Grant-Dr.+Jekyll+And+Mr.+Hyde

Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde __Biography of Robert Louis Stevenson__ Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on November 13,1850. Stevenson suffered from severe illnesses all his life, and as a result he was a sickly child. As a child he read a lot and became interested in books and literature. When he was 17, he enrolled at the University of Edinburgh. While Stevenson was in college, he published his first work //The Pentland Rising.// In 1876, at the age of 26, Stevenson met an American woman named Fanny Osbourne and traveled to California with her three years later. In 1880 he married her and almost died from a disease that was probably tuberculosis. Being sickly, Stevenson traveled throughout Europe seeking better health during the early 1880's. In 1881 Stevenson wrote [|Treasure Island]with the help of his stepson. //Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde// was written in 1886 and thrust Stevenson into the literary spotlight. Soon after, Stevenson and his family traveled to New York and then the South Pacific as he wrote numerous books. The last book Stevenson published was //Ebb-Tide// in 1894. Steveson died of a brain hemorrhage on December 3rd, 1894. He was buried on Mt. Vaea in Samoa.

__Plot Synopsis__ "Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde" occurs in London during the nineteenth century. It begins with Gabriel Utterson, a lawyer, discovering that a strange and violent man, Hyde, has been using checks belonging to one of Utterson's clients, Dr. Henry Jekyll. Richard Enfield, Utterson's cousin, said about Hyde: "There is something wrong with his apperance; something displeasing, something downright detestable" (Stevenson, 9-10). Utterson also discovers that Jekyll's will has been changed to benefit Hyde. Utterson is a good friend of Jekyll's and wants to make sure nothing is wrong. Utterson becomes obsessed with confronting Hyde. He waits for Hyde at the building that Utterson's cousin, Richard Enfield, saw Hyde fleeing to. Utterson discovers that the building is actually the entrance to Jekyll's laboratory. Talking to Jekyll's butler, Poole, Utterson finds out that Hyde has a key to Jekyll's home. This convinces Utterson that Hyde is blackmailing Jekyll. Utterson goes to talk to Dr. Jekyll but Jekyll dismisses the issue and tells Utterson to keep the will the same.  One year passes and a man named Sir Danvers Carew is murdered. A maid reports that she saw Hyde commit the crime with a walking stick that breaks in half and flee the scene. On Carew's body the police find a letter addressed to Utterson. The police contact Utterson and bring him to the police station. There, Utterson sees the body and says that Carew is his client. The police show Utterson the walking stick used in the murder and Utterson identifys it as Dr. Jekyll's. Immediatly, Utterson and an inspector go to Hyde's home. There they find a half burnt checkbook and the other half of the walking stick. The next day Utterson asks Dr. Jekyll if he is hiding Hyde. Jekyll looks very sickly and says, "I swear to God I will never set eyes on him again. I bind my honour to you that I am done with him in this world." (Stevenson 31). Jekyll gives Utterson a letter from Hyde and is happy to be rid of it. Back at his home, Utterson's assistant states that Hyde's handwriting is almost exactly the same as Jekyll's.

For the next two months, Jekyll is back to his normal self and Hyde disappears.Utterson and others attend parties thrown by Jekyll. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Jekyll becomes seclusive and won't see anyone. Will Utterson ever figure out who Hyde is? What will become of Jekyll? Will Hyde ever be put to justice? "Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde" shows the struggles of a high-statused man during the repressive times of [|Victorian society]and the mysteries that surround it. Throughout the book, Stevenson details how Jekyll's decisions affect all of those around him.

__What Worked?__ I thought that "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" was a very well written book. It was worded differently than what we consider as modern english (because it was first published in 1886) but Stevenson wrote this so well that I had a easy time understanding the book. Stevenson wrote this book so that all people could read and understand this book. I also enjoyed the fact that Stevenson gave each character a certain perspective on the situation, how each character had their own interests and views. For example: Utterson is fascinated by what is going on with Hyde and Jekyll and wants to figure out what is happening while Enfield is reluctant to participate and wants to whole situation to end. This book is a mystery, and I enjoyed trying to solve it as the book went on. The final thing that I liked about this book was that there are some visible errors in the story. Stevenson wrote this book extremely quickly and as a result couldn't edit it fully. Among other things, the most noticeable errors were dates. I think it shows that even though this is a good book, it is not perfect, and that even though Stevenson was a great author, he still made mistakes. __What Didn't Work__? I thought that "Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde" was a very good book, but there were some things that i did not like about it. I didn't like that the last two chapters of the book were letters. I thought that it didn't explain things the way I would have liked them to be told and I thought that Stevenson could have come up with a better way to end his tale. On the other hand, I did think it was an interesting way to end the book. Stevenson also has recurring dates where there are only the first two numbers, one and eight (18-). I didn't understand why he couldn't give a specific year (or years) to his story. Saying that the story took place in the nineteenth century isn't enough in my opinion. I just would have liked to have a specific date for the story. Finally, I didn't like how one year was just skipped in the book. I thought that instead of just skipping a whole year, Stevenson could have added to the story by explaining what happened during that time. __Literary Info__ "Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde" is a mystery that takes place during [|Queen Victoria's]reign from 1837-1901, but more likely is set around the 1880's. The whole book's setting is in London, England. All of the main characters are bachelors, which was uncommon for the time period and setting. Most Victorian novels contained a romance of some kind to balance the story, but "Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde did not. This is a very well known tale that has been used in many different forms and parodies. The story focuses on the two sides of man and the differences of public and private life. Stevenson originally had it placed alongside cheap horror stories, but the book soon received acclaim and became known as a great literary work.

__Works Cited__ Hong, Anna Marie. __The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde.__ New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2005