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Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Analysis

Decent Essays

People have always been judged on their actions and there’s no sign of it stopping now. The Victorian Era correctly portrays this theme. In Robert Louis Stevenson’s mystery novella, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, this time greatly influences Utterson and Jekyll’s actions. Utterson always upholds his friends wishes in whatever they ask him to do. In the novel, Utterson has received a letter from Lanyon and once he opened it, he found another letter inside the first one but instead of being able to open it, the letter has strict instructions to not open and read it. But Utterson couldn’t just put it down and “A great curiosity came on the trustee… but professional honour and faith to his dead friend were stringent obligations; and the packet slept in the inmost corner of his private safe”(Stevenson 32). After being told by the letter to not open it, Utterson’s curiosity was overwhelming him and he wanted to read it so bad but since he lives by honor and he respects his friend, he put it away. He didn’t want to be judged and even though no one else was there to see it, the guilt of betraying his society was going to haunt him because reputation is everything. …show more content…

At this point, Jekyll has sent a letter to Utterson explaining why he has done everything and why he creates Hyde. One of the first lines of the letter read, “And indeed the worst of my faults was a certain impatient gaiety of disposition,”(Stevenson 56). The civilization that Jekyll has grown up in is so perfect but such a cautious community because of reputation that he couldn’t do anything without being examined at all times. Every move made was always being watched by someone’s eyes so that if a person took one wrong step, there goes that person’s life and Jekyll just couldn’t take

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