Louis Stevenson, makes usage of shifts in the subject of the chapters and his differing methods of storytelling to draw parallels between the chapters “Dr. Jekyll Was Quite at Ease” and “The Carew Murder Case.” Within the contents of chapter three,“ Dr. Jekyll Was Quite at Ease”, Stevenson maintains a heavy focus on the friendship between Jekyll and Utterson as is clearly exhibited through Utterson heaving…

The Quest for Fulfillment Extracts Jekyll’s Evil Why has Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde touched so many readers so powerfully? One answer lies in the spirit of the time in which it was written. Another answer may lie within the connection some readers might experience to the main character Jekyll. His escape from political and social norm is an ability many readers fantasize about, and Robert Louis Stevenson flawlessly encompassed the illusion that they could, within the character of Mr. Hyde. Because…