British literature:Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

By Mgr. Šárka Jurajdová

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Briefly about the author Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh,

Scotland, on November 13, 1850 a sickly child, respiratory troubles as a young man, he travelled through Europe,

leading a bohemian lifestyle At the age of 26, he met a married woman,

Fanny Van de Grift Osbourne, and fell in love with her. She divorced, they married.

In 1880s he reached a tremendous success after Treasure Island, Kidnapped and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Suffered from tuberculosis, moved to Samoa, died at the age of 44 there.

True or false?1/ Robert Louis Stevenson was born in London.F: Edinburgh2/ His wife was already divorced when they fell in love.F: She divorced after she met him.3/ Stevenson never became successful during his life, he gained success post mortem.F: He did already after Treasure Island.4/ He moved to Polynesia.T: To Samoa (Polynesian island)5/ He died of heart attack at the age of 55.F: tuberculosis, 44

Major CharactersDr. Henry Jekyll • A respected doctor and friend of both Lanyon and Utterson.. • Jekyll can‘t handle his dark side and makes experiments to separate his good and evil selves.• Through these experiments, he brings Mr. Hyde into being.

Mr. Edward Hyde• A strange ugly man, violent and cruel• Hyde is Jekyll’s dark side, released into the world by a mysterious potion. Mr. Gabriel John Utterson   • A prominent lawyer, well respected in the London community. • He is rational and thus unable to deal with the supernatural nature of the Jekyll-Hyde connection.• Utterson denies the supernatural and wants rational explanations.

Minor charactersDr. Hastie Lanyon• A reputable London doctor • Utterson and Jekyll‘s friend.• Lanyon contrasts JekyllLanyon = rationalism, materialism, and scepticismJekyll = mysticism, supernaturalismMr. Poole• Jekyll’s butler and a loyal servant• he worked for the doctor for twenty years• He likes Jekyll and thus, when he thinks that something happened to Jekyll, runs to seek Utterson’s help.Mr. Enfield • A distant cousin and lifelong friend of Mr. UttersonMr. Guest• Utterson’s clerk and confidant. • Guest is also an expert in handwriting. • Utterson wants him to examine a bit of Hyde’s handwriting. Mr. Guest notices that Hyde’s script is the same as Jekyll’s, but slanted the other way.

True or false 2?1/ Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Utterson and Dr. Lanyon are friends. T2/ Mr. Utterson is a respectable doctor.F: a lawyer3/ Mr. Poole is Utterson‘s servant.F: Jekyll‘s4/ Mr. Hyde is Dr. Jekyll‘s best friend.F: They are the same person.5/ Dr. Jekyll is as rational as Dr. Lanyon.F: Jekyll is mystic, irrational.6/ Mr. Enfield is Jekyll‘s friend.F: Utterson‘s

Plot overviewUtterson and Enfield talk about the mysterious Mr. Hyde who tramples a young girl.Dr. Jekyll comes to Utterson with his last will, saying that all property goes to Mr. Hyde.Utterson follows Mr. Hyde to the house where Dr. Jekyll lives.After some time, Mr. Hyde reappears and beats to death an old man named Sir Danvers Carew.Utterson suspects Hyde.

Utterson leads the police to Hyde’s apartment, but he is not there.Utterson visits Jekyll, he says he ended his friendship with Hyde.Jekyll shows Utterson a note, written to Jekyll by Hyde, saying goodbye. Mr. Guest says the handwriting is like Jekyll‘s own.Jekyll is sociable and friendly again, but soon starts to refuse visitors.

Lanyon dies. Before dying, however, he gives Utterson a letter (not to be open until Jekyll’s death.)Jekyll is hiding in his laboratory.Mr. Poole comes to Utterson for help.They break into the lab and find Mr. Hyde‘s dead body in Jekyll‘s clothes. Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde committed a suicide.Utterson finds a letter by Dr. Jekyll.

The two lettersFirst, Utterson reads Lanyon‘s letter:it reveals that Lanyon’s death was caused by the shock of seeing Mr. Hyde take a potion and metamorphose into Dr. Jekyll.

Then, Jekyll‘s letter:At first, Jekyll reports, he was delighted in becoming Hyde. Then he found that he was turning into Hyde involuntarily in his sleep, even without taking the potion. After he killed Sir Carew, Jekyll tried to stop the transformations, and for a time he proved successful; one day, however, while sitting in a park, he suddenly turned into Hyde, the first time that an involuntary metamorphosis had happened while he was awake. He knew he‘d become Mr. Hyde permanently and wondered if if Hyde would face execution for his crimes or choose to kill himself.

Can you answer?1/ Who does Jekyll mention in his will as his heir?Mr. Hyde2/ Where does Utterson see Hyde going?To Jekyll‘s laboratory3/ What does Mr. Hyde look like?He is ugly4/ Who sees Mr. Hyde murder Sir Carew?A servant girl

5/ How does Jekyll start to behave after Mr. Hyde murders Sir Crew?He becomes sociable and friendly.

6/ What does Mr. Guest say about Mr. Hyde‘s handwriting on the note for Dr. Jekyll?It‘s very similar to Jekyll‘s handwriting.

7/ Why does Mr. Poole go to Mr. Utterson?To ask for help/ Dr. Jekyll locked himself in his lab.

8/ What do they find after they break into the lab?Hyde‘s dead body in Jekyll‘s clothes.

9/ Why did Lanyon die?Shock after he witnessed Jekyll‘s transformation.

10/ What made Jekyll transform?A potion which he invented.

11/ Why does Hyde kill himself?Because he can‘t face the execution for his crimes.

True experts in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

Yeeeeessss!!!

Sources:http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/jekyll/context.htmlhttp://www.sparknotes.com/lit/jekyll/summary.htmlhttp://www.sparknotes.com/lit/jekyll/characters.html