Preview

Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Historical Events

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
643 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Dr Jekyll And Mr Hyde Historical Events
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is greatly influenced by the historical events that happened during the time when Robert Louis Stevenson was writing this novel. The three main historical context that influenced the book are religion, the Victorian conventions of the nineteenth century and the gothic literature that was being published at the same time. Religion was a major part of the nineteenth century and was greatly enforced into the author and everyone’s daily life during that time. The Victorian conventions which caused great repression which is represented in Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. As well as the gothic novels that were also coming about during the same time which provoked discussion such as Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley which has quite a lot of similarities to Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Religion impacted the writing of Robert Louis Stevenson greatly, he was brought up to the religion of Calvinism by his parents and nanny. Its ideas are embedded in the pages of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. One of the main ideas in Calvinist is that man is born with an evil will. This is strongly displayed in the main idea that Dr. Jekyll has this deep longing for a life of pleasure without consequences. As seen on Chapter 10 Henry Jekyll’s Full Statement of the Case; “It …show more content…
Jekyll and Mr. Hyde he was using the basic template established by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley in Frankenstein. Both novels were extremely similar in both a well-educated man/scientist who conducts secret experiments that gradually become out of control. The experiment both result in a doppelganger or mysterious supernatural double, who wrecks destruction upon the immediate domestic and social circle of its creator. Both works provoke discussion about the appropriate limits of human ambition, and they question whether or not humans should be granted unlimited scientific

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Robert Louis Stevenson wrote the novella Dr, Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. After having a nightmare with the same story line he began writing the book and finished it three days after. The spooky novel is based in Victorian London. The classic book had been used in many movies, television shows, and more. Little did Stevenson know his nightmare would become one of the most well known horror books in the world.The author helps create an eerie mood in the book using imagery,diction, and details.…

    • 586 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Dr. Jekyll is a man with a deeply divided sense of private self and public self. He is a doctor and a long-time good friend he is also a scholar. Mr. Hyde thinks about "himself as a fifty years old a large tall man without facial hair". He believes that Dr. Jekyll is devoted to charities and to his religion.…

    • 235 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the story “The strange case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde”, it is a story based around the duality personality of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde. The story conveys the differences of actions between Hyde and the Doctor. They are two separate personalities, Hyde is a dingy, short, ugly man and the doctor is tall, successful, handsome man. Also Hyde is very to himself and the Doctor has many friends and companions. There is one thing that makes them quite similar, they’re sneaky. One man was only slightly more witted than the other.…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, written by Robert Louis Stevenson is a late-Victorian novel. It tells a story about a London lawyer Mr. Utterson investigates the unusual relation between his old friend Dr. Jekyll and the wicked murderer Edward Hyde. The message that author tries to convey throughout the novel is controversial and revealing. In fact, in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson makes effective use of imagery, characterization and several points of view to emphasize his contention that a dual nature exists in every human being and that both good and evil sides should be recognized and kept in balance.…

    • 432 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Robert Louis Stevenson has been coined the title of a literary genius for his work, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Put shortly Jekyll and Hyde, is a story about a man investigating the secrets of a second man, who is in fact two different men living two different personas. Though the story is indeed short enough to read within a few passing hours, it is long enough to force the reader to question their own duality. Is man truly one? Or is each man composed of two separate halves, the good, and the evil? It is undeniable that the case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is strange indeed. However, it is also a work of art filled with impossible sciences.…

    • 983 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A man that struggles with his temptation, his eventual downfall, and attempt at redemption, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are two main characters in Stevenson’s novel. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are the most dominant example of duality in man. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Hyde was published during the time of Victorian reign where religion, dignity, and honor of ones self were three very significant foundation of a human kind. Jekyll was forced to suppress his feelings due to the rigid norms of the Victorian society. As interpreted in the book, Mr. Hyde is Dr. Jekyll, only molded into an epitome of Dr. Jekyll’s vicious personality. The two characters that Stevenson has created have only left the readers confused until the end of the novel. In…

    • 288 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In Robert Louis Stevenson’s timeless novel, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, he uses setting and characterization to emphasize the idea that a person will act a way if they are expected to. In his novel, the character of Dr. Jekyll alludes to the mostly good people. Mr. Hyde, however, specifically shows the bad people in society. For these two characters, the constantly changing gothic setting of this novel and the different extremes between light and dark represent their characterizations.…

