Robert Louis Stevenson's Strange Case  of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Assignment One: The Text of Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, pp. 1-32.

 
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Study Questions:
1. Why does Stevenson have the pawnbroker suggest a mirror as a present? How is the idea of a mirror developed in the story?
2. What is the effect/purpose of the paragraph that begins on page 110 and ends on 111, the paragraph about the screen with pictures? Where else are pictures important in the story?
3. Why are there so many references to sounds in the story?
4. What is Markheim's motive for the crime?
5. Who visits Markheim when he is upstairs? (Be prepared to explain your answer.)
6. Is Markheim's justification of his crime (page 115) valid? Why?
7. What is the point of the visitor's speech  that begins with "I do not say so..." (p. 116)?
8. Which of the conflicts on our list is most relevant to this story? Why?
9. Is the ending of this story believable? Why or Why not?
10. What, in your view, is the theme of this story? (Support it.)

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Gould, Myers, Kerr, and Symonds, pp. 132-140 -- These selections all address the split between Jekyll and Hyde. In a sentence or two for each, identify the critical approach that each takes and the major point that each is trying to make.

Walkowitz, cartoon from Punch, and Houghton,  pp. 141-149 -- which critical approach best describes these selections? In two or three sentences, explain how these selections are relevant today.

Charles King, "Theme and Variations," pp. 157-163. -- In a sentence or two, summarize this selection, and then, in another sentence or two, explain what you found most interesting in it.

G. K. Chesterton and Vladimir Nabokov, pp. 183-188. In one sentence for each, explain what you consider to be the main point of these two selections.

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Patrick Brantlinger, pp. 197-204. Summarize this essay in a short paragraph and then, in a sentence, paraphrase (or quote) what you consider to be the most interesting comment or detail in the essay.

Katherine Linehan, pp. 204-213. Summarize this essay in a short paragraph and then, in another short paragraph, explain why you agree or disagree with her.

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Tentative Works Cited for MP # 2 is due.

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1. What does Strange Case suggest about the duality of human nature?
2. Although the conflict of good/evil is obviously present in this work, what does the work suggest that "good" is? That "evil" is? Who is more evil, Mr. Hyde, or Dr. Jekyll? Would it be better for the work (including its popularity), if the specific nature of "evil" were more clearly stated?
3. What is the role of Mr. Utterson in the work?

Bonus Point Options:
     If you choose one of these options, write "5-point bonus" or "50-point bonus" at the top of your paper.

A. For Five points - Compare Strange Case to Edgar Allan Poe's "William Wilson"
     or
B. For Fifty points - Compare Strange Case to Fyodor Doestoevsky's The Double.

     These options are no more difficult than other suggestions for topics. The bonus points are offered because the reading of "William Wilson" or The Double will require more time and effort. In order to earn the bonus points, papers must demonstrate that you have read the work to which you are comparing Strange Case. To demonstrate this, the paper should include numerous short quotations both to Strange Case and to the work being compared to it. Note that the paper must also fulfill the requirements on the grading sheets, including the use of secondary sources.

Suggestions for brainstorming:
1. Characterization -- In what ways, and to what degree, do the double and the "original" resemble each other, physically, psychologically, and/or morally?
2. Compare the main characters to Eliot's Prufrock, Sweeney and Hollow Man.
3. What are the social and economic situations of the two?
4. What motivations are suggested for the splitting of the main character?
5. What literary symbols are common to the two works? What additional symbols does each writer develop? What do the symbols suggest about the theme of each work?
6. From what point-of-view is each tale narrated? Is is from that of the original, of the double, or of a third, perhaps omniscient, perspective?
7. Is the splitting of the main character realistically justified? How?
8. What is the difference in the endings of the stories? How is the situation with the double resolved?
9. Which of the critical approach is most fruitful in analyzing each story?
10. What is the tone of each work?
11. What is the theme of each work?