The Strange case of Jekyll and Hyde
Literary Terms
Simile-A HYPERLINK
"http://grammar.about.com/od/fh/g/figuresterms.htm" figure of
speech in which two fundamentally unlike things are explicitly
compared, usually in a phrase introduced by like or as.
Personification-A HYPERLINK
"http://grammar.about.com/od/fh/g/figuresterms.htm" figure of
speech (generally considered a type of HYPERLINK
"http://grammar.about.com/od/mo/g/metaphorterm.htm" metaphor)
in which an inanimate object or abstraction is given human qualities or
abilities.
Imagery- is vivid descriptive language that appeals to one or more of
the senses
Alliteration- The HYPERLINK
"http://grammar.about.com/od/rs/a/repetitionterm.htm" repetition of
an initial HYPERLINK
"http://grammar.about.com/od/c/g/consonaterm.htm" consonant
sound.
Theme- The main idea of a text, expressed directly or indirectly.
Diction- Choice and use of words in speech or writing.
Satire- The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and
criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of
contemporary politics and other topical issues
Irony- The expression of one's meaning by using language that
normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic
effect
Parody- An imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre
with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect
Dystopia- An imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant
or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmentally degraded one
Atmosphere- Atmosphere is the mood or persistent feeling implied by
a literary work. An author establishes atmosphere partly through
description of setting and partly by the objects chosen to be described.
Metaphor- a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to a
person, idea, or object to which it is not literally applicable. It is an
implied analogy or unstated comparison which imaginatively identifies
one thing with another. This device is used by an author to turn or twist
the meaning of a word.
Characters
Dr. Henry Jekyll - A respected doctor and friend of both Lanyon, a
fellow physician, and Utterson, a lawyer. Jekyll is a seemingly
prosperous man, well established in the community, and known for his
decency and charitable works. Since his youth, however, he has secretly
engaged in unspecified dissolute and corrupt behavior. Jekyll finds this
dark side a burden and undertakes experiments intended to separate
his good and evil selves from one another. Through these experiments,
he brings Mr. Hyde into being, finding a way to transform himself in
such a way that he fully becomes his darker half.
Mr. Edward Hyde - A strange, repugnant man who looks faintly prehuman. Hyde is violent and cruel, and everyone who sees him describes
him as ugly and deformed—yet no one can say exactly why. Language
itself seems to fail around Hyde: he is not a creature who belongs to the
rational world, the world of conscious articulation or logical grammar.
Hyde is Jekyll’s dark side, released from the bonds of conscience and
loosed into the world by a mysterious potion.
Mr. Gabriel John Utterson - A prominent and upstanding lawyer, well
respected in the London community. Utterson is reserved, dignified, and
perhaps even lacking somewhat in imagination, but he does seem
to possess a furtive curiosity about the more sordid side of life. His
rationalism, however, makes him ill equipped to deal with the
supernatural nature of the Jekyll-Hyde connection. While not a man of
science, Utterson resembles his friend Dr. Lanyon—and perhaps
Victorian society at large.
Plot Summary:
The story begins with a chilling flashback of a memory of Mr.
Hyde. The lawyer (Mr. Utterson) present recalls a time when he
witnessed Mr. Hyde run over a young girl and not offer anything but
money. This is the first time the reader is introduced into what Mr. Hyde
is and what he will become. Some time later Mr. Utterson receives Dr.
Jekyll’s will witch says that in the case of his disappearance or death
everything will be given to Hyde. A considerable time later, a prominent
politician is brutally beaten to death. A maid, who points to Mr. Hyde as
the culprit, conveniently witnesses the murder. Everyone tries to hunt
down Hyde, but they cannot find him anywhere. Meanwhile, Dr. Jekyll is
in great health and spirits and just as chipper as usual. Two months
later, both Dr. Lanyon (a good friend of Jekyll) and Dr. Jekyll fall terribly
ill, and claim to have fought with each other. Dr. Lanyon dies, leaving
mysterious documents in Mr. Utterson’s possession, to be opened only if
Dr. Jekyll dies or disappears. Dr. Jekyll remains hidden while he is “sick”,
despite frequent visits from Mr. Utterson. Finally, one evening, Dr.
Jekyll’s butler visits Mr. Utterson at home. He’s worried about his
master and is convinced of foul play. The butler persuades Mr. Utterson
to return to Dr. Jekyll’s house, where they break into Dr. Jekyll’s
laboratory. They find Mr. Hyde dead on the floor, with Dr. Jekyll
nowhere to be found. After a while Dr. Jekyll’s buttler and long time
friend becomes worried and sends for Mr. Utterson. When they break
into the lab they discover dead body of Hyde, but Jekyll is nowhere to be
found. The reader discovers (through the documents left by the dead
men) the following: by means of a potion, Dr. Jekyll was able to
transform into Mr. Hyde and give in to a world of pleasure and selfserving crime. In his narrative, Dr. Jekyll writes that Mr. Hyde became
ever more powerful and ever harder to control – in essence, the
dominant personality won in the end.