Reflection

Throughout completing blog entries, I have not only learned about my learning strengths, but I have also discovered some traits about myself that I didn’t even know existed. While reading “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” I was immersed in a world very new and different to me, at first, I hated the change, but I came around quickly after. It seemed like every time I had opened the book, there was a new excuse as to why I didn’t like it. The words didn’t make sense, or this part of the story is boring; there were too many excuses. Soon after however, I changed. I began to see deeper meaning in what Robert Louis Stevenson was saying in his personal writing style, much different from what we would talk and write with today. As for the boring or down parts of the novel, I realized that these were the backbone to the novel; the frame story. These scenes were needed in order to set up the conclusion and other scenes that would happen in the near future of the story. As soon as I let myself adapt to how this story was written, I found it much more entertaining to read and complete responses on. No longer was I putting the blame on small things. This book has changed me for the better in many ways, both learning knowledge and learning about myself. I had no idea that it would be as powerful a novel as it is, and no longer will I judge a book by its cover.

Works Cited

Cruz, Jose.“The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson Classic Horror. Web. 28 Nov. 2010.

N.A. Robert Louis Stevenson. “Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” AbeBooks. Web. 30 Nov. 2010.

Ponomareva , Irina. ""The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson." Ezine. Web. 29 Nov. 2010.

Apologia for “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”

“It's the final part I re-read most often - the confession written by Dr. Jekyll during his last and unhappy days. When the curse he'd brought upon himself finally got hold of him, when the crime brought about the punishment and he finally realised the hopelessness of his situation, his final confession showed such deep understanding of human nature and such complexity of the psychology of common mortals that I can't help coming back over and over again to this source of wisdom and bitter truths. And beautiful English makes this experience sweet rather than bitter.” (Irina Ponomareva, "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde," ezinearticles) This quote, which I have found through research, describes my thoughts toward this novel perfectly. I chose this quote to open my apologia because of its truth toward the novel. The ending is simply amazing, and puts a stunning conclusion to the novel. Like Irina Ponomareva stated, reading the ending is exactly a sad thing to do, because Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde becomes free from himself.

While preforming research about the novel “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde,” a common point was raised. Every author of an article on the novel agreed that Robert Louis Stevenson’s ability to write is absolutely flawless, which is why I believe that this novel is timeless. (Jose Cruz, Cold Reads, Classic Horror) The first printing of this book took place in 1886, well over 100 years ago. It is incredible that this novel has been able to withstand the test of time, by having new versions of the same story still being published to this date. What makes the novel even better is that it is under 100 pages, so quite short when it comes to books, and yet it still can tell a detailed story in very few words. This is an impressive and difficult feat to pull off, and you have to take into consideration that he did this over 100 years ago. “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is a novel that readers will keep coming back to, because it’s writing style is unparalled in today’s novels.

So what makes this novel officially a classic? What evidence is there that it has withstood the test of time? I was looking around the internet when I saw a website that was selling this novel. I thought it was normal, until I saw that it was going for TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS. I read into more detail and discovered that this was one of the first copies ever printed of the story. It takes a certain type of novel to be able to sell for ten thousand, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” happens to be one of them. This novel can be considered a classic because of its writing style, like I stated above, and because of the advanced thinking that Mr. Stevenson put into writing it. The book seems like it is out of its time period, because the science that goes on is very complex and would probably be extremely difficult to perform.

This novel is simply amazing. Any other description simply could not fit the novel. It is well written, interesting, engaging, descriptive and so much more. It is a classic novel because it was written in 1886, when it could belong in the 20^th century, just because it is so well thought out. It has withstood the test of time by readers still reading and enjoying it to this day; something that is rarely accomplished among authors today.

My Thoughts on “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”

When I had first picked up “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, I was quite surprised by how short it was. The entire book was only about seventy pages. I was so surprised, that I actually asked Mrs. Stotts-Jones about the length of the book because I thought I had picked up a condensed or a shorter version. She informed me that the book was actually a “novelette” or a shorter novel. I was disappointed, thinking that it would be some short children’s story. Oh how wrong I was.

I started reading the story and within the first 5 or 10 pages, a woman gets massacred. Children’s story? Not even close. The novel has a dark, eerie feel to it, and what it lacks in length, it makes up for in everything else. I wasn’t too sure of why the characters acted certain ways around other characters, but everything gets revealed to you as soon as you read through. It’s one of those stories that you want to finish in one day, just so you can learn what happens at the end. There are a few moments that are either very descriptive or very action packed, something that novels today can sometimes lack.

Overall, “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” is a really great novel. I do have to admit, the language was hard to understand at times, just because Robert Louis Stevenson uses complex language throughout the entire novel. The story is engaging and keeps you reading until you have finished the entire thing. I would recommend this novel to anyone who likes classic texts, and anyone who wants a short, but very good read.