The Gothic Novels of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein and Confessions of a Justified Sinner
The word 'Gothic', taken from a Germanic tribe, the Goths, stood firstly for 'Germanic' and then 'mediaeval'. It was introduced to fiction by Horace Walpole in 'Castle of Otranto, a Gothic Story', and was used to depict its mediaeval setting. As more novelists adopted this Gothic setting; dark and gloomy castles on high, treacherous mountains, with supernatural howling in the distance; other characteristics of the 'Gothic Novel' could be identified. The most dominant characteristic seems to be the constant battle between the good and the dark side of the human soul and how that, given a chance, the dark side of human nature will gradually develop, through the actions of the character in question, until it has engulfed the good, and also raises the theme of suffering and isolation. Other keynotes of 'Gothic Novels' seem to be the misuse or abuse of technology. For example, science is used to create new beings, the characters turning against or abusing nature and/or God, where the character may take on the role of God, the forbidden attraction of evil, the thrill of the kill, and death.
The novels Frankenstein, Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Confessions of a Justified Sinner all contain important truths about human nature and mankind. By looking into these three texts, I am going to explore exactly how they fit or do not fit into the various interpretations of 'Gothic' I have laid out.
The two most prominent themes in Doctor Jekyll and Mr Hyde are those of the 'misuse of technology'and 'the dark side of man and all its attractions.' These two themes are, in fact, directly linked with each other as it is as a r...
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James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues tells the story of the narrator and his brother and the hardships that they must endure. As Kahlil Gibran States “Out of suffering have emerged the strangest souls, the most massive characters are seared with scars.” (Gibran). In that very quote the real light is shown as it informs the reader that with suffering comes growth and once the person whomever it may be emerges out of the darkness they may have scars but it has made them stronger. The theme of light and darkness as well as suffering play a vital part in this story. For both men there are times in which they have the blues and suffer in the darkness of their lives but music takes the suffering from them.
Stevenson is most known for his many loved novels such as Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, A Child’s Garden of Verses, and Kidnapped (Life-Robert). The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was written in English, around the year 1884 and published shortly after in 1886 (Wolf 22). In the first six months, the story sold over forty thousand copies in England (“Robert”). Concerning the popularity of Stevenson’s fiction, "Explanation of: 'The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ' by Robert Louis Stevenson" informs that when the books were imported to America, many people became disturbed. The American people claimed that the book had blasphemous topics. Besides the controversy that Stevenson’s novel stirred up, today Stevenson is one of the most known and translated authors of our time
The Lorax is a tale that involves business ethics and environmental ethics. “Even in 1972, Dr. Seuss recognized that modern corporations don’t always have the environment at heart when they decide how to do business. The Lorax, provides a straightforward account of what can go wrong when companies fail to take environmental concerns into account (Arthur)”. Could the Once-ler have done things differently to keep the environment healthy? The film ultimately provokes the question, is there a way for businesses to exist that is not in conflict with the natural environments that they work
Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales Of Horror. London: Penguin, 2003. Print.
Marijuana in America became a popular ingredient in many medicinal products and was openly sold in pharmacies in the late nineteenth century (“Busted-America’s War on Marijuana Timeline”). The National Institute of Drug Abuse defines marijuana as, “The dried leaves, flowers, stems, and seeds from the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, which contains the psychoactive (mind-altering) chemical delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), as well as other related compounds” (“DrugFacts: Marijuana”). It was not until the Food and Drug act of 19...
Although Judith is characterized as a strong, independent women, she maintains her faith in God. For example, directly after defeating Holofernes, Judith says a prayer in order to thank God for giving her the strength to save her hometown. After asking for forgiveness from God, the public thanked Judith by giving her strength and encouragement. This further developed her character as a hero while showing that keeping god in mind helped Judith accomplish her goals. While the Bible teaches this, the author of Judith maintained this theme in order to show people that strength and courage come from maintaining faith in God.
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Ed. Katherine Linehan. New York: Norton, 2003. Print.
Gothic Excesses are signified by an “over-abundance of imaginative frenzy”, untamed by reason and unrestrained by “neoclassical demands for simplicity, r...
Schwartz, Richard H. "Marijuana: A Decade And A Half Later, Still A Crude Drug With Underappreciated Toxicity." Pediatrics 109.2 (2002): 284. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
Drug violators are a major cause of extreme overcrowding in US prisons. In 1992, 59,000 inmates were added to make a record setting 833,600 inmates nationwide (Rosenthal 1996). A high percentage of these prisoners were serving time because of drug related incid...
“Sonny’s Blues” displays imagery in the theme of the story as he portrays light and darkness in events throughout the story tells us as reader the good and the bad. The light of the story being the good and graceful events show when the narrator describes his brother Sonny as a child, and the way his face lit up on Sunday afternoons during their parents friendly gatherings after church. The light is everything good through the flow of the story. The light also shows when the brothers rebuild their relationship at the end of the story. Light represents all of the positivity and hopeful events that are a part of life. The darkness shows in Sonny’s addiction, the fight between the brothers, as well the narrator’s feelings towards his brother’s life style, and the loss of his daughter. When the story first opens the narrator looks out to the young boys and starts to say:
In determining the ethicality of legalizing marijuana, it is necessary to understand the background of the issue, and to identify the most important stakeholders. In the 1930s, many states began outlawing the substance; ironically California was the first of these states (Rendon). In 1937, the federal government outlawed the substance, which pushed the growth and sale underground (Rendon). In 1970, President Nixon declared the substance a Schedule I Substance, which indicates that the substance has “a high potential for abuse” and “no currently accepted medical use” (Controlled Substances Act). The federal government has specified that for marijuana to have an accepted medical use, it must “be subjected to the same rigorous clinical trials and scientific scrutiny that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) applies to all other new medications” ("Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about Marijuana"). There are numerous stakeholders in an ethical dilemma of this magnitude, which...
Beowulf has multiple archetype that can be defined as figures, character types, settings, and story patterns that are universally shared by people across cultures. Three that stick out the most are character archetypes, symbolic archetypes, and situational archetypes. The reason these stick out the most to me is because Beowulf goes on an adventure driven by his desire to help. Also Beowulf is the main hero of the novel and is constantly saving the day. Cause Beowulf is depicted as a hero it is easy to say that this show character archetypes. Him fighting the Grendel, Grendel’s Mother and the Dragon can be seen as symbolic and situational archetypes.
Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of the short story, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, was strongly influenced by the great developments in medical science during the Victorian Age. He was fascinated by its impact on everyday life, and his writings explored the questions and possibilities of going beyond mankind’s current knowledge. Exploring the excitement, doubts and curiosity of the Victorian people, Stevenson chose, as the novel’s protagonist, a scientist who exploits his profound scientific understanding of nature to his own uncertain ends. The norms of late Victorian years shape the fictitious psychological story known as “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”.
Stevenson, Robert Louis, and Katherine Linehan. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: an