Worst-case scenario

“The Speckled Band” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson are two Victorian Era mystery stories with two completely different plots. Despite having two completely different plots and two completely different main messages, they both explore the similar theme of good and evil. Both of these stories express this theme through different cases and perceptions. One of the hopefully blatantly obvious evils in both stories is murder. Both…

Stevenson “case” was written many years before Freud developed his theory of psychoanalysis, Stevenson foresees Freud's method; therefore, influencing his theory (Stiles 895). Finally, Stevenson had lasting effects on society with his literature. While split identity was established before Stevenson’s novella, no one had explored it with the depth that Stevenson did (Davis 11). Literature focused around split identity was “one of the privileged ways of exploring the mysteries of the modern self…

Gothic literature is didactic as it exposes the inner mechanisms of mans mind and the resulting repression within society. Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ explores the nature of mankind, the inner psychology of man’s mind and the perversions that drives their behaviour through his protagonist, Dr Jekyll, a man who is hiding a darker side of him, Mr Hyde. Gothic literature, especially Stevensons’s novella also examines the dichotomy of society and the…

An alter ego is defined in two ways, as an alternative personality to the current figure, or as a close friend who thinks and feels similarly to them. In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll’s alter ego, Mr. Hyde is a complete opposite of Jekyll, yet at the same time a close companion of him. Their relationship is a complex one that is ever-changing as the book progresses. Jekyll uses his counterpart of Hyde as a temporary escape to absolve himself of…

The book The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is mysterious story written by Robert Louis Stevenson. The plot of the story, focusing on the disturbingly unpleasant Mr. Hyde and the good guy Dr. Jekyll, tells of the process of a normal person transforming, at the sip of a potion, into a villainous alter ego. This book is a classic work of literature and is highly representative of human nature. Also, this novel uses much symbolism to be later discussed. The theme and purpose of this book…

Bennett and Royle discuss how many short stories revolve around the main character having an epiphany (54). In Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll experiences the struggle between good and evil that occurs in every person and the devastating effects it can have when evil overcomes good. In the story, Dr. Jekyll has the epiphany the evil personality of Mr. Hyde was overcoming the good in Dr. Jekyll. The quote illustrates the idea the choice Dr. Jekyll makes when…

As a result, Lexy truly began to plunge headfirst into complete madness. The frequencies through which the inherents could interact with Mr. Jones on this plane of existence could be heard only by Jones and Lexy, who was the only human who could hear these attempted interactions. However, what Jones knew and understood as communication from home was foreign and unsettling to Lexy. This misunderstanding drove Lexy into the insanity that gripped every fiber of his being. Even commercials on…

Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, referenced Carl Jung’s theories and played with the idea of what made someone good and another evil through characters and events of the book. Firstly, Carl Jung, a Swedish psychologist, believed in archetypes of humans, especially the shadow archetype. The shadow archetype, according to Carl Jung, is one’s darker side and is filled with impulses, darker intentions, and others of the like. Additionally, Carl Jung stated…

Explore how the theme of duality is explored in ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ Duality is key to Stevenson’s message about the divide in human nature. He explores this through highlighting hypocrisy in Victorian society, using terror imagery to reflect the true divide in human nature. Stevenson also explores the idea that the evil in human nature can never be separated and so it will forever be attached to the good in us. Stevenson exposes hypocrisy in the Victorian society to strengthen his message about…

between good and bad. In the gothic novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson the concepts of humanity as dual in nature, and the importance of reputation are used to create tension between the good Dr. Jekyll and the revel Mr. Hyde. While at the same time representing the suppression of the Victorian time period. “Man is not truly one, but truely two.” The importance of duality in the novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde plays a major role…