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Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson
1850-1894 |
On November 13, 1850 in Edinburgh, Scotland, a great novelist was born. Robert Louis Stevenson is known the world over for more than a few great works of literature including
Treasure Island (1883), A Child's Garden of Verses (1885), and
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886).
As a younger child he had multiple private tutors and later attended
The University of Edinburgh (1867). He was the only child of Thomas Stevenson and Margaret Isabella Balfour. He had a very active imagination. He also suffered from what is believed to have been tuberculosis.
He traveled worldwide and spent much of his life in areas with a warmer climate.
In 1876 while traveling, Robert met (Fanny)
Frances Matilda Van de Grift Osbourne. At the time of their meeting, she was a married, American with three children.
After securing her divorce on the grounds of adultery from her then husband, Samuel Osbourne, she and Robert were married in May 1880.
He, Fanny, and two of her children settled in
Vailima, Samoa, (the capital of Samoa). Robert died in Samoa in 1894 and is buried on Mount Vaea overlooking Vailima. Vailima is most notable for the estate of Robert Louis Stevenson.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a
novella. A novella is a work of fiction that is shorter than a novel but longer than a short story.
Jekyll and Hyde is considered classic British literature further classified under the thriller/horror genre. This novella has be published continually for over 120 years.
In a nutshell, the novella explores the idea of a mental condition known as a split personality. This is when a person can possess more than one personalities at the same time. These multiple personalities often involve a moral conflict between good and evil working against each other-i.e. living a double life, one good and one evil, so to speak, and getting away with it as if it were perfectly normal, allowing for the evil personality to carry on with complete lack of remorse.
Dr. Jekyll (jeekul) is a kind, well-respected doctor living in Victorian London. He is engaged and is highly regarded in his professional life. He is a man struggling with good and evil within himself. He is a rather large fellow of 50 years. He is a man of principle and understands boundaries. He is quite brilliant and invents a potion that would allow him to mask the evil that hides within. This potion helps Jekyll transform his physical appearance slightly to reflect a smaller, weaker, younger version of himself that can do unspeakable acts without remorse. This alter ego is known as the evil Mr. Edward Hyde. Mr. Hyde is a complete lunatic and is out of control. He is a murderous villain with absolutely no regard for anyone. He does what he wants no matter what.
Dr. Jekyll is a nice man with many friends but when the evil Mr. Hyde is released by the potion, he becomes a menacing and violent man. His power seems to strengthen as the transformations continue. Eventually, he does not require the use of the potion to summons Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll's original personality begins to diminish, and he has to use the potion just to stay conscious.
Basically, Dr. Jekyll's original thoughts were that each man has a good and an evil side that can be separated. He thought the evil side could be controlled allowing the good side to live without worry for the betterment of society. He tested his theory on himself and obviously things got out of control as Mr. Hyde consumed Dr. Jekyll's life. It is hard to go into further detail without given too many spoilers. This is a classic tale that can leave you wondering about people living double lives. It is a scary thought to realize that a person with this disorder can be so cruel and have complete lack of regard for others is just out there free to do whatever. Thinking that a "Mr. Hyde" could be living down the street, working as a bus driver, or you could even be married to a "Mr. Hyde" is a pretty daunting thought with high impact. Actually, if you think about it, the headlines are full of stories like these. "He was such a nice young man" or "His parents did such a good job with him, we don't understand what happened." You just never know.
I would recommend this book to 8th grade+ as part of the British Literature Studies.
Learn more from these great links.
We used the literature study found at Glencoe.
PDF
So basically, King Hrothgar (King of Denmark) needs some help slaying Grendel, a hideous monster. Beowulf got wind of this and sailed to Denmark to save King Hrothgar from Grendel. During a terrible fight in the mead hall, Beowulf rips off Grendel's entire arm. Grendel fled the scene and goes to a nearby cave where he later bled to death. 
