Analysis of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

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Analysis of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Everyone has heard of Jekyll and Hyde. The two infamous characters

that portray the main roles in The Strange Case of Dr.Jekyll and

Mr.Hyde. Yet, even with this phenomenal status of the book,

surprisingly, not many people know what is really represented inside

its pages. Firstly, to understand what made The Strange Case of

Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde a classical story known by young and old alike,

we must look at where it began.

As a child, Stevenson was very much obsessed with William Deacon

Brodie – a notorious criminal from Edinburgh in the 18th Century.

Stevenson had a cabinet that was created by Brodie’s company in his

bedroom, and was fascinated by the history behind it. Stevenson’s

inspiration from William’s life is very much apparent in The Strange

Case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde with the idea of duality displayed in

almost every chapter of the Novella.

William Deacon Brodie was a very respectable man, being a member of

the local government and a fine gentleman, much like Jekyll in the

book. What people didn’t know, however, is that at night he would

leave his house using the back entrance (similar to Jekyll’s second

door), and go to Brothels and Cock fights, indulging in unrespectable

acts to a man of his status. This idea of there being two sides of

Edinburgh – the respectable side and the unrespectable side. This is

also in the book, with the two sides of London portrayed as Cavendish

Square and Soho – with the two very much next to each other.

Evidently the idea of duality began in the very inspiration for the

book. The most obvious example in the book if the double life of

Jekyll/...

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...hown to us by Stevenson as an evil character

through the use of the word ‘Juggernaut’, which has a sense of

overpowering strength for a evil purpose, and the child makes us see

how Hyde is abusive and does not care for other people.

It is hard to explain how Robert Louis Stevenson’s novella, The

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is worth reading. The

characterisation lets us understand the characters in a way that

modern-day horror doesn’t – and the method of storytelling is unique

and compelling. Stevenson uses thorough use of language throughout

that helps us understand characters emotions and the environments that

Stevenson chose to set the novella in. So in Conclusion, there is not

a single reason why you should not read The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll

and Mr Hyde, which in every way, is a perfect horror story.

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