"The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson. It includes a short summary of the book and a analysis of the characters.

Essay by AmaraethaCollege, UndergraduateB, December 2002

download word file, 5 pages 4.7

In "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" Robert Louis Stevenson tells the story of Dr. Jekyll, a man who finds a way to become someone else, literally. But there is more to the book then meets the eye. "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is a book of mystery that has several themes and motifs surrounding it. It is a book about a man trying to find a way to stay himself and a lawyer who is trying to figure out the mystery surrounding Mr. Hyde.

The story is told in third person, with occasional "guest" narrations from Dr. Jekyll and Dr. Hastie Lanyon. Other characters in the book are Gabriel Utterson, a lawyer; Mr. Enfield, who is a distant cousin of Mr. Utterson; Mr. Poole, who is Jekyll's butler; Mr. Guest, Utterson's clerk; and Sir Daniels Carew, a nobleman from Parliament.

In the first paragraph, Stevenson paints the portrait of Mr. Utterson, through which most of the story is told. Utterson is an unexciting character; he is described as being unsmiling and cold, yet somehow lovable. He never gossips and maintains propriety to the point of absurdity. Utterson never tells anyone about his suspicions about Jekyll and Hyde, even when thinks the worst of his friend. Utterson has a tendency to "help rather than reprove," he is the center of the book because everyone confides in him and comes to him for help. Utterson takes interests in people with dark secrets and constantly wonders the motivation behind odd and disturbing behavior.

Early in the book Utterson talks to Enfield, he tells the story of how he watched Hyde trample a little girl. Utterson asks Enfield to describe Hyde's appearance but he is unable to describe him past being ugly,