Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Okay, I first read this during the summer got to say this is one of my FAVORITE stories yet!!! Tis a must read. It was written in 1885 Bournemouth England, and the narrator is 3rd person until the last paragraph.
Here’s a summary of the story:
Mr. Utterson is a lawyer and listens to a friend of his called Enfield talk about a horrid assault upon a young girl who was trampled by a person called Mr. Hyde, who gave them a check in conpensation. Due to it’s obscenity and the reluctance to gossip about it, they refused to speak of the matter further. Oddly, one of Utterson’s clients, Dr Jekyll, transferred all his property to Mr. Hyde. The lawyer then visits Dr. Lanyon, a mutual friend of Jekyll and Utterson, to ask about Jekyll. Lanyon confirms it has been long since they last met, due to a quarrel over a scientific research. Then, Utterson investigates a building the Hyde enters often, which is in fact a laboratory connected to Jekyll’s house. Utterson confronts Hyde and sees the person as ugly, and openly gives Utterson his address. Dr. Jekyll then tells Utterson to ignore Hyde. After an uneventful year, a maid witnessed Hyde beating Sir Danvers Carew, a member of Parliament and a client of Utterson to death. They investigate Hyde, and visit Jekyll, whom states he has turned against him and Hyde’s relationship. Jekyll hands Utterson a note that he wrote to Hyde that severed their friendship, though after close inspection that very night the writing of the two men appeared to share great resemblance. For the next few month’s Jekyll exhibits friendliness until suddenly he rejected all visitors. Lanyon died but before the occurrence he gave Utterson a letter and told him not to open it until Jekyll died. Utterson and Enfield then went and visited Jekyll, who rejected Utterson and Enfield. Finally after a few weeks, the butler of Jekyll came to alert Utterson that Jekyll was in his lab for a few weeks already, and the man inside the lab had a voice different from Jekyll. They decided to break in the lab. After they broke in they found Hyde dead in the clothing of Jekyll, with a letter.
MY FAVORITE PART!!!
In Lanyon’s letter it explains that Lanyon died because of shock- shock from seeing Dr. Hyde metamorphose into Jekyll! In Jekyll’s letter, Jekyll explains how he tries to split the good and evil part from himself, and he could transform himself into a darker self, which was Mr. Hyde. He did so with a potion which he created. Hyde was free of any restrictions and could act in any way he wanted. It was a freedom to assume Hyde’s form as Jekyll explains he was constantly restricted by social pressure. He enjoyed it until he was alarmed that one day he woke up under the form of Hyde, and eventually he made himself abstain from the potion. Finally one night, he could not take it anymore after craving to be Hyde and transformed. Than night he killed Danvers Carew. He then decided to stop the transformation, but turned into Hyde one day in the park. He asked for the help of Lanyon to create more potions, but Lanyon was shocked and died. Jekyll required more potions to reverse the change and eventually ran out of potions. He could not make more due to the loss of a key ingredient, a special type of salt. Before his time ran out he wrote this compressed letter and killed himself if he were to live as Hyde forever. He ends his life as Dr. Jekyll.
This touches on Romanticism, as it explores the duality of human nature and focuses a lot on the social pressure a Londoner of high status has. This is one of the first times when a story is about a repressed personality. Here’s a quick comparison between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Dr. Jekyll is scientific and respected while being nerdy and could be considered by many to have “no life.” He’s out going and social, also curious, neat, tall, old, and more self-controlled. Mr. Hyde is smaller and younger, since Mr. Hyde developed later than the good Jekyll, and is young and weak, not to mention very hairy. He is also impulsive, clever, and adventurous.
1. a) Which main topic does the artifact relate to:
It has to do with romanticism and realism, which could be part of ingenuity, if that groups inventions of literature. It also regards the evolution of science and religion.
b) Which other main topics does it also relate to:
It also concerns technology, as the plot is significantly tied to the exploration of new technology and various sciences.
2. Why did you choose this artifact, and how much time did you spend creating and/or processing it:
I like Victorian literature, except for Jane Austen. The sci-fi is interesting, and the prototype of Hulk is definitely worth reading. I spent the summer doing this.
3. What insights and understanding have you gained from the creation and/or processing of this artifact
It not only is a good read, it also shows what people would read back then, across different genres. It gives insights on the rise of psychology as well.
4. Does this artifact reflect your best work and/or ideas Why, or why not
If I were to bet my money on work, I’d say literature has been the subject I’ve endorsed most of my time in.
5. Rate this artifact on a scale of -5 to 5(0 is neutral) for the following 4 criterion:
a) Impact on the quality of your Portfolio
b) Impact on your level of happiness/enjoyment
c) Impact on your learning
d) Level of creativity and originality
5 definitely, happiness is great, learning the perspective of psychology from an evil part of yourself is awesome, and definitely original!
6. Any additional comments.
I would have done H.G Wells as first choice :D
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