Category: Unit 2: Ghosts & Transformations

While reading ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ I thought it was very interesting. I did really enjoy this book and I would recommend it to other people. I really liked the mystery of this book and the genre, as it is similar to other books I like. This book makes me think that Dr. Jekyll is crazy and that the twist and turns of this book were very fitting for his character. It also made me think about how many people struggle with the conflict of their own identity, which is a very complex thing to include in a book, especially that was written in 1886, which would have not really been accepted at the time. How Stevenson uses the supernatural elements to the story is very interesting again considering the time it was written. I think that the way that stevenson told the story was successful and using the supernatural / imaginary elements were good for the story, as he was able to express what he was trying to say easier and maybe in a more interesting way for readers. The way that Stevenson wrote this book kept readers interested in the story, with how he built suspense and the way that he described things made the way he wrote more compelling. The ending of this story was not what I excepted and I think it could have been described more as I think Stevenson ended the story abruptly and in a more boring way. In the end I enjoyed reading ‘The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ and I would recommend this book to people. Throughout the year this is one of the books I enjoyed the most, and I did really like that this book was not very long so it kept my attention. 

The strange case of dr.jekyll and mr.hyde was a very interesting book. R.L. Stevenson really dived into the complex natures of a human, and its two sides, good and evil. It teaches us that we have to embrace that humans have a natural tendency to do evil, but we also have the tendency to do good.

I love the way stevenson creates a mysterious atmosphere with his vivid descriptions of the scene and various characters. for example when he said, “He lay and tossed in the gross darkness of the night and the curtained room, Mr. Enfield’s tale went by before his mind in a scroll of lighted pictures.” (pg. 12) He describes the room he is in, in such a way that creates a very eerie and depressing feeling. The reader can tell this by the way he describes the lighted pictures, curtains, and the night.

Another thing that interests me in this story is his psychological depth in the characters. He really shows his ability to do this when Dr. Jekyll confesses, saying, “I am very low, Utterson,” “very low. It will not last long, thank God.” (pg. 40) this quote really builds up tensions as it foreshadows death and a little bit of suicidal thoughts. He used this quotation to show how fragile the human mind could really get and how different people think about or deal with the battle of good and evil within them.

All of these aspects, put in one book, make a great, deep, psychological and emotional novella that pushes the reader through many different emotions. I would describe this book as a rollercoaster, because we never know what is going to happen next, especially with Mr. Hyde, because of the way he is portrayed and described by Stevenson. I would definitely say this is a good book to read in class, and even an interesting book for the next class to come. I enjoyed it, and I am sure many others will.

For the novella Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde I enjoyed this book and I found it a very interesting novella. I like how detailed Stevenson makes the crucial parts of the novella. A prime example of this would be when Hyde brutally kills Sir Danvers. He makes it very specific what was going on in the scenario. Like how Hyde killed Sir Danvers with his walking stick and then started jumping on him. This is a good thing for me because it helps me understand what is happening right away and it is not confusing at all. And I can picture what is happening in my head. Another very detailed part of the book was when Lanyon says “I saw what I saw, I heard what I heard and my soul sickened at it”(p.66). One of the key parts in this quotation is when Lanyon says my soul sickened at it. This was a key part because it really helps me understand the pain he feels after his visit with Dr. Jekyll. An interesting part in this novella is when we find out that Dr. Jekyll is Mr. Hyde and the other way around. This was a crucial part for me because it answers so many questions that I had before this part of the story, like why does Hyde have a check with Jekyll’s name on it. It also helped me find out why Jekyll gives everything in his will to Hyde. I think this ending really connects all the pieces of the story together and just makes everything much more clear. The way I see Mr. Utterson as a character throughout the novella completely changed throughout as the story went along. Throughout the story I see him as a little selfish because he keeps trying to change Jekyll’s mind about having Hyde in his will. But as the story went on I began to realize that he really cares about Jekyll and will try to help him in any way possible. A part that I did not like about the novella is when Utterson and Poole are breaking into Jekyll’s house because I did not quite understand what is happening until we went into it in depth during the class. It just was not very clear in my opinion because so much was going on. I would say my favorite part of the book is when Hyde bumps into the girl and goes to get money to pay the family. This is just a funny interaction in my opinion because it really shows that some people think they can get off the hook by paying their way out. It also really shows his personality and how he behaves in a situation. In conclusion I really enjoyed this novella I loved the plot of the story and all the characters and the different roles they play and the effect the have on the story. This was probably my favorite out of all the novella’s we have read.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a famous gothic story. From the very beginning I felt that the book was very dark and emotionless. I could easily tell from the beginning that the book had kind of an eerie feeling to it and that there was kind of some mystery and darkness to it. Like for example when they talk about the setting in the book

