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The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde Essay

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The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Jekyll and Hyde was written by Robert Louis Stevenson during the
Victorian era. This is significant because during this period, society is very different from today’s society. When looking at this novella it is also important to consider the ideas of good and evil in the characters of Jekyll and Hyde.

During the Victorian era men were more powerful and the women had a lower ranking. The belief of society were such that people were covered completely and were forced to appear ‘non-sexual’. This leads to the two layers of society - a surface layer which was very polite, well-mannered and refined, and a ‘repressed’ layer where people (more significantly men) expressed their unacceptable …show more content…

They describe Soho “like a district of some city in a nightmare.”

Men are dual natures in the belief of Dr Jekyll and thinks that humans are ‘not truly one, but two.’ That is why Dr Jekyll created the potion that would turn himself from Jekyll to Hyde. Hyde is created so that
Jekyll can get rid of all of all his ‘Undignified pleasures.’ Hyde is describe as a juggernauted, ugly, damnable man. He’s small and is referrers as his clothes being to big for him. Dr Jekyll is 9/10 good and 1/10 evil so he will have 90% guilt where as Mr Hyde is 0/10 good and 10/10 evil which means he will have 0% guilt. “Mr Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity” That is the Robert
Louis Stevenson describes Mr Hyde and he also has “ape-like fury” which describes the way in which he behaves. In the way that Mr Hyde acts is the complete opposite of how Dr Jekyll would act. Robert Louis
Stevenson is using Darwin theory of evolution in this novella by the why in which he describes Mr Hyde.

Robert Louis Stevenson also uses Weather according to places and how places look to a great effect. “A great chocolate-coloured pall lavened over heaven.” He uses this line in chapter 4 - The Carew
Murder Case. He also describes the back entrance of Dr Jekyll’s nice house as dark and dingy as if its not looked after properly. That is the entrance that Mr Hyde uses

Lee Sykes 11BP

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