English
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
In our two-part discussion about Robert Louis Stevenson’s most famous work, we addressed many issues not only specifically about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but also about Victorian society, our attitudes towards good and evil, etc.
Discussion Prompt 1: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Consider the above section, and respond with a FULL paragraph on the following critical analytical question, providing specific details and textual evidence when possible. You may, in this case, also respond with your own personal thoughts on this topic even if it’s not completely tied to the text itself.
***To what extent is Stevenson suggesting that the tragedy of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde one that is brought about more by the specific cultural contexts of a hypocritical Victorian English society or more generally an issue applicable to the notion of good and evil being inextricably mingled together in the human form and psyche?
Discussion Prompt 2: Hound of the Baskervilles
How do letters and journals operate within Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous work? To what extent are these genres/formats (letters and journals) explicitly necessary or useful to the recounting of this particular tale? What is GAINED, or LOST for that matter, by self-consciously adopting these methods to tell the story for those middle chapters?
In a way, this topic is one that asks you to consider the FORM and the way it relates to CONTENT, how the technical aspects of the way the novel unfolds itself could enlighten the way we understand and receive the thematic aspects of it as well.
Here are the texts for reference:
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. London: Dover Thrift
Editions. 1991. Print.
Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Hound of the Baskervilles. New York: Penguin Putnam. 2001.