“by-street in a busy quarter of London. The street was small and what is called quiet, but it drove a thriving trade on the weekdays. The inhabitants were all doing well, it seemed and all emulously hoping to do better still, and laying out the surplus of their grains in coquetry; so that the shop fronts stood along that thoroughfare with an air of invitation, like rows of smiling saleswomen. Even on Sunday, when it veiled its more florid charms and lay comparatively empty of passage, the street shone out in contrast to its dingy neighbourhood, like a fire in a forest; and with its freshly painted shutters, well-polished brasses, and general cleanliness and gaiety of note, instantly caught and pleased the eye of the passenger.” Pg.2

 

I could tell that the characters Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were keeping so many secrets and that there would be many crazy events that would happen in the story involving them. Something that I thought gave the book its personality was the amount of suicides , deaths and tramples that happened in it. Although I found the book a mystery for some time and I enjoyed reading most parts of it there were definitely some parts that had a dark twist to them like when Jekyll took his own life so that he wouldn’t have to live as Mr. Hyde.  Another moment which i found just as crazy was when Mr. Hyde kills Sir Danvers Carew the murder was pretty brutal but there weren’t any emotions to it, it was kind of just like an act of violence that happened without reflection. This made me think about the good and bad inside all of us. These things all made me think of the idea that we all have good and evil inside of us. Jekylls struggle with his evil side can show how different people can easily lose control over their actions and it really made me think, if he ended his life instead of facing the consequences of his actions and fixing things, making it right, it kind of made me wonder if he ever accepted himself as a good person or not. One more thing that this book made me think about was the evil that certain people contain and how easily we or they can be affected by it.

 

 

 

 

I found “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” very interesting, creative and fascinating. I liked the action but disliked the murder scenes because I found that they were very odd. For example, when Carew was killed, it says Mr. Hyde jumped on him and killed him with a cane, which grossed me out, the thought of it made me uncomfortable. I really enjoyed the plot twists, more specifically when we found out Dr. Jekyll was Mr. Hyde, since nobody suspected it when the book first started. The plot was creative, and I hadn’t read anything like this book before, so it was something new for me. I would rate this book a 7.5/10, maybe even an 8/10, because it had an interesting storyline and included many thrilling chapters. It is a classic book, but it didn’t quite blow me away like other books have. But I still loved the creativity and influence it’s had over time. The book has an interesting look at human nature and the struggle between good and evil, which I found intriguing. I found that the book focused on certain parts but forgot about other points. Some sections were thrilling, but others dragged, especially towards the end when Jekyll’s confession was laid out. Although Dr. Jekylls transformation kept me engaged, seeing as it was so intriguing. This wouldn’t be a book that I would necessarily choose off a bookshelf, but I’m glad I got the opportunity to read it, and I would read it again when I am older because I feel like I would enjoy it more. Even though I think it has flaws, I can see why it is a classic; it’s a short but powerful read. Overall, I think “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll Mr. Hyde” was enjoyable and interesting but not a personal favourite.

After I read the book The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, I thought it was quite interesting. Before we started reading the book, I decided to read the blurb to get a better understanding of what I was going to be reading, and it was quite different then I expected. When I saw the title of the book, I thought the book was going to be about a doctor (Dr Jekyll) and his patient (Mr Hyde) but I was completely wrong. I thought the concept of having one person play two characters without the readers knowing was very cool. I didn’t realize or get this idea until about three quarters into the book. I think Stevenson did a very good foreshadowing this scenario as there were very slight clues but it was not obvious to the reader. Stevenson also stated that Hyde was “deformed” and “detestable” which were very smart foreshadowing moments. This concept allowed the reader to have their own imagination as well. Readers could picture Hyde as anyone they chose. During the story, they could continue thinking to themselves: Who is Hyde? Where did he come from? etc. I also picked up on that during the book Stevenson used the concept good vs evil quite clearly. For example Dr. Jekyll really embodies a good person and was a respectable scientist while on the other hand you have Mr Hyde who was a rude man and he only cared about himself. Hyde embodied Jekyll’s alter ego. And the funny thing is that these two people are the same person. This could indicate that all people have part good and part evil in them. Even though Jekyll is a good person, he creates this evil person. Hyde helps Jekyll with the violence needs he has and creates a new purpose for him. Finally, something else I thought was cool is how Stevenson made Utterson tell the story. As he plays the protagonist, the story still does talk about Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde much more. Overall, I did like the book. It wasn’t my favourite book but I was still interested because it always had something going on. I was able to stay engaged in the book even though it wasn’t my favourite.