    • 2140 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    The doctor scoff down the strange concoction. Suddenly pangs of uneasiness and pain rush through the doctor body stringing him along. A change of deformity had occurred. The doctor was no longer his usual, genteel self. He was of a small stature and dwarfish and a frightening malice seen when in the creature presence. This is one of Henry Jekyll’s shocking discoveries. “Man is not truly one but two”( Stevenson) The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde explores the theme of the the duality of man. As well as The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet, It explores the dual nature of everything. “ Violent delights have violent ends” ( Shakespeare Ⅱ vi 9). Dr. Jekyll is indulgent with his evil side which creates a violent end for him. Because of this…

    • 1153 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson leaves the reader to ponder whether not Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are the same person or two different people. The book describes several commonalities and differences between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The differences and commonalities are not just found in the physical description of the characters but also in their personalities and their actions. It is my opinion that Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are in fact one person with two separate personalities.…

    • 839 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Themes: Good v Evil → Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are the perfect example of good versus evil. Mr. Hyde -who is dark, twisted, and a little creepy- serves as a counterpart to Dr. Jekyll in ways beyond his mental state of mind. Even considering Mr. Hyde’s appearance demonstrates how he is negatively viewed; he is described as “more of a dwarf,” a “masked thing,” and “doubled up” (Stevenson ). Although Dr. Jekyll attempts to suppress Mr. Hyde’s personality for a long time, we see how the battle between good and evil doesn’t always have a happy ending.…

    • 278 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The book 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde' was published in 1886. Although in the book R. L.Stevenson does not ever state the exact year, it was at the time recognized immediately as a grand work. The original idea occurred to him in a nightmare from which his wife awakened him. In fact, Stevenson was disappointed that she had interrupted his dream but eventually developed the idea into a full-length story. Originally Stevenson's idea was to compose a straightforward horror story, with no allegorical undertones. However, after reading the original version to his wife, she suggested more could be made of the tale. After initially resisting, Stevenson…

    • 3570 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Jekyll and Hyde

    • 317 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In the Victorian society, many things were unacceptable or looked down upon. Because of this rigid societal upbringing, it was difficult for Dr. Jekyll to act on all of his wants and needs. Most people living in the Victorian age must have had some sort of other secret life because of the strict boundaries of how to think and how to act. Hyde expressed the freer, more natural man that Jekyll could never show publicly. He had to maintain a professional, well mannered persona for the society he lived in.…

    • 317 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    For thousands of years, the beliefs and standards of societies shape individuals. In The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, the effects of society on individuals is a prevalent theme. The Victorian society upholds individuals to have a sensible reputation and professional work life. Throughout this novel, the societal standards fuel Jekyll’s internal conflict and influence the repression of Hyde.…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Most importantly, Dr. Jekyll struggles to conquer his addiction that shows his evil side. Specifically, In Dr. Jekyll’s full statement of his case, he explains what he feels while murdering his victim; “With a transport of glee, I mauled the unresisting body, tasting delight from every blow” (49). In this, Stevenson creates a gruesome image of Mr. Hyde’s point of view of the murder. This imagery clearly shows evil conquering his good side. Therefore,…

    • 636 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Jekyll and Hyde

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Not everyone is perfect. We all have weaknesses and character flaws. Some people drink too much; others smoking or spending too much money. Many people lead a seemingly moral and righteous life, but have secret, dark thoughts or desires. Mr. Hyde has all these flaws and he flaunted them openly. Actually, when you examine his character on a deeper level, the “respectable” Dr. Jekyll is actually and deeply flawed and immoral character. Mr. Hyde is just another part of him, his immoral subconscious, who, because he is given free reign, does the immoral things that Dr. Jekyll couldn’t do because of his reputation. The greatest flaw that Dr. Jekyll has starts with the incident in his laboratory. He experiments with chemicals and discovers another side of himself. Stevenson characterizes Dr. Jekyll as a desperate man dependent on his symbolic drug to escape the moral confines of Victorian society.…

    • 876 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays