Stevenson's Use of Setting in The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

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Stevenson's Use of Setting in The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde "The strange case of doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" was written by Robert Louis Stevenson in 1885. The story is set in the late nineteenth century in central London. At the time London was a dark place, were a series of gruesome crimes had taken place, although it was the largest city and richest in the entire world, it contained extremes of wealth and poverty, it was almost as if there was a dividing line, as if was London two different worlds in one city. One side was wealthy and the residents were well mannered, the other side was dirty and mucky, Stevenson used this to help us understand the idea of one person with two sides one good and one bad in the novel. The novel is both horror and mystery, as we don't know who Hyde is or how Jekyll and Hyde are connected. Having all these unanswered questions makes it mysterious. It is also a horror as we read about this evil man Hyde trampling over a young girl and brutally murdering an innocent man. Stevenson's purpose is to show the duality of human nature; the dividing self, that there are different sides to everybody. No one is totally innocent everybody has good and evil inside of them. In chapter one Utterson and Enfield are walking one afternoon and they pass a door and Enfield starts to tell a story about this door and how Hyde trampled over a young girl then used this door to enter and come out with a cheque for the girl's family. We hear a lot about this door from Enfield. This door is described as an odd door for around this place in London having windows and the wall around it was said to be "di... ... middle of paper ... ...the evil side of a person in the duality of nature. In chapter four a maid witnesses Hyde murdering the wealthy sir Danvers Carew, the weapon used to kill him is recognized by Utterson as Dr Jekylls and as the police investigate they find a burnt cheque book of Jekylls. The violent description of the murder helps us to understand and see who the real murderer is and how evil he is, and what Hyde is really capable of. "She was surprised to recognize him as a certain Mr. Hyde", this shows Hyde is known to many people around. We get to see the duality of nature in Utterson which we haven seen before, as he shows his hate for Hyde by taking the police to his house in Soho. Showing he is also has evil within him. In this chapter we also see how evil Hyde actually is by how he brutally murder sir Danvers Carew.

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