Within the first chapter of Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde there are many memorable moments for me. The one that sticks in my head is the instance when Hyde "calmly" trampled over the girl and then preceded to go on his way until Enfield grabbed him. Hyde has committed the worst type of crime in the victorian age,since a hit and run crime isn't quite mannerly.
What makes this memorable is after the family threatens to stink his name, he insists on blackmail. The family didn't even ask which shows how important reputation was in that age even for a horrible man like Mr. Hyde. After Mr.Hyde had payed for his crime in cash and cheque, it seemed liked all was well.
I doubt Mr.Hyde would trample over a girl on purpose, but after doing it and not even caring it makes me think about the good and evil article I have read last week. In this case I do think of Mr. Hyde as evil, especially in the Victorian age with his lacks of manners. Although I don't think the family and
Enfield are truly good since they took Hyde's bribe,but I do think Enfield deserves some recognition for his kindness to the family. In the article, it also said that we need evil to balance out the good. In their society I agree that you do need evil, since their form of evil is simply not having high manners.
As for the themes in this part I was little unclear about. One could be that having money can solve your problems with crimes. Another could be that you should be careful on the street and not run over little girls. I know there's a deeper theme but at the moment I can't seem to see it. Never the less this was still the most memorable part in the whole chapter.
I agree that the good and evil article is a very good way to describe Mr. Hyde. I also think mental illnesses is a good way to describe Mr. Hyde because he seems wrong in the head.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that the moment when Hyde tramples over the innocent girl is memorable and also abnormal. Hyde's reaction stunned me as well, as this was th Victorian Age, during which people were mannerly, and had sane. I see that you have read th Evil and Good post on the Fleming Blog. You can connect that to this story,and find another theme; Society influences the behavior and the acts of individuals. No one reacted upset, and no one had intentions for simply punishing the man who had committed a murder. Even the parents of the child were bribed by money. I guess that can also portray how big of a role money played during thi era. I believe we can make other such conclusions later on in the novel.
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