Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde

Stevenson writes ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ with the intention of showing the reader the duality of man and explores this through the juxtaposition of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In this novella, Stevenson also uses the environment and setting of the story to represent the contrast between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a novel written by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson and published in 1886. It concerns a lawyer, Gabriel Utterson, who investigates the strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the reclusive Mr. Edward Hyde. This novel represents an ideology in Western culture; the perpetual conflict between humanity’s virtuosity and immorality. It is interpreted as an accurate guidebook to the Victorian era’s belief of the duality of human nature. This essay will explore Mr. Edward Hyde and whether Stevenson intended for him to be a mere character in the novel or something of wider significance.

“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is a novella written by Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scottish author. Written and published 1886, this novella reflects on the individual, and societal behavior during the Victorian era. During the Victorian era people, were supposed to behave like a normal person. Certain behaviors were highly restricted for example, showing evil. Instead, they were expected to give respect for everyone. People who acted out against the norm during this period were usually sent to asylums because such behaviors were unacceptable. People in this society did just that, they behaved as if they were perfectly normal. This does not mean that their bad side did not exist. Instead, they hid their

to say that Dr Henry Jekyll is very much the best in what he does and

Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a complex and tricky novel to fully grasp, but the reader can come to understand many parallels to their own lives. Stevenson’s creation has stood the test of time because of its power to astonish; even if one previously new the outcome. This power has made Jekyll and Hyde, a pair that will continue to provoke thought in many readers in generations to

This story is also a way for Stevenson to have a go at hypocroisy and

In this essay I am going to look at Mr Hyde and Dr Jekyll, the first

Stevenson uses the characters of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to expresses his beliefs about human duality by introducing them as two contrasting characters, instead of just one character. Using two completely different characters with different names and appearances gets his message of human duality across more effectively rather than using just one character that turns a different colour when its angry, for example.

with him again. Also in the later Dr Jekyll wrote that he was going on

In the novel “The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde” there is a theme of good vs evil. Good being Dr. Jekyll and evil Mr Hyde they have the inner fight between themselves, because they are the same person.Robert louis Stevenson uses Diction,imagery,and details to contrast the character of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde

The sophisticatedly-constructed novel ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ was devised in 1886, during the revolutionary Victorian era, by the author, Robert Louis Stevenson. Stevenson developed a desire to write in his early life and ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ cemented his reputation. The novel is widely known for its shocking principles that terrified and alarmed the Victorian readers. ‘Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ plays with the idea of the dual nature of man, his two identities. On the surface, Dr Jekyll is a conventional, Victorian gentleman, but below the surface lurks the primitive, satanic-like creature of Mr Edward Hyde. One of the elements that play a significant part in the novel is setting. Stevenson subtly uses the setting to

This essay will focus on how Robert Louis Stevenson presents the nature of evil through his novel ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’. Using ideas such as duality, the technique used to highlight the two different sides of a character or scene, allegories, an extended metaphor which has an underlying moral significance, and hypocrisy; in this book the Victorians being against all things evil but regularly taking part in frown able deeds that would not be approved of in a ‘respectable’ society. This links in with the idea of secrecy among people and also that evil is present in everyone. The novel also has strong ties and is heavily influenced by religion. Stevenson, being brought up following strong

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson, is a story rife with the imagery of a troubled psyche. Admittedly taken largely from Stevenson’s dreams, it undoubtably sheds light on the author’s own hidden fears and desires. Written at the turn of the 19th Century, it also reflects the psychology of society in general at the same time when Sigmund Freud was setting about to do the same thing. While Freud is often criticized for his seemingly excessive emphasis on sexual suppression as the leading cause of psychological disturbances, the time period in which he lived was exceedingly strict on what constituted appropriate and inappropriate behavior.

Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic novella, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde unveils various gothic elements. It is a mesh of different stories into one. The several narratives embraced by Jekyll do not exist separately, but instead rely on one another, (Germana, 2011). The Gothicism in, and concept of the novella shocked readers of its time. The novella offered new scientific thought, which many feared and could not accept.