Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Book Review Example

Strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one of the most famous Robert Louis Stevenson novels, first published in 1886. It became very popular and nowadays has lots of stage and film adaptations. As it narrates about split personality, it has some mystic and chilling elements greatly contributing to the general impression of the story. The method by which dread anticipation of terror and horror is achieved is description since it helps the author to elicit these feelings more fully. The secret lies in the description that temporarily freezes the narration, giving a detailed depiction of what is going on. The author does not hurry to unveil the further development; he moves slowly from the event to another, and when the time comes to introduce another horrible picture, first he only intimates on some dreadful things by describing the silence and stillness of the scene. His favored images are night, moon, fog, and wind, which help to create a proper feeling of dread anticipation. Following sentences could serve as an example of the thesis mentioned above: “It was a wild, cold, seasonable night of March, with a pale moon, lying on her back as though the wind had tilted her, and a flying wrack of the most diaphanous and lawny texture” (Stevenson,2002). Or, “The scud had banked over the moon, and it was now quite dark” (Stevenson, 2002). Although these sentences could sound quite romantic, we know what they serve. The other way of creating a feeling of horror anticipation is the description of personages’ appearances. While people used to hide their emotions it is possible to show all the depth by describing reactions a person could hardly control. It is enough to take a look at such sentences: “But the words were hardly uttered, before the smile was struck out of his face and succeeded by an expression of such abject terror and despair, as froze the very blood of the two gentlemen below”. “They were both pale; and there was an answering horror in their eyes” (Stevenson, 2002).Not only does the author use these two types of description, but shows as well furniture and atmosphere of all the places, so they contribute to the general impression of the novel as a mystical and dreadful story.

References

Stevenson, L. (2002). The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Courier Dover Publications