Stevenson's Depiction of the Murder of Sir Danvers Carew in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Stevenson's Depiction of the Murder of Sir Danvers Carew in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Robert Louis Stevenson wrote the novel "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll

and Mr Hyde." The novel is set in the society of Victorian London and

was written in 1886. The story tells of a middle-class respectable

man, who's profession as a scientist one day leads him to experiment

with a potion in his laboratory. He does this due to the fact that he

is living in a society where he is seen to be highly respectable and

where individuals have only one personality, i.e. being good. This

potion goes wrong, resulting in a personality splitting into two

opposite directions, one being evil and the other being good, causing

horrific situations and terrible events like murders. The scene in

which Carew is murdered is a very important scene as it is a turning

point in the novel. It is the first major crime that Hyde has

committed, and so it makes the reader wonder whether the mystery is

finally going to be revealed as he has committed a serious crime and

there is no way that he can escape. In this scene, Stevenson utilizes

a range of different devices and techniques to add efficacy to the

scene and the novel.

The scene starts off with a strong first sentence. Stevenson uses the

first sentence to grab the reader's attention and to make them want to

read on and know what is actually going to happen that is so

momentous. The reader gets the idea of momentous because Stevenson

uses the words "London was startled," this emphasises that this "crime

of singular ferocity," effected the whole of London, not just one or

two people. Another purpose of this fir...

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...also a lot of contradiction in Victorian

Society. People like Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens wrote novels

based on the two sides to Victorian Society, i.e. the rich and the

veneer of respectability compared to the poor and the criminals. This

novel was also based on the theory of the "Doppelganger." This extract

of the novel adds a major turning point, which shows the reader what

Hyde is like and how the society did not accept him. Stevenson wrote

this scene very well as he describes the murder successfully and it

has different contrasts in it making the reader want to read it and

leaving them totally stunned throughout the whole scene. The novel

"The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde," was very successful as it

has been around for many years and is still being enjoyed today and

will be for many years yet to come.